Did The Bachelor 's Clayton Echard Find Love on the Show? He Says...

The upcoming season of The Bachelor just might have a rosy ending after all.

Clayton Echard will kick off the new year with the 26th season of the ABC franchise, which premieres on Jan. 3 and marks the 20th anniversary of the dating competition series. But before Bachelor Nation watches his journey unfold in front of the cameras, they might want to hear what the sales rep had to say to E! News about whether he found his special someone.

"I did find love," the 28-year-old star revealed, before teasing, "As far as what that looks like, I think that's where everyone has to tune in and find out. Because I'll just say it was a wild ride and I did find it."

From the very first night, Clayton, who first appeared on Michelle Young's season of The Bachelorette, thought to himself, "I'm going to find my future wife here for sure."

Clayton Echard's Bachelor Contestants

He said he was "blown away" by the women competing for his heart and that he "had never seen [so many] beautiful women in one place at one time."

"Honestly, every woman was having so much fun," he continued. "I remember walking out...at the end of it all and thinking, 'Wow this is going to be fun.'"

Overall, the former football player explained that he's glad he decided to embark on this journey.

"I am so happy that I stepped out of my comfort zone because these women brought the energy, they're beautiful," he gushed. "I had phenomenal conversations on night one."

Of course, the upcoming season of The Bachelor did have some thorny moments, as Clayton admitted there were times he had self-doubt about being on the show.

"You just don't know what to expect when you step into a role like this and you think, 'Well, OK, I'm mentally mature enough to handle this.' Then, you get into it and you're like, 'How did I think I was going to be able to handle this? Dating this many women at one time.'

He added, "There's plenty of those moments. I think just being human, you realize, 'Hey, I've never been through something like this before, so how do I go about it the right way?' But ultimately I knew that I could make it through all of this."

Clayton said watching the promos for The Bachelor opened his eyes to what the contestants were dealing with when he wasn't around, realizing, in some instances, that some of it will be "this is actually what happened versus I was told something different."

"I'm kind of excited to see in that realm," he shared. "I mean, I knew about all of the drama, but I didn't see it all...so it will be an experience to watch it all back."

Clayton's season of The Bachelor premieres on Jan. 3 at 8:00 p.m. EST on ABC. Watch his full interview in the video above!

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