Bachelor Clayton Echard branded a ‘serial swiper’ who sent women ‘creepy pickup lines’ on dating apps before TV fame
CLAYTON Echard was branded as a "serial swiper" by multiple women who said they received "creepy pickup lines" from him on dating apps.
The thorny claims came before his TV fame, The Sun can exclusively report.
Clayton, 28, has received a less-than-rosy reception from Bachelor fans.
He was labeled as “toxic” after a dramatic first act of the two-part finale left finalists Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey crying.
However, when it was announced he'd be the next Bachelor back in November, more mixed reviews about the Season 26 star arose off-screen.
A went viral in January 2022 captioned "Mizzou girls have all the tea for this one,” seemingly referring to the University of Missouri, which Clayton attended on a football scholarship.
Many users from the area commented, sharing their alleged separate accounts of Hinge and Bumble interactions they supposedly had with him.
A few also doubled down on their "weird" date stories and app interactions to The Sun, which have not been verified at this time.
One unconfirmed exchange saw the football player allegedly "scurry away" after a 2020 romantic encounter and another claimed he messaged her a proposal on Hinge of another "nature."
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'CLIMB ME LIKE A TREE'
A user named Allison commented on the original TikTok: "I matched w him on Hinge in Jan 2020 and he told me he wanted me to 'climb him like a tree.'
"… not the worst story about him but he’s def a creeper."
She elaborated on the splashy unsubstantiated claim to The Sun saying, "He messaged me first."
“Nothing out of the ordinary stood out to me [about his Hinge profile], I knew he was in a hospital setting [based on his photos].”
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“Then he had said, ‘I want you to climb me like a tree,’ and that took me aback.
“Like ‘woah,’ yeah I don't remember initiating that kind of talk with him," she alleged.
She noted on dating app culture: “Obviously, guys say creepy stuff all the time, but that stuck out to me.
"As soon as I heard he was the Bachelor I was like oh my god, he is the guy who said that to me," she claimed.
“His comment didn't necessarily give me creeper guy - just ‘this guy is trying to get it in’ vibes."
The Sun reached out to reps at ABC for comment but did not receive a response on the multiple unverified accounts.
'AWKWARD THE WHOLE TIME'
Another user named Shawn who commented on the post told The Sun that her friend matched with Clayton in 2020, leading to a "weird" night out for all.
Her unconfirmed interaction involved the star meeting up with her friend at a bar and after they got romantic, leaving in a hurry.
"[My friend] was matching with a bunch of people and meeting them [while we were] out."
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"It was my 21st birthday [and we celebrated] in St. Louis, the same area as him," Shawn shared as she said she was out at a bar and staying in an Airbnb with her large group of friends.
That's when the former NFL player allegedly showed his true colors to Shawn's friend she claimed he tried to pursue.
"We didn't even get to meet him [Clayton] at the bar, they [her friend and the future Bachelor] just left [together], and as soon as we showed up [at the Airbnb] he didn't want to be there anymore."
"He didn't want anything to do with her or being around us when they weren't hooking up," Shawn said on Clayton's demeanor when they finally met him.
She alleged on when they returned to the shared abode to find him and her friend there: "He scurried away so fast, it was funny”
"She [the friend] said it was very awkward the whole time, there was no conversation," Shawn alleged on the supposed hook-up.
"He can't even hold a conversation, like what?"
"As soon as he left she was like, 'that was the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me.'"
"When we saw he became The Bachelor we were like 'wait what?' We thought it was funny and coincidental," she concluded on her wild claim.
'SERIAL SWIPER'
A third user named Sarah posted her own that went viral as the show premiered and fans disliked Clayton.
She explained that they never met but simply messaged in 2019 and then once more "two years later," sharing their alleged but additionally unconfirmed exchange.
He wrote, in part: "I haven't seen you come across Bumble yet."
"Once the season started I reposted [my TikTok] … and [in the comments] all these girls are like ‘Oh my gosh I saw him on Bumble too, this happened to me.’”
She bashed on the seemingly busy Bachelor, “From what it sounds like, he's a serial swiper.”
FIERY FINALE
During the dramatic first installment of the two-part finale, Clayton made Rachel and Gabby cry having revealed he loved and was intimate with them both.
Clayton earlier decided that his heart is still with Susie Evans, who was revealed to still be in Iceland.
Clayton addressed a shocked Rachel and Gabby about why she had gone home during the finale, saying: "I was in love with her. I am in love with both of you. I also was intimate with both of you."
Both women were devastated by Clayton’s confession and reluctantly accepted after Gabby walked off the stage, then returned.
Clayton's parents met and seemed to warm up immediately to both of the women before he made the confession that he couldn't stop thinking about Susie, breaking down in tears.
One user wrote on the finale: "Everything coming out of Clayton’s mouth is just toxic."
Clayton was introduced to Bachelor Nation in season of the Bachelorette, which aired in 2021.
He hails from Eureka, Missouri, and was previously a professional football player, signing to the Seattle Seahawks in 2016.
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It is unclear when he left the NFL but according to his Instagram bio, he is now in orthopedic sales.
Eliminated contestant Teddi also alleged Clayton's brother DMed her during the Women Tell All, which Clayton took to Twitter to slam, asking for "receipts."
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