Who is clayton echard engaged to

It's safe to say this actually was the most dramatic finale in Bachelor Nation history.

On Tuesday, March 15, fans saw the conclusion of Clayton Echard's journey on The Bachelor, during which he said goodbye to contestants Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia—before attempting to win back Susie Evans' heart.

So, did Clayton and Susie end up back together...or engaged in Iceland? After receiving a heartfelt note from Clayton, Susie met up with the Bachelor in the Icelandic countryside, where he asked Susie to take him back.

"I told you from the beginning that I was looking to get down on a knee," he begged while showing a glimpse of a ring box. "I want that, and with you I see that. And I see so much beyond that: To grow, have a family, to go through all the stages of life together. If you just give me the chance, if you allow me to love you for one more day, to take one more step with you."

Sadly, during the final rose ceremony, Susie was not quite ready to move forward with Clayton and chose to leave Iceland alone. "I don't feel like the kind of love I have for you right now," she explained, "is the kind of love that you have for me right now."

"I feel like it's over," she then told a heartbroken Clayton.

So how did they get to this point? Well, rather than accept the key to stay as a couple in the fantasy suite, frontrunner Susie left the competition during the March 8 episode after learning Clayton was in love with Gabby and Rachel...and that he'd been "intimate" with both women. Following Susie's turbulent departure, Gabby and Rachel met Clayton's family on part one of the season finale, which aired March 14.

And although both meetings went well, Clayton confessed to his parents and brothers at the end of the episode that his heart was still with Susie. That's when host Jesse Palmer stepped in to inform Clayton that Susie was still in Iceland, leaving room for a potential reunion.

On March 9, hours after Susie and Clayton's messy breakup aired on The Bachelor, the 28-year-old former football player went on The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast to address criticism from viewers. "I'm embarrassed. I knew that this moment was coming," Clayton said. "I'd kind of alluded to it in previous weeks. I'm not exactly shocked by the reactions online."

"People are very much against me and favoring her," he noted, "but I totally understand that. I totally get what I'm seeing."

Pamela Littky; Ricky Middlesworth / ABC

However, he also defended his actions. "[Sex] is such a critical part of a relationship," he said. "I cannot get engaged to somebody if there's no sexual chemistry. It's just me. Maybe that's not everybody else's. But for me, that's so incredible. If I'm going to get engaged, that has to be there."

And as for those accusations of gaslighting, Clayton said on the podcast, "It's tough because I've seen what everyone's saying and they're using some pretty descriptive terms. Some pretty heavy-hitting terms that I couldn't disagree with more. But I understand that it appears that way. I don't agree that I was gaslighting because I looked that up, and it said gaslighting, the definition is to try and convince someone of a different reality than what is actually the true reality of the situation."

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As for his relationship with Susie now? During the After the Final Rose portion of the finale, host Jesse teased that Clayton may've gotten his happily ever after. The Bachelor confirmed that he and Susie rekindled their romance after leaving Iceland, telling the audience, "I left Iceland and went back to what I thought was my normal life. And I was reached out to by someone and it was the last person that I ever expected to reach out."

When Susie joined Clayton in the hot seat, she happily shared, "That's my boyfriend."

"We took time apart after the show and we reset," she continued. "We've re-laid the foundation. And we're really happy, and we're happy to be here today."

In fact, Susie told the crowd that she's in love with Clayton. She also told her boyfriend directly, "I love you." And while Jesse pushed for Clayton to propose to Susie on camera, an engagement didn't happen. However, Clayton did reveal that he's moving in with Susie in Virginia.

Hey, that's something!

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Who is clayton echard engaged to

Part 2 of The Bachelor's Season 26 finale aired on Tuesday, March 15, and it really did not disappoint in the drama department! It kicked off back in Iceland, with host Jesse Palmer meeting with former contestant Susie Evans, who'd left the week before after finding out that Bachelor Clayton Echard had told two other women (fellow finalists Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey) that he loved them—and slept with them.

But Jesse eventually convinced Susie to meet with Clayton and his family. At the meeting, Susie pulled Clayton outside and told him she felt like he treated her "like a stray dog who wandered into your home." Clayton begged for forgiveness, adding, "I love you and I don't want to lose you."

Susie still left after the conversation and didn't spend time with Clayton's family, leaving plenty of questions about what would happen between them going forward. "My happiness is with Susie right now," he said, before noting that he owes it to Gabby and Rachel to be honest with them and break up with them.

Gabby and Rachel, of course, had just been put through the wringer by Clayton during part 1 of the finale, but on part 2, they got to say their piece about, and make their peace with, how he treated them. Keep reading for everything that went down on Part 1 and Part 2 of The Bachelor Season 26 finale.

What happened on Part 1 of The Bachelor Season 26 finale?

At the rose ceremony, Clayton told Gabby and Rachel that that he was in love with Susie—but also, with both of them. "I also was intimate with both of you," he added, before both Gabby and Rachel walked away in tears.

During a chat with Gabby, Clayton also said, "Whoever I pick, I love the most." Gabby then said, "This is f***ed up," and walked away. Rachel also confronted Clayton and said, "I feel like my heart is breaking," before adding, "It's just so hard to understand the love that I'm feeling, that you can feel it for three people."

Somehow, both Gabby and Rachel agreed to continue "on this journey" (to use the Bachelor-speak term) and next met Clayton's family at an Airbnb in Iceland. Both of those meetings went well, and perhaps shockingly, both women seemed back to feeling fully invested in Clayton as a potential future husband... but then Clayton told his family that he thinks the woman he really wants to be with is Susie.

Related: How Many Bachelor Couples Are Married? Spoiler Alert: More Than You Think!

Who did Clayton send home on Part 2 of The Bachelor Season 26 finale?

Clayton sent both Rachel and Gabby home after telling them he loves Susie the most. Even worse? He met with Rachel and Gabby together and jointly told them that he was in love with Susie. "I realize that I've caused so much pain and I wish that I could take it back," he said. "I realize it's not feasibly possible for me to be in love with three women like I said I was." Clayton also said that "my heart is no longer here... it's with Susie."

"I really don't have anything to say," Gabby said. "That's it, I think, for me." And then she walked out. Rachel looked shocked, as Clayton followed Gabby. "I'm pissed because I spent the last two days away from my friends and family who actually give a sh*t about me and you don't," she said. She also confronted him about the fact that he begged her and Rachel to stay, only to send them home two days later. Gabby also called him out for telling her and Rachel that he was in love with Susie as a group vs. separately.

Clayton then went back to Rachel and apologized. "What you put us through at the rose ceremony," she said, crying. "You told me that you were willing to fight for this. I believed you." She added, "this is going to haunt you that you let me go."

"You didn't give me anything. What little you gave me, I held onto," Rachel said. "You gave up on us," she said, as he walked her out. "I cannot believe you're going to put me in this car right now."

What did Gabby say about Clayton on Part 2 of The Bachelor Season 26 finale?

Gabby told host Jesse Palmer during the Part 2 finale that she had been in love with Clayton on the show. But, she said, she realized after the show that she "didn't have all the information" about him and his journey, and that was frustrating.

"I truly feel betrayed," Gabby told Clayton when they met up during the live finale. "I don't think you're malicious at all but I do think I had given you chances in the moment to be more honest with me," she said. "It seemed like you had your mind set on Susie way before you told us... I just feel extremely dismissed."

What did Rachel say about Clayton on Part 2 of The Bachelor Season 26 finale?

"The hardest part for me watching this back is knowing how in love with him I was and watching these last few episodes I didn't know what was going on behind the scenes," she said. "I just feel like the hardest part of all of this is knowing how hard I fought for our relationship and to see just complete disrespect to both me and Gabby in that he couldn't even break up with us separately." Rachel also said that Clayton broke her heart twice.

"I've never felt the way I felt for him," she said. "I fought all the way to the end, way past the part that I thought I could go personally... I truly believed it was me." Rachel also said that she no longer has feelings for Clayton.

"I became collateral damage in your journey for love," she told Clayton directly. "There was no empathy at all for me or Gabby." She added, "it's just so disrespectful." After Clayton apologized, Rachel responded with, "I just don't believe you. You told us you wanted to give us transparency but you left out the most important things." Rachel also directly asked Clayton if he told her he loved her to try to sleep with her.

Who did Clayton send home on Part 1 of The Bachelor Season 26 finale?

Clayton didn't send anyone home, but Gabby came very close to sending herself home after refusing the rose Clayton offered to her. "I can't, I'm sorry," she said. "I'm not in the business of competing with anyone for love." Gabby also challenged Clayton. "Did you regard what it would feel like? Just say you're sorry or something."

But Clayton ended up convincing Gabby to stay, and she decided to accept the rose.

So... no one went home on Part 1 of the season finale.

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What did Clayton Echard's family say to him on The Bachelor Season 26 finale?

Clayton's whole family—his mom, dad, and brothers Patrick and Nate—all flew out to Iceland and seemed blown away by Clayton's updates regarding what happened to Susie and where his head was at with Rachel and Gabby. Clayton's dad said that Susie's choice to leave "makes sense," adding, "They have a right to be upset with you. You screwed the pooch, in my opinion."

Clayton's family ended up meeting Gabby first and got along well with her. "I do love you," Gabby told Clayton afterward. She also told producers, "I'm ready now more than ever to be with him."

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Rachel met Clayton's family next and repeatedly told his parents that she's "really in love with him." She told producers, "I want to see this through. I don't know where his head is at."

After all that, Clayton ended up immediately telling his parents that he's realized he's still in love with Susie. In response, Clayton's dad told him, "You're grasping at straws. That's done... When somebody walks away, it's done. It's finished."

Who did Clayton Echard give his final rose to on the Part 2 finale of Season 26 of The Bachelor?

Clayton wrote a note to Susie and had it delivered to her hotel room. He also asked her to meet him at the final rose ceremony, where he was waiting with a ring.

Susie ended up showing up. "I want you to know that I'm so fully committed," he said, before showing her the ring box. "I want that and with you I see that, to grow, have a family, and go through all the stages of life together," he said.

"There's no doubt about our connection," she said. "The love that I have for you is so real and I know that you have it, too. But I don't feel that the kind of love I have for you is the kind of love you have for me." Susie said that she made the decision to leave Iceland alone. "I don't think that I'm your persona and I don't think that you're mine," she added.

Clayton ended up not giving anyone his final rose—on the live portion of the show, in front of the studio audience.

Did Clayton Echard get engaged during Part 2 of The Bachelor Season 26 finale last night?

Nope. Clayton made it clear that he was ready to propose to Susie and that he was willing to fight for her—but she wasn't in the same place. "To me, I feel like it's not over until you say that it's over," he said. Susie's reply: "I feel like it's over."

Is Clayton Echard still single?

"For the first time in history, the Bachelor was rejected at the end of his journey and he ends up alone...or does he?" Jesse said. During a sitdown with Jesse, Clayton shared that "someone" reached out to him afterward—Susie.

"We're happy to be here together," she said, before calling Clayton her "boyfriend."

"We were able to reestablish that relationship because we took that time apart," Susie said. She later also said "I love you" to Clayton. He also said that he "couldn't be happier" to be with Susie again and said that he's moving to Virginia to be with her.

Clayton wrapped things up by asking Susie to accept his final rose—and she did.

So, who is the next Bachelorette?

Jesse said the decision was "the hardest we've ever had to make." So, producers ended up picking Gabby and Rachel to be the next Bachelorettes. Jesse said that he "honestly has no idea" how this will work, so it sounds like details are still being ironed out.

"I'm ready for us to both get our happy endings," Rachel said.

Next, take a look back at how The Bachelorette Season 18 ended with Michelle and Nayte's adorable engagement!