Clayton Echard shared his side of the story with his paternity lawsuit drama and even met other individuals who went through the same scenario.
“She was very flirtatious and she had sent me a provocative photo,” Echard, 32, said during a Thursday, October 30, interview with Inside Edition.
Echard encountered Laura Owens following his appearance on The Bachelor, which aired in 2022. Echard and Owens connected over real estate. Owens reached out to him because she was interested in buying a house he was selling. The pair ended up having a brief fling, which Echard regretted immediately.
“I told her that ‘Hey, last night was a mistake. I shouldn’t have crossed that professional boundary,’” he claimed to the outlet.
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After calling things off, Echard received an email from Owens, “11 days” later, claiming that she was pregnant with his baby and sent him a series of ultrasound photos. Echard claimed that he and Owens were never intimate, and he was adamant that the baby was not his. Owens filed a paternity lawsuit against Echard, and he responded by asking for a paternity test. Owens complied five months later.
In 2023, Echard’s drama with Owens made headlines. Two men reached out to Echard, alleging that Owens claimed she was pregnant with their babies as well.
“She’s still probably looking for her next victim,” he said.
Michael Mariachi was one of the men who reached out to Echard after going through the same experience. His lawyer, Rachel Juarez, spoke to Inside Edition during the Thursday episode about her client’s experience.
“It seems like this is really a pattern of fraud that is going on,” Juarez said. “There are a number of men that she has alleged to have gotten her pregnant and there’s never been a baby that comes out of any of these pregnancies.”
“She wasn’t pregnant at all,” Echard told Inside Edition on Thursday.
Echard and Owens went to court in June 2024. While on the stand, Owens claimed she suffered a miscarriage. The court ruled in favor of Echard. A judge ruled that Owens “knowingly presented a false claim.”
The court also recommended that Owens be investigated further after Echard claimed to be in contact with other victims.
“It is further ordered, the Court having determined that Laura Owens has a pattern of similar, if not identical behavior, and court involvement, referring this matter to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office for review of Laura Owens’ actions,” the ruling read.
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Echard’s lawyer, Gregg Woodnick, also celebrated the ruling in a statement to Us Weekly at the time.
“We are pleased with the outcome and Judge Mata’s thorough ruling,” he said on Tuesday. “We hope this is the end of a long saga for all the victims.”
Following the court battle, law enforcement raided Owens’ house. Police arrived at her home with a search warrant for a criminal case that accused her of committing fraud and perjury in a lawsuit against Echard. Owens is facing seven felony charges and has pleaded not guilty.
