Clayton Echard is setting the record straight!

The Bachelor stopped by the “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast, where he talked about everything from how he’s handling online trolls to what people are saying about him on TikTok.

Clayton shared that while he’s extremely grateful for his experience as the Bachelor, the hate has been taking a toll on both him and his family.

But it’s not just hate Clayton’s been receiving online: He said there have also been a lot of rumors swirling around about his past dating life, so he wanted to clear the air.

Clayton said, “I’ve seen a lot of these TikToks lately regarding my past relationships. Here’s the thing: I never claimed to be some saint or celibate for the last six years of my single life. I was single and I enjoyed that singleness. There was a period in my life where I wasn’t looking for anything serious and just having fun. That may be something everyone goes through in some capacity. I am now seeing a lot of these things that are coming up about that time.”

He continued, revealing, “I went out and dated and had my fun, but on my 28th birthday, I realized I was doing the same things and hadn’t changed my dating life or work. Everything was stagnant, and I felt like I was just going through the motions and I realized that I wanted to start making changes to see change. That cut into my dating life.”

He added, “I couldn’t keep going down the path of loosely dating because that’s not going to bring me the happiness I’m looking for. I want to find another person that I can wake up to every day that can be there with me throughout the journey of life.”

And while he said he did date around for a while in his 20s, not everything he’s seeing about himself online is true.

Clayton said, “Some of what I’ve seen is absolutely ridiculous and not factual. I saw one today where a guy said he walked in on me with his girlfriend and I don’t even know who that guy is. And some girl said she dated me for five years, and how can she say she dated me for five years? Where’s the evidence?”

He went on, adding, “There’s just so much, and for what it is [worth], I just want people to know I didn’t claim to be this guy who never dated around or was just in a hole for the last five/six years. I went and had my fun, but since then that’s changed.”

To hear more of Clayton’s conversation on the “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast, check out the full episode below.