'Embarrassed' Clayton Echard Insists He Wasn't Gaslighting Susie During Dramatic 'Bachelor' Breakup

etonline.com:

Clayton Echard is responding to criticism that he was gaslighting Susie prior to her exit from the Fantasy Suite dates in Iceland, insisting that that characterization doesn't add up, though he does feel «embarrassed.»During an interview that aired Wednesday on Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti's , Clayton took issue with the accusation for several reasons, which ultimately boiled down to the fact that he never had any ill-will feelings behind the way it all played out.«It's tough because I've seen what everyone's saying and they're using some pretty descriptive terms, some pretty heavy-hitting terms that I couldn't disagree with more,» he said. «I don't agree that I was gaslighting because I looked that up, and it said gaslighting, the definition is to try and convince someone of a different reality than what is actually the true reality of the situation.»«Gaslighting,» he continued. «in my eyes is something where it's you have bad intentions, you're trying to manipulate somebody, and I was not at all trying to do that.»As Bachelor Nation knows by now, Clayton said «I love you» to all three women during Tuesday's episode, but things really reached a boiling point when Clayton confessed to the 28-year-old wedding videographer that he had slept with the other two contestants, Rachel and Gabby.

That — coupled with Clayton having strong feelings for two other women — turned out to a be a deal breaker for Susie and she couldn't get past it, despite Clayton saying Susie encouraged him to explore other relationships.