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Clay May Not Make It Back To 'Bachelor' Nation

by Anna Rose Iovine

There are always those Bachelor franchise contestants fans wish they saw more of. I think it’s safe to say that Clay from this season is amongst that group. What is Clay from The Bachelorette doing now? The former Bachelorette contestant left because of an injury.

Clay is a pro-football player but unfortunately, the game contributed to his leaving the show. During the football group date, Clay injured his wrist. He wasn’t the only contestant to suffer an injury from that date — Blake said his fingers still aren’t the same even now, according to his Instagram — but his was definitely the most debilitating.

After a visit with the doctor, Clay realized he either needed surgery right away or risk never playing again. He decided that he needed to choose the former, as football is the way he provides for his family. He told Becca this in a heartfelt goodbye and left.

According to an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Clay is indeed focusing on football after The Bachelorette. He told them that if not for the injury, he may have been in the top group. “I think that we had a connection, and the way that we were progressing, if we continued to progress at that rate, I definitely could have been one of the final guys there,” he said.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Right after he left he indeed had wrist surgery, where doctors put five pins in to hold the ligaments together. I don’t know much about sports injuries, but that sounds like the medical term for ouch. Clay declined to tell Tribune if any NFL teams showed interest in taking him on (he’s currently a free agent), but was optimistic about his future. Clay said he has no regrets going on the show, and doesn’t think it’ll hinder his career. He told the Tribune, “The rehab’s going well, and I look forward to being on the football field this next coming season.”

When Clay left the show I was sorry for him, so I’m happy to hear that he will still have a future in the NFL — and that he doesn’t regret going on The Bachelorette. While I think he’d be great, I have a feeling fans won’t see him on Bachelor in Paradise. For one, the initial cast was already announced after Clay left the show, and he wasn’t a part of it. Secondly, it seems that he wants to focus on training right now, and filming a TV show again could hinder that.

Clay fans should keep hope alive, though. Clay reminds me a lot of Kenny King, the wrestler from Rachel’s Bachelorette season. He also left under odd circumstances: he missed his daughter so much and didn’t want to be away from her anymore. While Kenny returned for Men Tell All, he didn’t appear on Bachelor in Paradise. This is why I was delightfully surprised when Kenny made his comeback on Arie’s season of The Bachelor.

During a GLOW-themed group date, Kenny showed the contestants the ropes before they wrestled themselves. He wrestled Arie, which was of course slightly embarrassing for us all as we know Arie would stand no chance next to “Pretty Boy Pitbull,” but I’m just glad he returned to the show. As fans learned in June, they’ll be seeing Kenny again this season of Bachelor in Paradise. Yes! I didn’t think it would happen, but Kenny has returned to the bosom that is Bachelor Nation and I’m so grateful.

So while finding love on TV is probably not Clay’s priority right now, that doesn’t mean he won’t come back to the Bachelor franchise. It may not be this round of Paradise but who knows, maybe he’ll be back for the next Bachelor season to show off his skills to the lead like Kenny did — or even go on 2019's Bachelor in Paradise.