Before Clayton Echard became the lead of ABC’s reality television show, “The Bachelor”, he appeared on Michelle Young‘s season of “The Bachelorette.”
The former football player and medical sales representative was eliminated before hometown dates, but he is now admitting he almost quit even before making it that far.
Clayton Echard Says He Felt ‘Out Of Place’
Clayton Echard recently sat down with US Weekly, where he is finally admitting to nearly quitting Michelle Young’s season of ‘The Bachelorette”.
During the first night, Echard said he “was one of the quietest dudes.” “I barely spoke,” Echard said in comparison to some of the other men fighting for Young’s heart. “I was too fearful of saying something dumb. I didn’t want to bring negativity my way. And so I literally just sat back and I was like, ‘I am going to be as cautious as possible because I don’t want to shoot my mouth off and all of a sudden be the center focus of some drama Night one.”
In fact, he said he “almost left [the show] six times because [he] felt out of place.”
Confidence Was A Struggle For Clayton Echard
One of the biggest struggles Echard said he faced while on Michelle Young’s season of “The Bachelorette” was confidence.
“Guys [were] coming down the steps for their intros and what they were wearing and they seemed so comfortable acting ridiculous…,” he said before adding, “I thought, ‘These guys are so comfortable in their own skin and I’m not, so how can I be here amongst these men?'”
There were six different moments where Echard said he “almost went up to the producer and was like, ‘Can I go home?'”
Despite his lack of confidence, the reality television star stuck it out and ended up forming a connection with Michelle Young. “This could be something that I could get used to for the rest of my life. She could be The One… I think everything I’ve been chasing after is right in front of me, and I’m really excited,” Echard said while on the show in regard to his connection with Young.
Unfortunately, there was still something missing between the two, and Young sent Echard home before hometown dates.
Clayton Echard Releases A Book
The former reality television star opened up even more in his new book, “180 Degrees On Mental Health, Mindfulness, and Unlocking Self-Belief”.
“8 months later and I officially have a book to share with y’all!!,” he wrote on social media alongside a photo of himself holding up his new book. “I wrote 180 Degrees partly for myself, as it was therapeutic to document my mental health journey from childhood up until now. It was long overdue for me to address all the jumbled-up thoughts in my head and begin to untangle them little by little.”
Echard touches on many topics in his new book, including mental health struggles and self-confidence issues — something he has battled with his entire life.
“I also created it in hopes of helping others find their own self-love, self-belief, confidence to open up and begin having necessary conversations centered around mental health, and most importantly…a sense of peace that they are not alone,” he continued to share.
“180 Degrees On Mental Health, Mindfulness, and Unlocking Self-Belief” by Clayton Echard is available on Amazon.
