Clayton Echard Is Bracing Himself for Backlash Ahead of Fantasy Suites

Clayton Echard may have been a football player in a former life, but all those tackles couldn’t have prepared him for the brute force that is Bachelor Nation.

As viewers gear up for hometown dates on The Bachelor, a source close to production exclusively tells E! News that Clayton is concerned about how fans will react to this season’s ending. According to the insider, “Clayton is really struggling with the criticism he has taken for the decisions he has made on the show.”

In recent weeks, the Bachelor was called out for sending Elizabeth Corrigan home instead of Shanae Ankney, who accused Elizabeth of lying about the extent of her ADHD. And while the star didn’t witness the interactions between Elizabeth and Shanae, he apologized for assuming their feuding was simply “petty drama.”

Additionally, Clayton drew backlash for his confrontation with Sarah Hamrick, leaving the 23-year-old contestant in tears after questioning if she was ready for marriage.

But it seems there’s more drama coming down the pipeline, with a source saying, “He knows things could get worse for him over the next few weeks as fantasy suites come into play.”