Clayton Echard Had “No Clue” Rachel Recchia Was Doing Perfect Match
Here’s his *honest* reaction.
Running into your ex at the grocery store or a friend’s party is already awkward enough, so imagine how much more uncomfortable it would be to see them walk into the same dating show you’re on. Clayton Echard doesn’t have to imagine that scenario — he lived it. On Season 3 of Netflix’s Perfect Match, the former Bachelor was forced to confront the woman he had very nearly proposed to a couple of years prior. And yes, his shock at seeing Rachel Recchia again was genuine.
Spoiler alert: This post discusses details from the first five episodes of Perfect Match Season 3.
It didn’t take long for the latest season of Netflix’s reality-TV-blending dating competition to bring The Bachelor Season 26 stars Clayton and Rachel together again. In the second episode, Rachel was brought into the villa, and she was surprised to see her ex already there. Clayton and Rachel previously dated in 2022, but the relationship ended badly after Clayton told her he slept with another contestant (Gabby Windey), and then chose a previously eliminated woman over her in the finale.
When the exes reunite on Perfect Match, they both emphasize how stunned they are at this twist of fate. But are they just putting on a show for the cameras? Surely they must have been tipped off about this before filming, right?
“No, I genuinely had no clue,” Clayton tells Elite Daily. “I guess I should just know that my exes will pop up anywhere now. It was a surprise, and it was an additional layer of complexity I had to navigate.”
Despite the initial shock, Clayton says he’s glad he got to catch up with Rachel on the show. “She’s a great person. We have good conversations, and I wish the best for her. So it was nice to see her,” Clayton says.
Though the former flames did briefly try to heat things up again, their attempt at rekindling a romance was extinguished before it could even really start, ultimately leading to Clayton exiting the villa on the fifth episode without a match.
“I feel that I had the experience that I was meant to have,” Clayton says of his Perfect Match journey. “It was challenging, but it was exciting because it really tested my character, and I had to stand firm in the decisions that I made, which weren’t always straightforward. But through it all, I felt like I was fully authentic, so I’m really grateful and happy with the experience I had. I wouldn’t have wanted it to go any other way.”
