Photo: ABC/Craig Sjodin
Clayton Echardrecognizes that he is a work in progress.
On Instagram Tuesday, the 28-year-oldopened up abouthis journey onThe Bachelorand the lessons he’s taken away from the experience. In doing so, Clayton admitted that he eventually hit “rock bottom.”
“6 months prior, I was standing outside as the first limo pulled up and kept thinking to myself how I was so lucky to be in this position asThe Bachelor. 6 months later, I was staring out this window wondering how much worse things could get,” he continued. “But as I’ve reflected back on it all now since being out of the spotlight, I’ve had the ability to see what I couldn’t see before. I was too busy trying to defend my actions and my character, instead of accepting full responsibility for not only what I had done, but for who all I hurt.”
The season 26 Bachelor said people are often “concerned with explaining ourselves” and it prevents them from realizing “the explanations sometimes hurt more than the actions,” indicating that they “appear as excuses and nothing more.”
With this in mind, Clayton acknowledged where he went wrong.
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Added Clayton, “I never forget to give myself grace, as we all should do for ourselves. But I am a work in progress and always will be. Because perfection is impossible to obtain, but we can all be better than we were the day before. So that’s what I’ll continue to strive to do.”
In concluding the emotional post, Clayton thanked “those that have been in my corner throughout this entire experience.”
“Without you all and your support and constructive criticism, I would still be focused on defending my character, instead of building upon it,” he said. “I would still be coming up with explanations that fit my narrative, instead of working to understand “the other side”. And I would still be looking out that window, wondering who I really am. But I now know … and for that, I am finally at peace.”
Craig Sjodin/abc
While Clayton and Susie are now happily dating, Susie said the couple was “expecting a little backlash” from viewers because ofthe “really controversial” season finale.
“I think one thing we both feel is that it’s not Team Clayton, it’s not Team Susie,” Susie, 28, previously said during theAfter the Final Rosespecial. “We’re together andwe do want people to root for usand know that we both have our best intentions at the forefront of who we are.”
source: people.com
