{"id":297121,"date":"2025-08-07T22:53:34","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T22:53:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/07\/clayton-echard-criticizes-perfect-match-edit-with-ex-rachel-recchia\/"},"modified":"2025-08-07T22:53:34","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T22:53:34","slug":"clayton-echard-criticizes-perfect-match-edit-with-ex-rachel-recchia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/07\/clayton-echard-criticizes-perfect-match-edit-with-ex-rachel-recchia\/","title":{"rendered":"Clayton Echard Criticizes ‘Perfect Match’ Edit With Ex Rachel Recchia"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Clayton Echard<\/strong><\/a> claims that there is more to the story regarding his whirlwind Perfect Match <\/i>partnership with ex Rachel Recchia<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI actually really enjoyed it. I journaled throughout the process, and when I left the show, I was super grateful,\u201d Clayton, 32, began on the Thursday, August 7, episode of \u201cThe Viall Files\u201d podcast<\/a>. \u201cUnfortunately, I\u2019m not too happy with the edit. I\u2019m not going to sit here and dodge responsibility, but I just thought it went differently. I thought it could have been portrayed differently.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cWe understand that they only have so much time to use when they air these episodes, so there\u2019s always missing context.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the first day of season 3, Clayton matched with Siesta Key<\/i> alum Juliette Porter<\/strong>. After realizing that they didn\u2019t have a romantic connection, he pursued Rachel<\/a> when she entered the villa. (Rachel, 29, was famously one of Clayton\u2019s finalists on his season of The Bachelor<\/i>. He broke up with her and fellow runner-up Gabby Windey<\/strong> after having sex with both of them because he wasn\u2019t over eliminated contestant Susie Evans<\/strong>.)<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe I\u2019m naive, but I genuinely did not expect her to walk through the door,\u201d he explained to host Nick Viall<\/strong>. \u201cWhen she walked in, it was a rush of emotions. All the feelings that you once had, they come back up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clayton internally realized that so much had \u201cchanged\u201d between him and Rachel, and he wanted to see whether Perfect Match <\/i>season 3 was the \u201cright timing\u201d for the two Bachelor Nation exes. Clayton asked Rachel to pair up that night, only to backtrack the next day, vaguely explaining that his \u201cintuition\u201d kicked in, and he realized they weren\u2019t the right fit after all.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow I got to that point was through the conversations we had [and] my intuition, the things that I\u2019m looking for in life, prior experiences, the conversations her and I had [and] there were things that were said that I said, \u2018Yeah, this isn\u2019t going to work,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cI know what it is I\u2019m looking for, and things have changed. We\u2019ve changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"Rachel-and-Clayton-Perfect_Match_n_S3_E3_00_37_20_17R-1\"<\/div>

\n Rachel Recchia and Clayton Echard on \u2018Perfect Match.\u2019<\/span> Courtesy of Netflix<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Clayton, who alleged that he didn\u2019t kiss or cuddle Rachel at all outside of the group kissing contest, cited their different \u201clifestyles\u201d as a major factor in his decision. (Rachel, for her part, told Nick, 44, in a separate \u201cViall Files\u201d interview that Clayton didn\u2019t make an effort to get to know her during their off-camera time on the show, claiming he only asked about how production styles between Netflix and ABC were different.)<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve taken a pulse on the interaction. I\u2019ve listened to what you\u2019ve had to say, the way you say things, your mindset, where you\u2019re currently at and your lifestyle,\u201d Clayton said. \u201cUltimately, I said, \u2018Look, my vibe and your vibe are not matched.\u2019 Three years later, I wanted to see \u2026 will our vibes match? I\u2019ll say this, the lifestyles that we have wouldn\u2019t match, and that was part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n
\"Clayton<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t
\n Related: <\/span>Clayton Reveals \u2018Powerful\u2019 Reunion With Rachel Included Reconciliation Talk<\/span><\/a>
\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n\t\t\tClayton Echard is still on his healing journey after The Bachelor \u2014 and recently hit an important step, patching things up with Rachel Recchia. The 29-year-old 180 Degrees: On Mental Health, Mindfulness, and Unlocking Self-Belief author got candid on Us Weekly\u2019s \u201cHere for the Right Reasons\u201d podcast about the backlash he faced during season 26 [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Clayton also claimed that there were \u201ca couple other things\u201d that weighed into his decision, which he didn\u2019t feel comfortable disclosing to Nick or Rachel herself.<\/p>\n

\n
\n