Here's How Susie Told Clayton She Loved Him After Getting Back Together

Everyone knows Clayton Echard loves Susie Evans “the most.” And guess what? After an explosive fight in Iceland, a Neil Lane ring that never made it onto her finger, and the twistiest Bachelor finale of all time, Evans loves Echard back. She said those three little words to him for the first time in the months between the end of filming and the dramatic “After the Final Rose” special aired on March 15.

As the former Bachelor explained to People in a March 16 interview, "[After we got back together,] I was telling her that I loved her, and I said you don't have to... just tell me when you're ready to say it, but I'm going to tell you because I never fell out of love with you.” (While on the show, she said she was “falling in love,” but when he said he actually loved her, she responded that she “appreciate[s]” and “adore[s]” him. That’s when she asked if he loved or had been intimate with anyone else, which sparked an emotional argument. Echard sent Evans packing that night.)

Ultimately, though, they got on the same page. "She actually slipped up on the phone for the first time,” Echard continued. “She was waiting to tell me in person, and she said it on the phone." No cameras or roses in sight — refreshingly normal, right?

Evans’ “ILY” marked a meaningful change from what she told Echard during his non-proposal. After he explained he was ready to get engaged, she said, “I don’t feel like the kind of love I have for you right now is the kind of love you have for me right now. Like, you have an unconditional love of somebody you want to spend a lifetime with, and, like, that’s not where I’m at.” Oof.

Luckily, it all worked out for the best. Evans told People that she’s “pretty sure” she asked him to be her boyfriend (he said he “wanted a title”). He dubbed them Team Claysie, and said that while he’s selling his Missouri condo to move to her home state of Virginia, they don’t have a timeline for what comes next in their relationship, and they aren’t yet ready for an engagement. (Understandable.) At this point, their bond sounds like a blast — which is how it should be.

"We have a lot of fun together. We do enjoy cooking. We cook a lot," Evans told People. "We have so much fun, and honestly, I feel like in different ways, we both poke at each other the entire time, and just mess with each other. I do think that's one thing people didn't see so much on the show. We just goof the whole time."

#TeamClaysie!