The Bachelor star Clayton Echard says filming The Women Tell All special was a drastically different experience than what he had anticipated -- and he wishes the women would have had "a little bit more grace."

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Going into The Women Tell All taping, Clayton said he expected his reunion with his The Bachelor Season 26 exes to be a little more cordial and positive.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)

"I was excited at first, because again, it was one of those experiences where it felt so surreal," Clayton recalled during a Thursday appearance on the "Click Bait with Bachelor Nation" podcast.

"I walked out and saw the women, and I remember right before I walked out, I was sitting in my little room and I remember talking to some producers and saying, 'This is crazy. I'm back to my normal life per se right now on the outside but I'm about to jump back into it with these women and it's going to pull back all of these feelings and emotions.'"

And Clayton said that's "exactly what happened."

"I walked out, I'm smiling, and yeah, and then I realized, 'Oh, hey, you weren't Superman all through this -- you definitely made a few mistakes.' Yeah, it was a lot," Clayton shared.

"I was surprised at the amount of backlash I received. I expected it to maybe be a little bit more subtle, like, maybe the women would say, 'Hey, listen, I don't think you meant to do this.'"

Clayton explained how he's a guy who tends to give people second chances "as long as they're apologetic," and so he was pretty much expecting the same from his Season 26 bachelorettes.

"I like to see the good in people, and I kind of felt like -- well, I was hoping that I would go into this and these women would do the same for me," Clayton recalled.

"And I mean, you all will see it, but I truly felt like I went in front of the firing squad and just got absolutely wrecked."

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Clayton said he could understand the women's "frustrations," but he never saw their anger and resentment coming.

"I guess I maybe was hoping for a little bit more grace," Clayton added.

The Bachelor: The Women Tell All is set to air Monday, March 7 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC, followed by a second episode featuring Clayton's Fantasy Suites on Tuesday, March 8 also at 8PM ET/PT.

ABC has revealed that 17 women gathered on the The Women Tell All stage to either confront or seek closure from Clayton in order to clear up any misunderstandings and heal their bruised egos or broken hearts.

The network also teased how the women did not hold back from telling Clayton how they felt.

Not only did Clayton take heat from his The Bachelor bachelorettes, but he's also faced backlash and hate from fans of the show since Season 26 began airing in January.

According to a source close to production, Clayton "is really struggling with the criticism he has taken for the decisions he had made on the show," E! News reported late last month.

"He knows things could get worse for him over the next [couple] weeks as fantasy suites come into play," the source added.

In a trailer ABC previously released, Clayton admits he found love with three women, and he only has three women left on his journey: Rachel Recchia, Gabby Windey and Susie Evans.

Clayton also told two ladies -- Rachel and Gabby, apparently -- that he had been "intimate" with them both, allowing fans to believe he had slept with two or more bachelorettes in the Fantasy Suites.

"Many hearts are broken in ways we have really never seen before," the source said of what's to come.

Fearing how viewers will react to his seemingly-unprecedented The Bachelor ending, Clayton reportedly recently looked for support and guidance from former The Bachelor stars who have been in a similar position before, such as Matt James and Nick Viall.

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Back in January, The Bachelor host Jesse Palmer told the website that producers were caught off guard by the direction Clayton's season had ultimately taken, adding how fans are in for some big shockers.

"Viewers at home will see things this season that they've never seen in 20 years having watched The Bachelor," Jesse explained at the time.

"Sometimes those decisions to a lot of people at home may feel like they're sort of straying off the beaten path. It's not as formulaic as what we've seen in recent seasons, but I think that's a little bit refreshing about him."

The Bachelor creator Mike Fleiss also tweeted last month that Clayton's season is "totally spoiler-proof."

"No one knows how it will end, cuz it ain't over til it's over! And it ain't over..." he wrote.

The tweet suggests Clayton did not get engaged at the end of his season, nor did he pick a winner at the Final Rose Ceremony when it filmed last year.

Maybe Clayton's journey to find love continued in the real world once filming wrapped.

Season 24 The Bachelor star Peter Weber said he thinks Clayton probably left the show alone and single.

Clayton also told Us Weekly last year that while he had done "some things wrong" during his time as the Bachelor, he left the show with no regrets and wouldn't take any of his decisions back if he could rewrite history.

"I did everything under my volition and what I thought was best," he said at the time.

"And so for that, I'm like, 'You know what? You stayed true to yourself, and you developed some battle scars along the way, but that's just what life is.'"

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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