Bachelor Nation was having doubts about Season 26 of The Bachelor ever since the newest Bachelor Clayton Echard was announced halfway through Michelle Young's season of The Bachelorette. The Missouri native and former football star seemed nice enough, but fans still had their concerns about his ability to carry the season by himself, which have since been validated in the first several episodes.
Aside from coming across as dull and the lead lacking chemistry with any of the contestants, Bachelor Nation hates that Clayton's season seems to be poorly edited and full of contestants just using their screentime to emerge from the franchise as social media influencers. Unfortunately, no one's achin' for Clayton this time around.
Clayton's Boring
Not all leads have been extremely interesting, but it's difficult when they're outright boring like Clayton. Bachelor Nation mostly watches his season for the infighting from the contestants, but his dullness on camera is even affecting the drama around him.
According to Kmaristo, it's hard to feel connected to someone who fans know so little about, and "this wouldn’t be as big an issue if not combined with the fact that he’s so boring that I have no interest in learning about him." i_want_2_b3li3v3 agrees, citing that producers "had so many amazing choices and landed on this guy." If he doesn't start opening up soon, his apathy will affect not just viewers' interest, but contestants' as well, especially since several left Clayton's season after the very first episode.
Those Blazer Hoodies
Clayton appears to be considered less fashion-forward than previous leads, appearing in the same look week after week. What's worse, while Bachelor leads are compensated roughly $100,000 for their time on the show, contestants do not get paid (according to Men's Health), often spending as much as $10,000 of their own money on hair and makeup.
"It’s like they have him in these slum frat boy outfits while the girls are all glam up. Doesn’t make any damn sense." Said Michelle Young's season. But the lackluster choice of clothing can still be viewed as a sign of disrespect when his dates have gone to a great deal of trouble --and into debt-- to appear glamorous on television.
There Were Better Alternatives
Most fans of The Bachelor found out who the next Bachelor would be just weeks after Season 18 premiere, taking some of the tension out of Clayton's appearance given fans knew he was never making it to the Final Four. The announcement angered some fans, who felt that there were better alternatives from Michelle Young's season that deserved it more, like Rodney Mathews.
Fuzzball__ its, "I find myself bored by him so I can't get invested in his love story. I would have been so much more entertained by Rodney." Rodney had a big personality, a sense of humor, and a loving heart, all the ingredients needed for fans to root for.
It's Too Focused On Influencers
Ironically, reality TV isn't always known for being the most "real", and over the last decade, The Bachelor franchise has been accused of lacking raw emotional development from the contestants in favor of inauthentic producer choices. On Clayton's season, fans have felt these choices are in service of contestants who are also social media influencers.
Redditactuallysux complained, "I think it's a combo of having the most lackluster lead, and the whole show becoming an influencer machine. I miss the "real" drama and emotions that TPTB pull out... I don't want to see a huge Instagram popularity contest." It seems that the contestants on Clayton's season are more interested in gaining followers for their social media s than finding true love.
There's Signs Of Prejudice
One major flaw of The Bachelor franchise has always been a lack of inclusivity and diversity in its leads and contestants, which has slowly been changing with each ing season. So far, while Clayton's season boasts several women of color, they don't receive as much screen time as some of the other women.
Stimmtnicht posted a graph to display the disparity in screen time between women of color and the other contestants on Clayton's season. What's most upsetting is that in the first episode, it seemed like Clayton was interested in certain contestants of color like Teddi, but as time has gone on, edits haven't favored them. "The white people just happen to get most of the screentime just like how only white people just happened to be considered eligible to become lead 20 seasons in a row," complains Jotz00, highlighting how performative the producers' casting choices have been when in reality, women of color don't get any of the major storylines.
Clayton Uses Too Many Over Affirmations
With so many interesting, beautiful, and dynamic women to choose from, it's not surprising that Clayton's season is showing its lead fawning over them from the start. But some fans feel these over affirmations are unconvincing because of both their ubiquitousness and Clayton's delivery.
"All of them do it, but he’s just so NOT eloquent in how he speaks," jennirator pointed out. "'I love the effort I’m seeing out of you,' and then goes for the kiss. It’s just ewww...I feel like he’s coach speaking at all of them in an awkward way." Whether it's because he's nervous or doesn't know what to say, Clayton has managed to make every girl feel the same instead of unique.
The Conversations Have No Substance
Clayton can't have deep conversations with every contestant given time constraints and the editing process, but of the one-on-one dates Bachelor Nation has been seeing, he appears to be unable to be genuine and authentic with any of the women.
Swissvine explains, "I don’t think he knows how to emotionally unpack. He keeps just repeating and agreeing with what the women say to him, not sure I’ve seen him have an original thought!" It's not surprising that Bachelor Nation expects the lead to open up slowly to the women he's truly interested in, revealing hidden sides of himself along the way so that he has a believably strong connection to his final pick.
There's A Lack Of Chemistry
In order for Bachelor Nation to want to continue following Clayton's season, there will need to be some sparks flying. Having chemistry between the contestants and the lead is what makes entertaining reality TV.
Turbulent-Skirt7329 asked, "Does anybody actually think that any of the girls from Clayton's season are into him? The lack of chemistry between him and any of the women reminds me a lot of Colton’s season." "I think like 5 out of 30 were actually into him Night One," replied mahlay1051, indicating a low level of interest from the very beginning. A lack of chemistry among so many contestants almost guarantees a lackluster season, with any drama coming across as contrived and even more unbelievable.
Justice For Cassidy
When a possible FWB issue popped up for Cassidy, the villain turned fan favorite was sent home. With all the gusto Bachelor Nation has come to expect from the franchise, her exit was full of leaked social media posts and shocking reveals (that she's since had to apologize for). Fans were disappointed that such a vivacious character was let go so soon.
"I found her to be an incredibly entertaining villain. I would much rather her have stayed than Shenae," commented maddypip. "Absolutely, I was assuming she’d stick around as the villain for quite a while and Shanae would be gone quickly. When she got eliminated I was gobsmacked," replied linksgreyhair. Not only was Cassidy's exit poorly handled, burning through villain edits so quickly leaves little drama for the final episodes!
Shanae's Insensitivity Towards Elizabeth's Mental Health
One of the biggest fights of the season has been building between Shanae and Elizabeth, with Shanae accusing Elizabeth of the sort of deception she herself is capable of. Elizabeth --who is candid about her ADHD-- has been an easy target, and fans who have been enjoying Elizabeth's honesty about her mental health think Shanae goes too far when she continuously insults her for being neurodivergent.
"She did NOT just say 'her lying ADHD a**',” said nothingsavailableso, referring to Shanae's insensitive term for Elizabeth. "I’m about to throw hands!" "Shanae just had to bring up Elizabeth’s ADHD one more time!" gmw1010 agreed, acknowledging that Shanae often uses Elizabeth's ADHD diagnosis against her. Elizabeth is honest about how her ADHD might affect her interactions with the other contestants, and they have all been understanding, so it's not surprising that Bachelor Nation feels protective of her against Shanae's continued attacks.