“Redemption arc”- Perfect Match star Rachel shares why Clayton came back to her

Perfect Match season 3 concluded on August 15, 2025. It saw Lucy and Daniel getting crowned as the winners of the season. Since then, several stars of the show have been appearing on interviews and podcasts to share their extensive feelings about the show. 

One such podcast was hosted by a Perfect Match star herself, AD. She invited Rachel as her guest, and she spoke about the differences between Perfect Match and The Bachelor, her previous show. She also spoke about how she came to the show, her tryst with Clayton, what she felt during the kissing challenge, her regrets, and more. 

Speaking of Clayton, whom she previously dated on The Bachelor, Rachel said that he came back to date her on Perfect Match because he was looking for the

"Redemption arc with me," Rachel said.

What Rachel said about her reunion with Clayton on Perfect Match season 3

AD first asked Rachel how she felt when she found out he was in the Perfect Match house. Rachel reflected on the time when she found out through Freddy that Clayton was in the house. She said she was happy and prepared, but going into the experience, she didn't expect their relationship to go where it went. 

"I thought we would just have a conversation and he would do him and I would do me and the night would move on. But no, it didn't go like that," she said. 

She said that their conversation lasted longer than what people saw, and Clayton spoke more than she could have imagined. AD then asked her if she ever thought they would reconnect. Rachel said no and explained that she believed that they had "really tumultuous history," and that he was never happy with her. 

They also got to a place where they were friends, which was about a year ago, but she never thought of being in a relationship with him. AD then asked if she thought Clayton was going to be in the house when she got selected for the show. Rachel said she didn't think so in light of Clayton's "public paternity scandal". 

She revealed to AD that he was innocent, but he went on trial for a paternity test. She thought that because of those reasons, Netflix might not think he was fit to enter the reality TV world. AD laughed when she heard what Clayton was accused of, while Rachel divulged further that the woman who accused him wore a fake pregnancy belly to the courtroom. 

AD couldn't believe it. Rachel further revealed that he hadn't slept with the girl who accused him, yet she sued him. He had gone through a lot, so Rachel thought a dating show would be the last thing he would want to go for after how the public treated him. 

AD said that when she spoke to Clayton, he kept coming back to the word "redemption". She stated that he told her that he had been painted in the wrong light before, so he wanted to show his real self through Perfect Match and was committed to it. 

Rachel said that while she believed that he had come on to the show to show the world how he had changed for the better, what he did with her was exactly what he did on The Bachelor, so he hadn't changed in that sense. She also felt like he intended to start a relationship with Rachel because he wanted a redemption arc with her. 

She concluded the Clayton part of the podcast, saying that she only said yes to him because she wanted to see their relationship through, even when she was hesitant. 

Stay tuned for more updates!