The Bachelor's reported new star, Clayton Echard, has spoken out about Season 26 while appearing to film in his hometown.
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Clayton, a 28-year-old orthopedic sales representative and former college football player, confirmed he'll be the franchise's next male lead when Clayton spoke to a crowd of people while being filmed in his hometown of Eureka, MO.
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"I'm excited," Clayton said on Thursday of his upcoming televised journey to find love, according to Fox2Now, St. Louis' Fox affiliate.
"I'm also very, very nervous, and I'm looking to find my person."
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A banner also hangs in downtown Eureka that reads, "GO FIND LOVE CLAYTON!"
Eureka Mayor Sean Flower revealed to the Fox affiliate that ABC had paid for the huge sign.
One of Clayton's pals, Miranda Schaeffer, gushed of the handsome athlete, "Those dang dimples, I mean those dimples will blow any girl out of the water."
Clayton reportedly dating Miranda's older sister when they were younger.
"When he got this I was like this is very well deserving and a really good highlight for our community," Miranda added.
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Clayton's The Bachelor season is expected to premiere in early January, after fans are able to watch him compete for Michelle Young's heart on The Bachelorette's upcoming eighteenth season, which premieres Tuesday, October 19 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC.
While ABC has yet to officially announce Clayton's Bachelor participation, The Bachelor creator and executive producer Mike Fleiss all but confirmed Clayton is ABC's choice for its next star after reports of his selection surfaced.
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Mike tweeted Wednesday night, "Major Announcement!!! Your new #TheBachelor is a great guy from Michelle's season of #TheBachelorette. Can't wait for you to meet him!"
Mike proceeded to write on Twitter, "Another Major Announcement!!! His first name starts with the letter 'C.' #TheBachelor."
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Hours earlier, photos had leaked of Clayton appearing to film a promo shoot with a camera crew in his hometown, E! News reported.
ABC initially shared a first look at 35 men who may potentially vie for Michelle's roses in July before filming began, and Clayton was on that list, along with three other "C" names: Casey, Christopher G., and Chris S.
Production on Michelle's The Bachelorette season just wrapped late last week, when The Hollywood Reporter learned The Bachelor's Season 26 star will be a suitor from Michelle's cast.
But ABC has yet to announce the official cast of bachelors who will be appearing on Season 18.
According to insiders, producers fell in love with Clayton's "story" during Michelle's The Bachelorette season and so he rose to the top of their potential-next Bachelor list, Variety reported.
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Before producers settled on Clayton, Katie Thurston's The Bachelorette suitors Andrew Spencer and Greg Grippo were also reportedly considered for the role as well as Hannah Brown's The Bachelorette runner-up Tyler Cameron and men currently appearing on Season 7 of Bachelor in Paradise.
Greg, in fact, was "a strong contender," according to Variety, but ABC chose to go in a different direction.
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After all, Greg was accused of gaslighting and emotionally manipulating Katie during her season and being an aspiring actor among other unflattering things.
Prior to working in orthopedic sales, Clayton was reportedly a former freestyle rapper and collegiate football player.
Clayton, who boasts a similar look to Sean Lowe or Colton Underwood, played football at the University of Missouri and spent the 2016 NFL pre-season with the Seattle Seahawks after signing as an undrafted rookie following the NFL Draft.
The athlete refers to himself as a "washed-up athlete now trying his luck in orthopaedic sales" in his Instagram bio.
If Clayton was in fact cast as The Bachelor star, he'll be the first Bachelor Nation alum to be named The Bachelor star before home viewers are able to watch his initial appearance on The Bachelorette or Bachelor in Paradise.
While The Bachelor's Season 25 star Matt James was announced as the Bachelor before Clare Crawley's The Bachelorette season aired last year, Matt was actually plucked out of the cast before filming began and did not appear on the season.
Matt's casting made history because he became the first Black man to ever star on The Bachelor, and he was also already well known in the press and on social media for being the best friend of Tyler Cameron, who finished as the runner-up on Hannah Brown's The Bachelorette season.
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It's unclear who will host The Bachelor's 26th season following Chris Harrison's permanent exit as a result of his racism scandal earlier this year.
The Bachelorette alums Kaitlyn Bristowe and Tayshia Adams will be hosting The Bachelorette's upcoming edition.
Clayton apparently didn't find lasting love with Michelle, who was sent packing by Matt on The Bachelor 25 in second place.
Michelle was announced on The Bachelor: After the Final Rose in March as one of two The Bachelorette stars -- along with Katie -- for back-to-back seasons in 2021.
"I am ready... I really do think that this process works," Michelle said on After the Final Rose.
"When you can [cast] out all of these outside distractions and really dive in, I think you can learn a lot about somebody. I'm just excited. I'm ready to get started!"
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