Clayton Echard. Bachelor Nation/YouTube
Clayton Echard’s paternity test results have confirmed that he is not the father of the twin babies that his ex is expecting.
“Listen, it’s Friday and you know what we need on a Friday? We need some good news and who has got the good news today? I got the good news today,” Echard, 30, said via an Instagram video on Friday, October 6. “The test results came back early and they said little to no fetal DNA present. Let’s go baby! I knew that was going to happen and thankfully five months of torture can finally be put to rest.”
He continued: “Two false accusations in two years — I really don’t want to look ahead to next year to see what will happen. I think two false accusations in a lifetime is enough. … This has been a trying time but I learned so much about myself and now back to the regularly scheduled program.” (In addition to the paternity drama, Echard is referring to false claims he cheated on then-girlfriend Susie Evans in 2022.)
While Echard claimed that he isn’t the father, the anonymous 33-year-old woman told Us Weekly in a statement on Friday that the former reality star is “lying” about the results.
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“I just heard from the lab. Here is the relevant part of the [phone] call. Regardless of what Clayton says, the test is not inconclusive. The ‘testing is ongoing’ because they said that there was an issue with my sample and that they need another sample from me, which I am giving first thing on Wednesday,” she claimed to Us. “They have to send a testing kit from Maryland to Arizona, so that’s why there is a delay and why I can’t get it done on Monday.”
The woman also claims that an employee named Brett at Ravgen, a biotechnology company focused on prenatal diagnostic testing, whom she spoke with is “not saying [the test is] inconclusive, it’s just ongoing” and they need “another sample to finish it up.”
“Brett said that Clayton has been told specifically that even if it were to come back ‘inconclusive’ after this, it definitely does not mean I’m not pregnant and agrees he has misled his followers by saying that,’ she concluded.
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Earlier this month, news broke that an anonymous woman filed court documents claiming that Echard got her pregnant during a one-night stand. However, the former Bachelor alleged in a statement to the outlet, “We did not have sexual intercourse.”
Despite Echard’s denial, the woman demanded that he take a paternity test before her twins are born in February 2024. She claimed in the August 1 filing that she “engaged in sexual activity” with Echard on May 20 and “hadn’t been with anyone since March of 2022,” meaning he had to be the father of the twins. She further alleged that she took two at-home pregnancy tests before receiving confirmation at an urgent care facility on June 1 that she is expecting two babies.
Echard allegedly did not believe the woman was pregnant, even after she sent a copy of her test results to him in June. Later that month, she claimed that he asked her to come over and take a test so he could see whether she was being honest. The following day, he allegedly sent her a message that read, “I wanted you to come over to confirm what I was doubting. And you did confirm that. So, I don’t see you as a liar anymore.”
While the woman claimed that Echard initially agreed to take a paternity test in August, she said that he “refused” to follow through after she placed a $725 deposit. Echard, for his part, alleged that he was the one who had been asking for a paternity test, telling The Sun that he was “not giving” the expectant mother’s claims “the time of day because it’s baseless.” He ultimately agreed to submit to the test on September 26.
Echard alleged in the court documents that the case was “groundless and lacking in merit.” Therefore, he requested to be awarded attorney fees. He also insisted again that he and the unnamed woman “never had sexual intercourse.” A court date for an early resolution conference was set for September 28.
Bachelor Nation met Echard when he vied for Michelle Young’s affection on season 18 of The Bachelorette in 2021. The following year, he served as the Bachelor for season 26. AfterEvans rejected his final rose during the finale, which aired in March 2022, the two reconciled following filming, but they confirmed their split in September 2022. Five months later, Echard revealed that the pair’s mental health struggles from the fallout of the show led to their breakup.
“I didn’t want to get out of bed certain days. My days would start at 11:00 a.m. because I just didn’t want to get out and do stuff because I had no drive to live life,” he exclusively told Us Weekly in February. “I remember just kind of looking at each other and thinking like, ‘We have to heal separately because we can’t take this any longer. I’m so destroyed. There’s nothing left. I have zero energy to fight this battle any longer.’ It was just a really sad place to be.”
