In news that should not come as a surprise to anyone that has followed The Bachelor or The Bachelorette for almost any period of time, Clayton Echard and Susie Evans have broken up.
The development just about a month after Echard confirmed the pair were gonna try a long distance relationship.
At least for now, things sound pretty amicable at least.
Clayton and Susie used a joint Instagram statement to update their fans and followers on Friday evening.
“With incredibly heavy hearts, we wanted to share that we have decided to go our separate ways,” reads the message.
“For anyone who has ever loved, knows this was a painful decision to make and not one taken lightly.
“We understand that there will likely be a lot of questions about this decision — social media is definitely a highlight reel and much of our experiences together we have kept private as I’m sure most can understand.
“But we will share this — although this last year together has brought us so much joy and so many laughs, there has also been a significant amount of pain.”
Echard starred on the most recent season of The Bachelor.
He scored Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia (who went on to become co-leads of The Bachelorette) after he learned on the season finale that he still has a chance with Evans.
The two did not get engaged to close out the season, however.
They merely agreed to date.
In their break-up confirmation, the pair continued:
“We know no healthy relationship comes without its struggles, but we’ve realized that we were not prepared for the external forces that hindered our ability to not only heal as individuals but also as a couple.”
The exes added they are “focused on continuing to work on ourselves, so we can be the best version of ourselves” going forward.
At one point, Clayton had to shoot down rumors that he cheated on Evans.
But it doesn’t sound like any such accusations are to blame for this official split.
“This is not an easy time for either of us but we stand in support of each other and hope to see the other go on to find happiness and healing,” the reality stars explained.
“Although Claysie is no more, we hope that our communities can support us individually as we move forward with love and respect for each other.”
Concluding the post, the pair wrote:
“Thank you to all of you that supported our relationship. It means so much more than you will ever know.”
Evans initially said no to a romance with Echard, but the stars subsequently appeared together on the After the Final Rose special and revealed what had transpired between them.
“I didn’t really think it was gonna happen,” Clayton said at the time of winning over Evans.
“Especially after the way that we ended things. I just held on to hope. But when she gave me that closure, in that moment, I felt that it was the right thing to do.
“And thankfully, she reached back out and I just wanted one conversation at a time we just rebuilt that we could.”
In early April, a woman on TikTok claimed she was intimate with Echard while he was in a relationship with Evans.
He trashed the speculation in response.
“People that make these false accusations should be held accountable,” Clayton fired back this spring.
“Trying to gain clout by ruining a relationship is embarrassing and extremely immature.”He trashed the speculation on Instagram.