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From one \u201cboring Bachelor\u201d to another? Clayton Echard<\/strong><\/a> revealed he spoke to Zach Shallcross<\/strong><\/a> as season 27 of The Bachelor<\/em> airs.<\/p>\n \u201cI was the \u2018boring Bachelor\u2019 until I wasn\u2019t in the last three episodes,\u201d Clayton, 29, said on Us Weekly<\/em>\u2019s \u201cHere for the Right Reasons\u201d podcast<\/a>. \u201cI hated the word boring because I had an insecurity of not feeling good enough when I was younger and always being a people-pleaser \u2026 It stung when I was called the \u2018boring Bachelor,\u2019 but what I found out was I would rather be known as the \u2018boring Bachelor\u2019 than known as the piece of you know what or the d-bag Bachelor or [a] terrible human being. I\u2019d rather people just call me boring than start to attack my character.\u201d<\/p>\n The 180 Degrees: On Mental Health, Mindfulness, and Unlocking Self-Belief<\/em> author recalled<\/a> his conversation with Zach, 26.<\/p>\n \u201cI said, \u2018Hey, being the \u2018boring Bachelor,\u2019 it\u2019s not fun, but if you\u2019re confident in who you are, it won\u2019t sting you as much as it did me. You\u2019ll be a lot happier to walk away with a genuine love connection or with just an experience being known as boring than being absolutely thrown [and] fed to the wolves and torn apart and going through this mental struggle of people telling you to kill yourself and all this negativity,\u2019\u201d he explained. \u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018Dude, be boring. You\u2019ll be so grateful to be boring at the end of it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Clayton also agreed that Bachelor Nation can be hard to satisfy.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you took the negative comments from what he\u2019s getting and my negative comments and you mixed them up and then I threw \u2019em out there and said, \u2018Do you think this came toward Zach [or] toward me?\u2019 You wouldn\u2019t be able to tell. They\u2019re literally the exact same thing,\u201d he said. \u201c[And] our stories are exactly the opposite right now, from a TV standpoint, and yet it\u2019s all the same.\u201d<\/p>\n While fans know that Clayton\u2019s season took a dramatic turn when he fell in love with his three finalists<\/a> \u2014 and slept with two of them \u2014 Zach has been quick to send home any \u201cvillains\u201d and declared his season was a drama-free, \u201cno bulls\u2014t\u201d edition of the show that ends in a \u201creal\u201d love story<\/a>. Clayton told Us<\/em> that there\u2019s a lot of reasons someone can be deemed a \u201cboring\u201d lead.<\/p>\n \u201cThere have been leads in the past that were super calculated, [who] know all the ins and outs and they played that game of, \u2018How can I best put myself out there where I can look my best? I\u2019ll do whatever it takes.\u2019 And that calculation can be turned into boring. It can be boring, or it\u2019s just read by an audience where they\u2019re like, \u2018This isn\u2019t authentic,\u2019\u201d Clayton told Us<\/em>, adding that some former leads have been accused of \u201cworking\u201d with producers. \u201cThey were super calculated and as time goes, [fans are] like, \u2018What we saw on TV versus who you are different people.\u2019 \u2026 After my season, I talked to more than a few men that had come off [the show] and they were like, \u2018I don\u2019t want anything to do with that because after what you went through, I don\u2019t wanna subject myself to that.\u2019 \u2026 I think this is a very safe season right now with Zach. He\u2019s doing it very well. But you see what happens when they\u2019re not reckless \u2014 I mean, I wasn\u2019t purposely reckless \u2014 but when you\u2019re playing it safe, it doesn\u2019t translate to entertaining often.\u201d<\/p>\n Clayton added that \u201ceverybody thinks drama\u201d when they think of The Bachelor<\/em>, despite some fans insisting on wanting a love story. He also wouldn\u2019t be surprised if people started turning down the gig more and more.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t really think anyone really thinks of a love story, honestly. I mean, there are some that come out of it. \u2026 But most times when people think of The Bachelor<\/em>, they think, \u2018Good looking people that are dramatic.\u2019 And that\u2019s kind of what the show is,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you want that, though, you gotta allow people to make mistakes without basically putting them out on the chopping block and feeding them to the wolves. And that\u2019s where it\u2019s become so nasty online. I think you\u2019re seeing more people that are like, \u2018I don\u2019t really want to be the next lead or whatever because I don\u2019t want to subject myself to this because why would I?\u2019 The influencer age is dying on top of that. \u2026 The risk isn\u2019t worth the reward [anymore]. Why would I get ripped to shreds for a couple brand deals that might pay my bills for a year?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n Clayton Echard and Zach Shallcross<\/span> Shutterstock, Abc<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n