Clayton Echard and Gabby Windey have been making headlines for their recent back-and-forth on social media — but what’s really going on?
Let’s rewind back to The Bachelor mansion. Gabby and Clayton met when she vied for his affections on season 26 of the ABC dating series in 2022. After the fantasy suites, Clayton admitted that he loved all three of his finalists — Gabby, Rachel Recchia and Susie Evans — and exposed what happened on his overnight dates with Gabby and Rachel. While Clayton begged both Gabby and Rachel to stay after Susie self-eliminated, he ultimately broke up with both of them and got back together with Susie. (Clayton and Susie split for good later in 2022. Gabby, for her part, went on to be The Bachelorette with co-lead Rachel. After revealing she was dating a woman in 2023, Gabby married wife Robby Hoffman earlier this year.)
Years later, Gabby reignited her feud with Clayton when she name-dropped her ex during an April 2025 podcast appearance — calling out his looks and saying his dance moves will make you “wish you didn’t have eyes.” In response, Clayton claimed she was “bullying” him. Gabby, for her part, clapped back and said his remarks were “rich coming from a man who exploited my sexual life on TV without me knowing.” While doubling-down on his comments in another reaction video, Clayton shared alleged DM messages between himself and Gabby.
Keep scrolling to break down their current feud:
Reigniting the Feud
Gabby called Clayton a “toe looking ass” while appearing on the “Las Culturistas” podcast in April 2025. “Have you seen his dancing videos? Oh, my God. They will make you run,” she said. “I’m going to send you one and you’ll wish you didn’t have eyes.”
Clayton Claims Gabby Is ‘Bullying’ Him
In response to her comments about him, Clayton said that Gabby was “bullying” him. “There’s no other way around it,” Clayton shared in an April 2025 Instagram video. “You’re attacking me for my physical appearance, you’re attacking me for a passion that I love that’s changed my life. It’s unnecessary and it’s not funny.”
He added: “You have such a large platform and you’re setting a really bad example, which is just disheartening. I don’t want people to be scared to try something new because [of] bullying online, like what you’re doing. Do better, Gabby.”
Gabby Claps Back at Clayton For ‘Bullying’ Claims
Gabby fired back at Clayton’s video, saying in her own April 2025 TikTok, “Oh, that’s rich. It’s rich coming from a man who exploited my sexual life on TV without me knowing.”
“You were intimate with ‘the both of us’ you said on national TV in front of millions without having a conversation with me or another woman first,” she continued. “So, you humiliated us in front of each other and in front of everybody watching the TV show. Sure, people can infer but nothing has been said so explicitly [until your season], and those kinds of details should come from a woman. Oh, I’m a mean girl? As a straight, white man, maybe you should do better with your power.”
Gabby Stuns in Dress Meant for Clayton Proposal — and He Responds!
Clayton Calls Gabby’s Response ‘Disappointing’ — And Shares Alleged DMs
Clayton issued another response to Gabby’s TikTok, sharing that it’s “disappointing to see that this is the route you’re choosing to go.”
“Essentially saying it’s justified to make fun of someone’s physical appearance, to attack a passion of theirs that’s changed their life if they hurt you in the past. So you’re teaching your audience to be vengeful, to not forgive. And I don’t agree with that,” he said via Instagram in April 2025. “You have every right to be upset with me and what I did in the show. I’ve done everything in my power to apologize. I’ve taken accountability time and time again. I’ve reached out multiple times and extended the olive branch and you want nothing to do with me.”
Clayton went on to share alleged DM messages between him and Gabby, in which he apologized for his actions on The Bachelor and asked to have a conversation. Gabby, for her part, allegedly responded and said she had a “busy week up ahead.”
“Gabby, you don’t ever have to forgive me if you don’t want to. But, continually bringing me [up] three and half years later is unnecessary. I’ve been doing my own thing, I’ve been dealing with my own drama for the last few years. False accusations after false accusations. And then you’re just doing a pile on effect, OK?” he said. “I think I have every right to be upset with what you said because imagine if the roles were reversed. Imagine if I made fun of your physical looks, imagine if I made fun of your passions. There would be an uprise online, as there should be and that’s why this is happening. It’s not OK, Gabby, that you can just attack me, OK? It’s bullying. I wish we could’ve done this in private.”
Biggest Feuds in ‘Bachelor’ History
Clayton claimed that he didn’t want to “air your business out” on TV — but said Gabby should “know” as a Bachelor franchise lead how that situation works.
“Stop with this nonsense. You know I couldn’t have an off-camera conversation. You know that I can’t just orchestrate that as a lead,” he said, claiming he “begged” the show to talk with the women off camera. “At the end of the day, you’re not going to agree with what I did, that’s fine. But that doesn’t give you the right — because of what I did three and a half years ago for you to attack my physical appearance and what I’m doing today. It’s wrong Gabby. Do better.
He captioned his Instagram post, “In response to Gabby’s TikTok….Attacking someone’s looks and their hobbies is never ok, especially years later after they’ve taken accountability & apologized multiple times for their actions. But if you want to continue to be vengeful, you will. Just know that I won’t stand for it anymore.
Why Clayton Spoke Out
Clayton called himself a “punching bag” after experiencing multiple scandals following his time as the Bachelor — which is why he decided to hit back at Gabby.
“I wasn’t punching back,” he said during an April 2025 episode of the “Almost Famous” podcast. “I think all this time, I just basically took it and then sat here and didn’t do anything about it. I recently came to a place where I said, I’m not going to just take this …. I’m going to stand up for myself.”
