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Clayton Echard is getting candid about being immersed in the world of Bachelor Nation.
Echard, 28, appeared on former Bachelor star Nick Viall‘s podcast, The Viall Files, on Monday, opening about his decision to sign on to become the franchise’s 26th bachelor right after appearing on Michelle Young’s season of The Bachelorette, which aired in the fall last year.
“I think the first three weeks of the show airing, I definitely thought that, because you just don’t know what to expect going into it,” Echard said when Viall, 41, had asked him if he regretted signing on to the show.
Echard also noted that since he filmed The Bachelorette and The Bachelor back-to-back, he didn’t have time to reach out to former contestants to get a feel for how everything could play out.
The former football player also said that he was surprised about all the negativity he’s received from social media users since his season has been on the air, telling Viall, “I thought, ‘This is going to be great. Everyone’s going to come around, start seeing my personality,’ and people weren’t.”
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“It seemed like no matter what they showed, even when they showed my personality, showed me being goofy, people would still say, ‘He has no personality.’ It’s like, what more do you want to see?” he continued.
“To me, I just wasn’t ready for the magnitude of criticism I was going to face,” Echard added, explaining that he’s becoming more numb to all the negative comments he’s been getting. “It doesn’t matter at this point to me, because I’m happy with people I have in my life and that’s ultimately what’s pushing me forward.”
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In December, Viall told PEOPLE that he was “kind of critical about the selection” when it came to Echard being chosen to star in the current season.
“It’s nothing against Clayton, he seemed like a nice enough fellow, but just looking at Michelle’s top four, each of the top four has better storylines, more charisma,” Viall said at the time. “They have out-shined Clayton in every possible way. So I don’t really get the choice.”
Added the Bachelor alum: “I hope Clayton proves us wrong and I’m very much rooting to watch this season and say to myself, which I have in the past, ‘You know what, I didn’t agree with this selection, but they got it right.’ I’m rooting for that to happen, but as it stands right now, I don’t get it.”
While speaking with PEOPLE in January, Echard opened up about his journey to finding his special somebody, admitting that he was “cautiously optimistic” about the process.
“I just promised myself I would be transparent and not hold back. And I followed my heart,” he said. “I promised myself I wouldn’t fall in love with multiple women but I fell in love with three.”
Added Echard: “At that point I accepted it but I realized I was going to have to stop using absolutes. I handled it to the best of my ability. It wasn’t perfect! I learned a lot of lessons. And that’s life.”
