Clayton Echard is sharing receipts amid his ongoing alleged paternity scandal.
“This is the timeline. The truth will always set you free,” the former Bachelor, 30, wrote via Instagram Story on Thursday, September 21, alongside a screenshot of an email receipt from a DNA testing company. His post comes after his ex alleged he wasn’t cooperating with setting up a test.
According to Echard’s email, he received a receipt for the $725 paternity test earlier on Thursday.
“I will take my portion of the test on the 27th of September,” he wrote in an email to the Maryland-based lab, noting his alleged ex will “take her portion” on October 2. “Results will then take about a week to get back. I believe we’re all on the same page,” he concluded.
Echard was named in a lawsuit in August by an unnamed woman, who opted to remain anonymous, claiming that he got her pregnant following a one-night stand. The 33-year-old has requested that Echard take a paternity test before her unborn twins arrive in February.
Echard told The Sun in a Monday, September 18, statement that he did not have “sexual intercourse” with the woman, denying her claims.
In the court documents, the unidentified woman claimed that Echard did not believe she was pregnant when she informed him of the news in June. He allegedly later texted her, “I wanted you to come over to confirm what I was doubting. And you did confirm that. So, I don’t see you as a liar anymore.”
The woman further alleged that while Echard initially agreed to take a paternity test, he “refused” to go through with it after she paid a $725 deposit. The former football player told The Sun on Monday that he was the one to request the paternity test before calling her claims “baseless” and “lacking in merit.”
Immediately following the test, both parties are set to appear in court on September 28 for an early resolution conference.
Echard rose to fame as one of Michelle Young’s suitors on The Bachelorette season 18. He was then cast as the season 26 lead of The Bachelor, where he ended the show dating finalist Susie Evans. (Evans, 30, left the show ahead of the finale and the pair reconciled after filming wrapped.)
Echard and Evans ultimately split in September 2022. “We just wanted to ultimately be there for each other and be supportive,” he exclusively told Us Weekly in February. “And that’s why we’ve been very adamant about letting people know that like, ‘Hey, I’ve got nothing but love for her.’ We both know that we could have done things differently, but ultimately, the outcome was the outcome.”
