'Bachelor' Star Clayton Echard Reveals Having Suicidal Thoughts

"Bachelor" star Clayton Echard is now opening up about suffering from suicidal thoughts after the 29-year-old faced "overwhelming" backlashduring his time on the reality dating show.

The mental health coach is laying it all out on the table after his recent appearance on the Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe podcast.

Clayton Echard, 29, was the lead on Season 26 of "The Bachelor." His time on the show was not easy as he admits to making many mistakes and handling things poorly.

One of the things he was criticized for was the fact that he told all three of the final women that he loved them. He also slept with both Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia before his final Fantasy Suite date with Susie Evans, which caused even more problems down the road.

"I had no business being the Bachelor with the person that I was then. The person I [am] now would have handled things 100 times better," he said on the Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe podcast.

After the show ended, the 29-year-old received a ton of backlash from fans. “I was trying to figure out what my next step was [and] I started questioning who I was because of all the negativity. I started to believe some of what was being said about me."

He continued, “And I now look back at it and realize, like, I couldn’t be that stable, secure man that I needed to be to really be able to give my all in a relationship.”

Clayton Echard admits that his now ex-girlfriend, Susie Evans, was the only person who stopped him from "going off the rails". Echard chose Evans as his final person on his season of "The Bachelor" after three very messy break-ups -- one of those break-ups with Evans.

"I think I wouldn't have been able to get through what I got through with anybody other than Susie," Echard said. "She was the only person that was going to help me see what I saw. And she was the only person that was going to keep me from going off the rails and doing something extremely drastic."

He continued, "Because I had very dark thoughts from the show, moments where I said, you know, 'It'd be better off if I just ended things'."

Claaton Echard and Susie Evans announced their split on September 23, releasing a joint statement via social media:

“We understand that there will likely be a lot of questions about this decision — social media is definitely a highlight reel and much of our experiences together we have kept private as I’m sure most can understand,” the pair wrote about their “painful” decision to split. “But we will share this — although this last year together has brought us so much joy and so many laughs, there has also been a significant amount of pain. We know no healthy relationship comes without its struggles, but we’ve realized that we were not prepared for the external forces that hindered our ability to not only heal as individuals but also as a couple. We both are focused on continuing to work on ourselves, so we can be the best version of ourselves. … Although Claysie is no more, we hope that our communities can support us individually as we move forward with love and respect for each other. Thank you to all of you that supported our relationship. It means so much more than you will ever know. ❤️”