Former ‘Bachelor‘ Clayton Echard has had a difficult year in 2022. Echard, 29, kicked off the year in Bachelor Nation as the lead of “The Bachelor.” Little did Echard know that fan reception to his season of “The Bachelor” would go on to shape his post-Bachelor Nation life in a monumental way!
Echard’s time as the ‘Bachelor’ would go on to be defined by the end-of-season love triangle involving his final three contestants.
Former beauty queen Susie Evans, 29, would leave a massive imprint on Echard’s heart but would end her journey within Bachelor Nation a bit early by self-elimination. Echard would later realize he was in love with Evans, but not before he told both future ‘Bachelorettes’ Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey that he was in love with them as well.
Evans and Echard would end season 26 without the man of the hour putting a ring on it, but the duo would later reveal they were a couple during the “After The Final Rose.”
The Former ‘Bachelor’s Mental Health Struggles Would Go On To Inspire His Post-Bachelor Nation Career
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Some Bachelor Nation viewers weren’t thrilled with Echard’s actions at all; He would go on to face a great deal of scrutiny.
The Blast has covered several aspects of the onslaught of hateful reception Echard received, including the slew of hateful direct messages.
Unfortunately, the aftermath of his season would lead Echard to massively struggle with his mental health, an experience he has been quite candid about publicly. Last month, we covered Echard’s revelation that he has struggled with suicidal thoughts.
Echard would soon be inspired to turn his experiences with mental health into an opportunity to help others!
The now-single former ‘Bachelor’ has entered the coaching field as a mental health and mindset coach. Echard is now sharing the knowledge he has gained from his experiences on his social media accounts.
On Monday morning, Echard vulnerably took to Twitter to share how he has been able to ground himself and reclaim his sense of self from the version his naysayers have created.
Echard Got Serious About The Extent Of His Mental Health Struggles On Kaitlyn Bristowe’s Podcast
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As previously mentioned, Echard has been quite open about the extent of his mental health struggles.
He would go on to tell Bachelor Nation about the darkest point he experienced in an interview on former ‘Bachelorette’ Kaitlyn Bristowe’s “Off The Vine” podcast.
The scrutiny he received from some disgruntled viewers greatly affected his post-show plans.
“I was trying to figure out what my next step was [and] I was starting to question who I was because of all the negativity. I started to believe some of what was being said about me,” he told Bristowe.
Despite his assertion he was not the “stable and secure man” he has grown to be while filming the show, Echard knows for sure how essential his now-ex-girlfriend was to his entire experience.
“I think I wouldn’t have been able to get through what I got through with anybody other than Susie,” he also revealed on the podcast, “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.”
“Because I had very dark thoughts from the show,” Echard continued, “moments where I said, you know, ‘it’d be better off if I just ended things.”
Coming Out Of The Dark: Echard Shares Some Insight Into Lessons He Has Learned From His Darker Days
The points in my life when I’ve been most miserable were the times when I believed my truth to be what others thought of me. But when I chose to stop listening, my narrative became mine again. We are the thoughts that we ultimately choose to believe, so protect your mindset.
— Clayton Echard (@ClaytonEchard) November 28, 2022
Echard has put his Bachelor Nation days behind him, incorporating all of the lessons and wisdom he learned while at his lowest points into a new career!
His LinkedIn profile now reflects his new career venture as a mental health and wellness coach.
“I have pivoted my career path from the medical device sales industry into the physical and mental health spaces,” Echard’s Linkedin bio begins. “This realignment, along with the larger social media platform I am humbled to now hold, has allowed me to chase my passion of making a much larger impact in the lives of others through mental health speaking…” the bio also reveals.
Earlier this morning on Twitter, Echard provided further insight into the lessons he learned while he was at his lowest point mentally.
“The points in my life where I’ve been most miserable were the times when I believed my truth to be what others thought of me,” his Twitter thread begins. “But when I stopped listening, my narrative became mine again. We are the thoughts we ultimately choose to believe, so protect your mindset.” the thread concludes.
