The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - The Real Story with Clayton Echard and Susie Evans

Episode Date: March 16, 2022

Ashley sits down with the couple in the middle of the wildest Bachelor finale of all time! Clayton and Susie join Ashley to clear up all of our questions. Find out straight from Clayton WHY he broke ...up with Rachel and Gabby in a group instead of one on one. Hear the story of what was going through Susie’s mind when she made the decision to reach out to Clayton. And we get a look at how Clayton and Susie envision their futures together!   Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 This is an I-Heart podcast. My boyfriend's professor is way too friendly, and now I'm seriously suspicious. Wait a minute, Sam. Maybe her boyfriend's just looking for extra credit. Well, Dakota, luckily, it's back to school week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon. This person writes, my boyfriend's been hanging out with his young professor a lot. He doesn't think it's a problem, but I don't trust her. Now he's insisting we get to know each other, but I just want her gone.
Starting point is 00:00:25 Now, hold up. Isn't that against school policy? That seems inappropriate. Maybe find out how it ends by listening to the OK Storytime podcast and the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, my name is Enya Umanzor. And I'm Drew Phillips. And we run a podcast called Emergency Intercom. If you're a crime junkie and you love crimes, we're not the podcast for you.
Starting point is 00:00:50 But if you have unmedicated ADHD... Oh my God, perfect. And want to hear people with mental illness, psychobabble. Yes, yes. Then Emergency Intercom is the podcast for you. Open your free IHeartRadio app. Search Emergency Intercom and listen now. Hi, it's Honey German and I'm back with season two of my podcast.
Starting point is 00:01:10 Graziez, come again. We got you when it comes to the latest in music and entertainment with interviews with some of your favorite Latin artists and celebrities. You didn't have to audition? No, I didn't audition. I haven't auditioned in like over 25 years. Oh, wow. That's a real G-talk right there.
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Starting point is 00:01:52 Am I ready to enter this new part of my life? Like, am I ready to be in a relationship? Am I ready to have kids and to really just devote myself and my time? time join me for conversations about healing and growth all from one of my favorite spaces the kitchen listen to the new season of the overcombered podcast on the iHeart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast every case that is a cold case that has dna right now in a backlog will be identified in our lifetime on the new podcast america's crime lab every case has a story to tell and the dna holds the truth he never thought he was going to get caught and I just looked at my computer screen. I was just like, ah, gotcha. This technology's already solving so many cases.
Starting point is 00:02:39 Listen to America's Crime Lab on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcast with IHartRadio. Guys, fourth, almost famous podcast this week. And it is like the finale of them all. And it's big because Clayton and Susie are. both here. Welcome back to the pod, Clayton. We appreciate you coming back after last week's difficult interview. And Susie, thanks for being here. You're so cute. I love you. Oh, thank you. All right. Well, let's start out with some a little more to the tough questions.
Starting point is 00:03:21 How rough was last week for your relationship? Last, last night. Last week. Or less week. When you had to watch. that episode back. Yeah. Well, it's been tough for both of us emotionally. It's a really heavy two episodes this week and even the week before it was heavy. So it's, yeah, it's been tough. I think individually, but we've said this so many times. I can't imagine not having Clayton through this. And I think vice versa, we're just glad that we found ways to support each other even when it was hard. When you watched that scene back last week,
Starting point is 00:04:01 did you at all, like, feel differently about the verbiage that was used, the tone that you guys used with each other? Or was it kind of how you remembered it? And it was something that you'd already gotten over. Well, I don't know that I would say this is going to sound like a silly example. I told it to you, though, when I was a little kid, my mom hammered a nail into a piece of wood and then pulled it out. And she said, you know, when you use words that hurt people, you do damage.
Starting point is 00:04:30 And you can pull the harsh words back. You can say you're sorry, but like the pain is still there. You can see the hole in the woods still. And like, I told that example to Clayton because I was like, that's something that it still rings true to me. And I was like, even though we got through that night. And honestly, context is everything. And I didn't have context until after the show for a lot of that. And so, you know, I see, I certainly see his perspective in a lot of ways from that night.
Starting point is 00:05:01 And I even understand why that switch flipped and everything. But, yeah, I mean, it's, yeah, it's like an old wound. It hurt. Like, it hurt when it happened. And to watch it back, it was incredibly sad. And not just for myself, but, like, I could see, like, on Clayton's face, a devastation when he realized he was losing me. It was just a really, it was a sad episode. but the good news is that we are four months past today and as tough as this week has been
Starting point is 00:05:31 to rewatch the episodes, we have had a really good time and we have had moments of joy in between like the tough stuff. Clayton, how was it watching Susie break up with you on TV this week? You know, I again, like I lived it real time four months ago. So to watch it back, it's weird. It does certainly bring back some emotion, but again, I think I'm someone who, once I go through it, we've had so much time. We've talked it through.
Starting point is 00:06:05 We really did relive those moments already so many times. We've talked about it more than, well, we talked about as much as we needed to. And so I already knew, and we talked about it, it's countless times. So to see it again, it brought back a little bit of emotion. but again, I just looked at the full picture, the end result, which I said, you know, okay, this is top to see, but we're together. So I don't want this to impact us in a way that's negative. That hurts our relationship in this moment. Some bachelor couples haven't watched their season back because they thought it was healthier to do that.
Starting point is 00:06:42 Do you guys think it was better for you to watch it back? Yes and no. I've said that at times it was better for me to be distracted and I would be watching with my girlfriends and everyone's kind of talking out loud. And I don't go back and rewatch those episodes by myself because I'm like, I don't need to, yeah, I don't necessarily need to hear everything and overanalyze everything. So aspects of it are good to just like, yeah, I've had a fun. I've made light and, you know, enjoyed watching it when I can. But I've tried not to harp on it too much because it is an interpretation of what happened because you know you can't fit everything into two hours
Starting point is 00:07:23 so it's the highlights you know what about for you i guess i mean i again was just i wanted to know whatever it took is she's like i don't want to watch i don't want to talk about it then we won't i did obviously think when we both talked it all the way through so as far as watching it it's like she already knew it was coming yeah um and at that point it's like hey do you want to watch this together or do you not? And when we were together, we would watch it. And I think it just fostered more conversation. It answered more questions that maybe we hadn't talked about. And it led to a greater understanding of who we were then and where we can go going forward as a couple, just learning more about each other. So there was, I think we tried to find the positives as much
Starting point is 00:08:08 as we could throughout it all. And watching it back certainly shed more light on maybe some of the things that we hadn't discussed. Susie, I've got to know two hurdles that everybody's asking how you got over them. First, how did you get over him saying, I love you, to multiple women and sleeping with the other women when you said that was basically a deal breaker? And then secondly, how did you get over, how did you get from, I guess, saying, like, you're not my person to him being your boyfriend? Yeah. Well, it's, it's tricky because you can never know what's going on inside someone's head. Clayton
Starting point is 00:08:51 didn't know that night when we were speaking and I was like, I hear you, I understand you. I really did. And I was like, my mind was kind of blown because if there's one thing I know to be true, it's that Clayton is an honest man. And I knew, like, he was telling me the complete truth that night that he did have love for these women. And at the time, he really did believe that he was in love with all three. of us. And in that, like that night, I kind of came to this realization of like, this was not necessarily a disregard for my love. This was like in regard for his love with them. And I've shared this a couple of times, but post show, Clayton and I have sat down with our journals. And we have just literally read from the pages to each other what was going through our minds, where we were at, where our hearts were at. And although Clayton did say that night, I love you the most. In my mind, I'm like, if you love me the most,
Starting point is 00:09:47 then how could you jeopardize this? But he, I mean, in his journal and is true to his experience, he hadn't made his mind up. I think there's a difference between feeling and love and then compatibility. You know, it's not just about a feeling. It's about action. It's about a choice.
Starting point is 00:10:04 And I think a lot of people know that, you know, in fantasy suites, like this isn't the first time that a bachelor has told people, that he's loved them or become intimate with them. And for me, I did feel like it was a deal breaker because I didn't believe Clayton could be in love with me and somebody else. I couldn't wrap my hat around it. So going, you know, yeah, in Iceland, I had to break things off at the end.
Starting point is 00:10:32 I just, it was what was best for me. And I did feel a little selfish in the moment. But now looking back, like I have no regrets. as I stand by that decision, we did have to take time apart. And we also had to heal from what happened. There was a lot of pain that happened in Iceland, not just with us, but with Gabby and Rachel. And you did have serious relationships with them.
Starting point is 00:10:55 And you did have an emotional attachment to these women while you were in Iceland. And we did. We took a step back. And I think that's why I've gotten, you know, we're here today. He's my boyfriend. I'm his girlfriend because we didn't just like, I didn't just accept. up the rose and say, okay, like, I'm going to, I'm going to see, like, and then feel this pressure from the world, from myself, from everybody to stick with them through the end.
Starting point is 00:11:20 Like, we were at the show last night together because we wanted to be. So, um, I just had to do what was best for me. And I think that led me back to Clayton. My boyfriend's professor is way too friendly. And now I'm seriously suspicious. Oh, wait a minute. Sam. maybe her boyfriend's just looking for extra credit.
Starting point is 00:11:42 Well, Dakota, it's back to school week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon. This person writes, my boyfriend has been hanging out with his young professor a lot. He doesn't think it's a problem, but I don't trust her. Now, he's insisting we get to know each other, but I just want her gone. Now, hold up. Isn't that against school policy? That sounds totally inappropriate. Well, according to this person, this is her boyfriend's former professor and they're the same age.
Starting point is 00:12:05 And it's even more likely that they're cheating. He insists there's nothing between them. I mean, do you believe him? Well, he's certainly trying to get this person to believe him because he now wants them both to meet. So, do we find out if this person's boyfriend really cheated with his professor or not? To hear the explosive finale, listen to the OK Storytime podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hi, my name is Enya Umanzor. And I'm Drew Phillips.
Starting point is 00:12:29 And we run a podcast called Emergency Intercom. If you're a crime junkie and you love crimes, we're not the podcast for you. But if you have unmedicated ADHD... Oh my God, perfect. And want to hear people with mental illness, psychobabble. Yes, yes. Then Emergency Intercom is the podcast for you. Open your free IHeartRadio app.
Starting point is 00:12:52 Search Emergency Intercom and listen now. Imagine that you're on an airplane and all of a sudden you hear this. Attention passengers. The pilot is having an emergency and we need someone, anyone to land this plane. Think you could do it? It turns out that nearly 50% of men think that they could land the plane with the help of air traffic control. And they're saying like, okay, pull this, until this. It's just, pull that, turn this. I'm Mani. I'm Noah. This is Devin.
Starting point is 00:13:23 And on our new show, no such thing, we get to the bottom of questions like these. Join us as we talk to the leading expert on overconfidence. Those who lack expertise lack the expertise they need to recognize that they lack expertise. And then, as we try the whole thing out for real. Wait, what? Oh, that's the run right. I'm looking at this thing. Listen to no such thing on the IHeart radio app,
Starting point is 00:13:49 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Super Secret Festi Club podcast season four is here. And we're locked in. That means more juicy cheesement. Terrible love advice. Evil spells to cast on your ex. No, no, no, no. We're not doing that this season.
Starting point is 00:14:07 Oh. Well, this season, we're leveling. up. Each episode will feature a special bestie, and you're not going to want to miss it. Get in here! Today we have a very special guest with us. Our new super secret bestie is The diva of the people.
Starting point is 00:14:21 The diva of the people. I'm just like text your ex. My theory is that if you need to figure out that the stove is hot, go and touch it. Go and figure it out for yourself. Okay. That's us. That's us. My name is Curley. And I'm Maya.
Starting point is 00:14:37 In each episode, we'll talk about love. friendship, heart breaks, men, and, of course, our favorite secrets. Listen to the Super Secret Bestie Club as a part of the Mycultura podcast network available on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Everyone thinks they'd never join a cult. But it happens all the time to people just like you. And people just like us. I'm Lola Blanc and I'm Megan Elizabeth.
Starting point is 00:15:03 We're the hosts of Trust Me, a podcast about cults, manipulation, and the psychology of belief. Each week, we talk to fellow survivors, former believers, and experts to understand why people get pulled in and how they get out. Trust me. New episodes every Wednesday on exactly right. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. When I was trying to, you know, like I was trying to describe my feelings about it last night. And I was like, it would be so hypocritical of me not to understand this because, Jared and I went through the same thing I literally in Bachelor in Paradise was like
Starting point is 00:15:43 so you're telling me there's no chance we're ever going to be together and he said no and for him it was like he had to like cut it off cleanly like he had to kind of give me no hope in order for like it to go forward I don't
Starting point is 00:15:59 I can't really again I'm still struggling to describe why it works best that way but he was like I wasn't going to be half in half out I knew that if we were ever going to date And he always says that So if we were ever going to date
Starting point is 00:16:12 I had to be 100% in. I basically had to know when I made you my girlfriend that I was like going to be down to like do it all. Yeah. So that's where you are. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:16:25 I relate to that. I actually didn't know that about you guys. So that does it. It's refreshing to hear and I think it's really confusing for people when they're like, you said no chance. It was very confusing for him.
Starting point is 00:16:35 Yeah. But I was like, yeah. I mean, and when I did reach out, I didn't have. have the intentions of just restarting a relationship. I was like, let's have one candid conversation. Let's talk. And we rebuilt from there, but it wasn't, yeah, I mean, I had so many questions. You had questions. We had a lot to navigate before we even considered becoming a couple again. So, yeah, I really, I'm actually like, it's so refreshing to hear that from you because I didn't know that.
Starting point is 00:17:07 And yeah, it makes, it makes total sense for me. I had to give him that, like, it's a no. So we can go separate. And if we find our way back to each other, that's great. Yeah. Yeah, I kind of look at it, like I believe, I don't want to call it a tactic, but that thought process, I think, is rooted in respect for that other person. So you do this because you say, I'm going to, like, while I figure this out where I'm at mentally,
Starting point is 00:17:31 I don't want to hold you here waiting in the thick of things. like I want you to be able to move on and then if this and if yeah and like I don't want you to sit here and wait. Yeah. So that's the way I saw it. That's exactly the way that he saw it. It was just so funny. Me saying like, how did she go from saying he's not her person to her boyfriend? And I was like, Ashley, he is, you experience the exact same thing. So you know it's very much possible and it still means that that person can really love and care for the other person. A lot of people are asking Susie, Why didn't you tell him about your wishes, about him not sleeping with anybody in the fantasy suite? And you kind of answered that, I think.
Starting point is 00:18:14 You said, like, you didn't want to give him an ultimatum. Is there anything else that you can elaborate on there? Yeah, I think, well, one of the first seasons I ever watched was Peter's season. And at Maddie, first of all, so much respect for her. Totally. Because she did up front say her expectations. but she did get a lot of, I feel like, hate and criticism. And I remember seeing that and being like,
Starting point is 00:18:40 I think it's great that she was up front about her expectations and her needs. But I also remember like it being such a highly criticized thing. And I actually regret letting that influence that decision, which I've said it before. Like when you're there, things move so fast. There's not like an ideal time because you don't have another date before fantasy suites where it's just you and him. So you figure out that you're going to fantasy suites and then you're in fantasy suites. And then you're the third fantasy suite. And it's like, how do you know when to bring that up? And yeah, and I also, yeah, I think that it was a mixture of everything. I didn't know that I should.
Starting point is 00:19:19 And I thought if Clayton loves me and I want him to know. Like, I want him to know if it's me. And if it's not me, then I'm going to respect that. I'm going to be happy for him. But I couldn't fathom a world where it was me. And he was like, also in love with somebody else or that it even if you didn't know if it was me like yeah undecided i just it was a lot to grasp and it was a lot for you too we were both i think everyone at the end we were all pretty confused like in general it was just so it was just a lot it was heavy yeah you know it's actually really interesting that you say that because this is something that you're saying watching a prior show influenced like your decision making i the big critique that
Starting point is 00:20:00 I took was that this guy didn't watch any shows coming in and my thought was like, well, I don't want to be influenced by something that causes me to react differently. So it's, but had I have watched some things, I'm sure it could have benefited me, but you always, now you can see like you can watch it and it can actually play against you as well. So yeah, it's tough. I mean, there's so much that goes into it, it's such a complex process that you just, again, you're dealing with individuals that they're different from every other season. So at the end of the day, all different personalities, different environments and it's, I mean,
Starting point is 00:20:30 Yeah, I don't, I think you just have to react as you go a lot of times. Mm-hmm. Clayton, there's been a couple conversations that I've had over the past couple days where people are like, he, he, like, had, um, he made some maybe poor decisions, but that's probably because he didn't go through the entire process before. Do you think that it would have benefited you to have gotten further in Michelle's season or even just to have watched previous bachelor seasons? Yeah, well, I kind of just alluded to that.
Starting point is 00:21:02 Yeah, that's why I bring it up now. Yeah, yeah. I don't, I just don't know. I think it's at the end of the day. Had I had had more information, would I have maybe held back in other areas or maybe had said something differently that may have potentially had a negative impact on my experience? Obviously, as we watched this all back now, I've watched it all. I think it's a lot of people saying, this dude literally could do not right.
Starting point is 00:21:27 He just did everything wrong. And I think at the end of the day, I sit here and I tell myself, the reason why I can forgive myself for my actions was because I did everything with the best intentions in mind and really following my heart and doing what I thought was best with no malicious intent. And so I can live at the end of the day with myself knowing that I just did what I thought was best with my intuition and following that. I don't know. At the end of the day, it's like, what if I would have went farther, would have made a difference. I mean, I think, I can say this much. It would have absolutely have made a difference. For better or for worse, I really can't answer that.
Starting point is 00:22:05 I don't know. I definitely feel like if I were to give my own opinion on this, nothing you did seem to come from a state of malice, like you say. I think a lot of it just came from inexperience and just having not gone through a ton of the experience prior. But again, this is just. That's fair. I mean, that's fair. Honestly, yeah, I totally understand that. That's Sam, that viewpoint. Yeah. Yeah. My boyfriend's professor is way too friendly, and now I'm seriously suspicious.
Starting point is 00:22:38 Oh, wait a minute, Sam. Maybe her boyfriend's just looking for extra credit. Well, Dakota, it's back to school week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon. This person writes, my boyfriend has been hanging out with his young professor a lot. He doesn't think it's a problem, but I don't trust her. Now, he's insisting we get to know each other, but I just want her gone. Now, hold her. isn't that against school policy?
Starting point is 00:22:57 That sounds totally inappropriate. Well, according to this person, this is her boyfriend's former professor and they're the same age. And it's even more likely that they're cheating. He insists there's nothing between them. I mean, do you believe him? Well, he's certainly trying to get this person to believe him
Starting point is 00:23:11 because he now wants them both to meet. So, do we find out if this person's boyfriend really cheated with his professor or not? To hear the explosive finale, listen to the OK Storytime podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine that you're on an airplane.
Starting point is 00:23:25 And all of a sudden, you hear this. Attention passengers. The pilot is having an emergency, and we need someone, anyone, to land this plane. Think you could do it? It turns out that nearly 50% of men think that they could land the plane with the help of air traffic control. And they're saying like, okay, pull this, do this, pull that, turn this. It's just, I can do my ice close. I'm Manny.
Starting point is 00:23:50 I'm Noah. This is Devon. And on our new show, no such thing. we get to the bottom of questions like these. Join us as we talk to the leading expert on overconfidence. Those who lack expertise lack the expertise they need to recognize that they lack expertise. And then, as we try the whole thing out for real.
Starting point is 00:24:11 Wait, what? Oh, that's the run right. I'm looking at this thing. Listen to no such thing on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, my name is Enya Yumanzo. And I'm Drew Phillips. And we run a podcast called Emergency Intercom.
Starting point is 00:24:29 If you're a crime junkie and you love crimes, we're not the podcast for you. But if you have unmedicated ADHD... Oh my God, perfect. And want to hear people with mental illness, psychobabble. Yes, yes. Then Emergency Intercom is the podcast for you. Open your free IHeartRadio app. Search Emergency Intercom and listen now.
Starting point is 00:24:52 The Super Secret Bestie Club podcast. Season 4 is here. And we're locked in. That means more juicy cheesement. Terrible love advice. Evil spells to cast on your ex. No, no, no, no. We're not doing that this season.
Starting point is 00:25:05 Oh. Well, this season, we're leveling up. Each episode will feature a special bestie, and you're not going to want to miss it. Get in here. Today we have a very special guest with us. Our new super secret bestie is the divo of the people.
Starting point is 00:25:19 The divo of the people. I'm just like text your ex. My theory is that if you need to figure out that the stove is hot, go and touch it. Go and figure it out for yourself. Okay. That's us. That's us. My name is Curley.
Starting point is 00:25:34 And I'm Maya. In each episode, we'll talk about love, friendship, heartbreaks, men, and, of course, our favorite secrets. Listen to the Super Secret Bestie Club as a part of the My Cultura podcast network available on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Your entire identity has been fabricated. Your beloved brother goes missing without a trace. You discover the depths of your mother's illness the way it has echoed and reverberated throughout your life, impacting your very legacy.
Starting point is 00:26:07 Hi, I'm Danny Shapiro. And these are just a few of the profound and powerful stories I'll be mining on our 12th season of Family Secrets. With over 37 million downloads, We continue to be moved and inspired by our guests and their courageously told stories. I can't wait to share 10 powerful new episodes with you, stories of tangled up identities, concealed truths, and the way in which family secrets almost always need to be told.
Starting point is 00:26:39 I hope you'll join me and my extraordinary guests for this new season of Family Secrets. Listen to Family Secrets Season 12 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Why did you break up with both girls together? And why did you stand up there at that podium and tell them that you, that Susie was gone and that you had slept with both of them and you were in love with both of them at the same time? I think that's the problem that a lot people have is that you did both of those things in like a group setting. Yeah. So obviously I did that twice where I broke up with them, I guess, or sorry, relayed
Starting point is 00:27:25 information to them and then broke up with them together on a separate occasion. I based my second time doing it again as a group based off of the first time the response where like they kind of consoled each other at the, I'll just call it the real ceremony from from how that's that's what I keep seeing. So I simplified. Yeah, right. So I saw them consult each other in that environment and thought, okay, like, then when I break up with the two of them, like, they'll console each other. And this will be a lot easier on those two with as challenging as this is. That was my thought, right? Obviously, I should have done it separate. I agree. I look back and I'm like, I should have probably just pull them both aside separately. As far as why the first
Starting point is 00:28:05 at the Rose ceremony, why I told them that information. Because to me, I look at it, like, no relationship can last if you have, if you don't have full transparency. If you build, the relationship on a better lies or half truths it won't last and here's the thing common sense everything i did was on camera so if i didn't tell them that day and i just went on my merry way and through the through that process let's say that um i hypothetically end up with one of those two um they were going to watch that show you know the season back four months later and i was going to have to answer to all those actions so common sense was like you got to tell them what happened right like it's out there um and i had every intention of obviously being fully transparent
Starting point is 00:28:48 because that's just who i am i am a little bit sometimes maybe too blunt but i think for me i'm like if you tell someone everything um then there's no there's no secrets and and you have you don't have to ever worry about those secrets coming back and potentially ending a relationship and i see a lot of issues with my friends and or people that i know where they hold back on communicating and that ends up actually destroying the relationship. So I just believe in transparency. I really do. No matter how hard it is to say it. Okay. Well, you guys have done a great job answering my hard questions. Let's light it up for a little bit. We'll have a couple more minutes with you guys. How was the reconnection? So Susie, you reached out to him, I'm assuming via DM on
Starting point is 00:29:30 Instagram? Yeah. All right. All right. So Clayton, when you saw her in your inbox, like did your heart drop were you excited were you nervous like I hadn't even really had time to like process it because it was like I guess a day later so I just I remember like I remember what do you mean a day later
Starting point is 00:29:50 from the end from the end of the show wait you reached out to him that fast yeah oh my god you gave it like a day since breaking up with him yeah okay so tell me how everything I should preface I should preface
Starting point is 00:30:05 Like I've been saying this, but like my intentions were not like, okay, let's restart a relationship. But I said, my DM said, if you're open to having one more candid conversation, I would love to have that with you. But I also was like, I'll respect your boundaries if you don't care to have that conversation. But that conversation made the world a difference. Yeah. And I think that's again, she made it very obvious that, hey, listen, I just wanted to check in with you because I care about you as a person after what we just want to. through. And we talked, and I want to say probably about a week or two, and after probably six conversations lasting at least three hours apiece, I said, listen, like, I feel like we should
Starting point is 00:30:48 meet up. And let's just see like what happens. If we spend a weekend together, uh, let's just see, like no expectations whatsoever, but let's just meet up and see if this sparks anything or if this makes us want to pursue this further. Because I did. I actually brought up to her at one point. I said, listen, I go, I really love that, like, you do care about me and that you really are checking in with me. But like this, like, I can't help, but now kind of, I'm starting to regain some hope. Like I said, I'm like, we're just talking candidly, but now I'm starting to kind of feel like, is there something here? So I just kind of addressed it head on. I was like, I want to see, right? And if, and if you, like, can you just give us that chance again? Like, I feel like there's
Starting point is 00:31:28 something here. And so I kind of maybe put a little, you know, put the ball in her court. Obviously, she could say, I don't want to meet up. And then I would have probably just, just been like, all right, well, this is great. We've checked in. But, like, it was tough for me to, like, sit here and go, okay, I don't want to put pressure on this. But, like, for my well-being, like, emotional well-being, I need to kind of understand, like, is there a potential here?
Starting point is 00:31:46 Because if not, I don't know if I can really continue just talking to talk right now. Yeah. Susie, how are you feeling as he was feeling that? I was, to be honest, pretty early on after reconnecting, I felt like I just had so much clarity to everything. like until and nobody will ever know like that's the thing is I'm like until you're in this position like you will not understand everything and like I'm grateful that I had that clarity for us and like even as far as like if we weren't compatible in the end it's like I had we both had enough information
Starting point is 00:32:24 and we both had shared and poured our hearts out enough to like have true closure if that's what that was going to be but um i i did i still felt that love for clayton and i just saw how big his heart truly was and um yeah it's like i didn't stop loving him as a person when we left iceland but i actively made the decision to take steps back for myself i was like this isn't this may not be good for me and i'm going to do my due diligence to figure that out before i commit to anything so yes he was kind of saying that i actually i really really understand where he's coming from because that's where you come to you have that respect for somebody of like if this is going to hurt you like maybe it would be good for me to have that
Starting point is 00:33:12 friendship and that bond but if it's going to hurt him and pain him then I have to respect that boundary and we had that conversation and then later down the road you know we went we did we've we've had a blast getting to know each other and dating well secretly dating but we did have a conversation later where Clayton was kind of like I you know I just kind of need to know like where are you at um like and if you're not if you don't see a future with me then like let me go and when he said that that was such a light bold moment for me because i was still i was like fighting myself i was like i want to be with him but like this was just so such a heavy experience that we both have said at different times like it would be so much easier to cut ties
Starting point is 00:33:56 and go our separate ways because we wouldn't have to fight through like the challenges of a long distance relationship of coming off of such a heavy show and everything we've both acknowledged that it could have been quote unquote easier but when he said that like I was like I can't let you go like I can't see I can't see my life without you at this point like I want you to be a part of my life and so it was that point that I made the active decision of like okay like I'm in this now like we're going to do this and we're going to give it a shot I hate that I have to let you guys go now i have like 40 more minutes of questions just real quick how how did um you finangle him to move to virginia that's my home state as well oh yeah i know yeah you're like northern
Starting point is 00:34:40 virginia right yeah yeah you're virginia beach area right yeah come down for a beach day this summer maybe yes um how did you do that yeah he he was really open-minded to it i kind of we talked about that on the show that he was open to moving he was ready to uproot and go where his heart was going to take him so he's he was easily convinced actually not even convinced he was just down he just offered it himself yeah he was like hey i'll move in i was like hey okay hold on we're happy for you guys after all that you've gone through you deserve to enjoy each other now so uh yeah have a great day once this is all over all the interviews Thank you so much.
Starting point is 00:35:25 Go have some fun date nights out in public without having to hide. We're so ready. Too excited for it. Yeah. All right. You guys, very sweet. Talk to you soon. Thank you so much for being here.
Starting point is 00:35:38 Bye. Bye. Have a good one. Follow the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcast on IHartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. My boyfriend's professor is way too friendly and now I'm seriously suspicious. Wait a minute, Sam. Maybe her boyfriend's just look.
Starting point is 00:35:53 for extra credit. Well, Dakota, luckily, it's back to school week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon. This person writes, my boyfriend's been hanging out with his young professor a lot. He doesn't think it's a problem, but I don't trust her. Now he's insisting we get to know each other, but I just want her gone. Hold up. Isn't that against school policy? That seems inappropriate. Maybe find out how it ends by listening to the OK Storytime podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hi, my name is Enia Umanzor. And I'm Drew Phillips. And we run a podcast called Emergency Intercom. If you're a crime junkie and you love
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