Bachelor Nation alum Clayton Echard is sharing his reaction after Laura Owens entered a guilty plea in connection with criminal charges tied to an alleged pregnancy fraud case.
“It’s the first time that we’ve seen Laura take any accountability in this matter,” Echard, 33, said in a TikTok posted Saturday, August 29. He added that when Friday’s hearing wrapped, the moment did not feel the way he expected. “I found myself telling the other guys, the other victims, it was anticlimactic what occurred yesterday,” he said. “I felt numb and emotionless. I couldn’t understand why that was.”
After sitting with those feelings overnight, Echard said he realized the outcome in court was not what determined his recovery. “It’s because my healing was not contingent upon what occurred yesterday. I have already healed,” he explained. The former Bachelor lead went on to say that, despite the pain of the experience, he feels thankful for what it taught him, including resilience, community, presence and perspective. “I would do it 1,000 times over because I’m proud of the man I’ve become through it all,” he said.
Owens, 36, first filed a lawsuit against Echard in August 2023, alleging that she was pregnant with twins. Echard denied having sexual intercourse with Owens during what he described as a one-night encounter. A paternity test later indicated there was “little to no fetal DNA” detected. Owens has maintained that she suffered a miscarriage and has said she had two lab tests supporting her claim that she had been pregnant.
@clayton.echard Echard framed the TikTok as his response to the court proceeding, noting that Owens had agreed to plead guilty to four felony charges.
♬ original sound – Clayton Echard
In 2024, an Arizona judge granted Echard’s request for non-paternity and Owens was subsequently indicted by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office on criminal charges for perjury and fraud, among others. The charges relate to both Owens’ paternity allegations against Echard and against another Scottsdale man in 2021. (Owens originally pleaded not guilty in 2024.)
As part of her plea deal, prosecutors agreed on Friday, August 28, to drop other criminal charges if she pleaded guilty to two counts of fraudulent schemes and artifice, one count of perjury and one count of taking the identity of another, per The Mercury News. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office specified that the identity charge derived from Owens allegedly stealing another woman’s ultrasound image.
“It does not really matter to me what happens to Laura at this point,” Echard said on Saturday.
The case became the subject of popular podcast “Love Trapped,” which investigated accusations that Owens may have used similar legal tactics against other exes. (Owens denied any wrongdoing.)
Clayton Echard is celebrating after his lengthy paternity battle against his accuser Laura Owens came to an end on Tuesday, June 18, with the court siding with the former Bachelor. “Today is a very, very good day, because I woke up to read a very thoughtful opinion from the court and justice is finally being […]
“From the podcast, we’ve seen millions of people — which I never thought it would get to that level of a community — people have come together and fought for justice and we are on that track where we are seeing justice be served,” he said. “In two months, we will see a final end to that [when Owens is sentenced].”
Despite their three-year legal battle, Echard said he was “proud” of Owens for taking responsibility for her actions.
“Laura has never been able to take an ounce of accountability until yesterday,” he said. “That’s not lost upon me, how huge that was. I think that’s a major, potentially life-altering step in Laura’s life where her taking a sliver of accountability yesterday could be the turning point for her. I want that for Laura. I want Laura to heal. I want her to see brighter days.”
Echard called on Owens to “share why she did what she did” to help bring closure to those impacted by her actions.
“There is more healing in Laura’s redemption than there is in her destruction,” he argued.
Owens will be sentenced on October 23. Echard said in Saturday’s TikTok video that he will ask the judge to impose a prison sentence.