The 26th season of The Bachelor made waves, and not all for the right reasons. Initially, viewers were shocked that Clayton Echard was cast as the lead, and then the season started and things got even messier. After quite the hectic season full of double breakups and rejected roses, Clayton’s season of The Bachelor proved to be a unique one.
If we got one thing from that season, it was being introduced to the first double Bachelorettes in all of Bachelor history. By this point, we all know that Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey were named co-Bacheorettes for the 19th season that also proved to be pretty interesting. If you don’t remember, Rachel and Clayton had quite the intense relationship during The Bachelor, and now that the two are both single, rumors of a rekindling are swarming the internet. Seemingly for good reasons, too, as they’re posting together on social media again! Shocking, I know.
If you did forget about their romantic history, I’m here to remind you of it. Let’s take a look at Rachel Recchia and Clayton Echard’s relationship timeline thus far.
Jan. 3, 2022: Rachel makes an impression during her limo entrance.
Rachel’s first meeting with Clayton proved to be a pretty memorable moment for the couple. At first, an elderly woman stepped out of the limo and walked up to Clayton, seemingly confusing him. Nonetheless, the moment was hilarious, and out stepped Rachel, taking her spot in front of Clayton to introduce herself. The pair hit it off, but Rachel did not receive Clayton’s first impression rose.
Jan. 31, 2022: Rachel and Clayton go on their first one on one.
After just a few short weeks, Rachel received one of the first one on one dates with Clayton, something I saw coming from a mile away. For the first time since COVID-19 impacted filming regulations, the cast headed to Houston, Texas, where Rachel and Clayton had a homestyle BBQ date. The two were clearly into each other, and Rachel ended up telling Clayton more about her past relationships and how she needs a partner that can support all of her dreams (hello, she’s a pilot). Rachel ended up getting a rose from this date, and the pair continued on.
Feb. 7 – Feb. 14, 2022: Rachel receives back-to-back group date roses.
Everyone knows that one on one dates carry great weight in The Bachelor universe. However, group date roses are just as important. After Rachel went on her solo date with Clayton, she ended up getting back-to-back group date roses. Yeah, that means for two group dates in a row, Clayton felt a strong enough connection with Rachel to secure her return for the next week. If that doesn’t show you how into each other these two were, I’m not sure what will.
Feb. 21, 2022: The women confront Clayton about another cast member.
Oftentimes, it’s hard to get all of the women cast in a season to agree on circulating drama. However, after fellow contestant Sarah went on her second one on one date with Clayton, the women started to have speculations about her intentions. Alas, on a group date in Vienna, Austria, the women (including Rachel) voiced their concerns to Clayton, which ended up getting Sarah sent home.
The week proved to be a turning point in the season as hometowns were the next week. Rachel ended up being offered a rose, taking Clayton to Orlando, Florida.
Feb. 28, 2022: Clayton travels to Rachel’s hometown.
While Rachel is actually from Chicago, she revealed that she moved to Orlando when she was a teenager, so that’s where her hometown date took place. Rachel and Clayton had fun exploring Orlando before she took him home to meet her family. The most important (and difficult) person to impress was Rachel’s dad. However, Clayton ended up winning him over, with her father giving him his blessing if the Bachelor would end up proposing to Rachel. After all the hometown dates concluded, Rachel received a rose, meaning that she was heading into the fantasy suites.
March 8, 2022: Rachel gets the first fantasy suite and they declare they’re “in love.”
Sigh, this is where Rachel and Clayton’s love story takes a turn for the worst. Rachel, excitedly, received the first fantasy suite date with Clayton, in which the two become intimate and end up telling each other they loved each other. The moment where the two declared their love for each other was incredibly sweet, but we saw it repeated when Gabby went into her fantasy suite with Clayton as well.
That’s right: Clayton was intimate with both Rachel and Gabby, telling them he loved both of them, and by the time he got to his fantasy suite with Susie Evans, he suddenly realized he wanted to be with Susie instead. With both Rachel and Gabby not knowing this information quite yet, and Susie seemingly going home after telling Clayton she didn’t want to be with him if he had slept with anyone else, the drama that would ensue was heartbreaking.
March 14, 2022: Clayton reveals he was intimate with and loves both Rachel and Gabby.
At the fantasy suite rose ceremony, Clayton confessed to both Rachel and Gabby that he not only loved both of them, but Susie as well (who was noticeably missing). Rachel and Gabby both took the news pretty bad — cue Rachel’s bottom-of-the-stairs crying moment. Rachel was visibly heartbroken, and it’s a moment fans won’t ever forget.
Alas, Clayton tells both women that he wants to continue on with his journey and have both women meet his family, which is exactly what happens. Because Rachel loved Clayton, she decided to continue on, and had the opportunity to meet Clayton’s family.
March 15, 2022: Clayton pulls a double breakup on Rachel and Gabby.
As if it wasn’t bad enough that Clayton revealed to Rachel and Gabby at the same time that he loved and was intimate with both of them, he decided to dig the knife in deeper with a double breakup. Yep: After having both women meet his family, Clayton realized that Susie was the woman for him. He brought both women together and let them know that he couldn’t see himself continuing on with either of them.
Rachel and Gabby were not here for a double breakup, so the two both individually spoke to Clayton after learning the news that he was dumping both of them. In their intense conversation, Rachel was clearly shocked and crying over the entire situation.
Amidst their intense breakup, Rachel told Clayton, “When you put me in this car today, I’m not going to just stop loving you. I promise you that when you look back at this, this is going to haunt you, the fact that you let me go.” The knife was dug even deeper into everyone’s hearts when Clayton walked Rachel out to the car and she said, “You’re gonna put me in this car right now?” Cue the waterworks.
March 15, 2022: Rachel confronts Clayton at After The Final Rose.
Seeing each other for the first time after their breakup, it was clear that Rachel was going to hold Clayton accountable for his actions throughout the season. The standout moment was when Rachel looked at Clayton and asked him, “Did you tell me that you were in love with me because you wanted to sleep with me?” Clayton told Rachel this was not the case and that he did feel feelings of love for her at the time, to which she said, “I just don’t believe you.”
March to Sept. 2022: Rachel goes on her Bachelorette journey.
The same night as the After The Final Rose show, Rachel was named co-Bachelorette with Gabby. They went through a double breakup, so why not let them be double Bachelorettes, right?
We all know that Rachel ended up getting engaged to Tino, but that relationship quickly ended once he cheated on her. With Rachel single, what’s next for the former Bachelorette? Hold onto your seats, because it might shock you.
Feb. 1, 2023: Rachel and Clayton hang out again for the first time since the show.
Oh yes, I know you know exactly what I’m talking about: On Feb. 1, both Clayton and Rachel took to social media to show off that they were hanging out together. OK, to be more precise, they were hanging out with other notable Bachelor franchise alums, but still, this reunion has caused a frenzy online!
Clayton, now single after his breakup with Susie in September 2022, posted an Instagram story where he said he was “hanging out with friends” — with Rachel noticeably tagged and visible in the short video. However, the real speculation of a possible reconciliation between the two sparked when Rachel posted a TikTok video with former Bachelorette Michelle Young.
In the video, Michelle lip syncs an audio that says, “Are you gonna tell me what’s going on?” to which the video pans out to Rachel and Clayton sitting together. Rachel then lip syncs the rest of the audio that says, “I would, but I think explaining it might give us both an aneurysm.” Yes, this has gagged Bachelor Nation, and now everyone’s wondering if the two are going to rekindle their short-lived relationship.
To be honest, I would not be surprised at all if the two gave things another go. Like I’ve mentioned before, I thought these two were definitely going to end up together. However, I really think that Rachel’s living her best single girl life, giving everyone something to talk about in the meantime. Will Rachel and Clayton get back together? I guess we’ll have to wait to find out!