'The Bachelor' alum Clayton Echard defends dumping Rachel Recchia on 'Perfect Match'

The Bachelor alum Clayton Echard has defended his decision to dump Rachel Recchia -- again -- and leave her in tears on Perfect Match's third season.

"I just had to end it," Clayton told People of his short-lived Perfect Match romance with Rachel.

"I never had any intention of hurting her. Unfortunately, in dating shows, there's emotions attached, so it's hard to get out unscathed."

When Rachel and Clayton agreed to match up on Episode 3 of Perfect Match, they already had history.

Going back to The Bachelor's 26th season, Clayton had slept with Rachel and professed his love to her, only to then blindside and dump her in favor of Susie Evans. Because Clayton had publicly humiliated both Rachel and his other finalist, Gabby Windey, the two ladies ended up co-starring on Season 19 of The Bachelorette.

Despite some initial resistance and hesitation on Rachel's part, she accepted Clayton's request to match up for the night on Perfect Match.

But 24 hours later, Clayton changed his mind and reportedly told Rachel, "My intuition was telling me that this is not going to work between us, and I don't want to hurt you. That's why I'm having this conversation as soon as possible... I can't do this."

Clayton explained to People that he's "glad" Netflix showed his conversation with Rachel about needing to follow his intuition.

"I was hoping they were going to," Clayton said. "I don't really think there's a specific answer [as to why I ended things] other than it was a feeling."

Following his night with Rachel, Clayton said he woke up with a bad feeling.

"When I woke up, my heart dropped, and I felt this pit in my stomach and I realized, 'That wasn't the right decision,'" Clayton explained.

"At that point, I gave it the day, made sure that that was the correct feeling and that it didn't go away -- and it didn't. And so at that point I thought, 'This is hard, but it's only going to be worse if I try to drag it and take more time.'"

Clayton therefore noted how he "was very decisive" in choosing to let Rachel go.

On Episode 4 of Perfect Match's third season, Clayton reportedly told Rachel that they needed to talk right away because he didn't want to "drag something out" with her.

As Clayton was about to suggest they should part ways, Rachel interjected, "I can't do this again."

Rachel asked her former The Bachelor lover, "Why would you even put me in this position?"

Rachel subsequently sought comfort from her female co-stars and vented, "He literally did it again. This is the third time he's done this to me. He does not give a sh-t about me."

Clayton -- who was highly criticized and shamed on social media for his decisions on The Bachelor, which aired in 2022 -- said he's well aware he may face more backlash from Bachelor Nation for how he treated Rachel on Perfect Match.

"I think [the reaction] is going to be a split," Clayton predicted.

"I think there's going to be half people that understand, there's going to be a large swathe of people that are going to attack me for it. But truthfully, I did what I thought was best, and I stand by that."

Clayton continued: "So the negativity that comes my way, if that's how people feel, that's fine. But I did what I thought was best. And so I stand by that."

Clayton even said he's "open" to the possibility of appearing on another reality TV dating show in the future.

For Rachel's part, she told People that she's not sure if she ever felt truly comfortable giving Clayton another shot on Perfect Match's third season.

"I was doubting myself the whole time, but I think I never really got a full answer leaving The Bachelor. And there's always been this 'what if?'" Rachel shared.

"Even for the audience, everyone still wonders 'what if?' And I think I knew that no matter what, I was going to get my answer. And I did."

After Clayton dumped Rachel on Perfect Match, he quit the show since he hadn't connected with any of the other women.

Clayton apparently got the closure he needed from his relationship with Rachel, who went on to match with Love Island USA alum Scott van-der-Sluis.

The first six episodes of Perfect Match's third season are now streaming on Netflix. The rest of the episodes will drop weekly through the finale on August 15.