Clayton Echard Found Love on 'The Bachelor' : 'Things Worked Out Much Different Than I Thought'

Clayton Echard is teasing one big detail from his upcomingBachelorseason. The former NFL player, 28, wasannouncedas the next lead of the hit ABC series on Tuesday night, one week after he wassent homefromMichelle Young’sBacheloretteseason. Echard’s season isset to premiere in January. During a Wednesday appearance onGood Morning America,he revealed that his run as the Bachelor was successful. “I did find love,” he said. “I was a little skeptical going into the whole journey, but I’m so pleasantly surprised that things worked out much different than I thought.

Clayton Echard Is the New Bachelor for Season 26

BachelorNation might’ve been sad to see Clayton Echard go onlast week’s episodeofThe Bachelorette, but he’ll be back on the franchise as the Bachelor. ABC announced Tuesday that the former NFL player, 28, will step in as the lead when thenext installment ofThe Bachelorpremieres in January, ending months of speculation surrounding Echard nabbing the position. The reveal came at the end of Tuesday’sBacheloretteepisode in whichMichelle Youngembarked on hometown dates with her final four men, and narrowed it down to just three guys.

Clayton Echard Knows He 'Screwed Up' But Thinks He Found 'The One' in' Bachelor' Finale

This post contains spoilers from Tuesday’s finale ofThe Bachelor. Lucky for the Bachelor, Susie had not left Iceland yet despitetaking herself out of the runningduring Fantasy Suite week. “Clayton’s been a wreck since you left him,” hostJesse Palmertold Susie. “I think he really, really regrets how it ended and if you’re up for it, Susie, I really think you should go and see Clayton today.” Susie told Jesse, 43, she couldn’t believe she received another chance.

Clayton Echard on His Body Dysmorphia and 'The Bachelor' : 'I've Struggled with Feeling I'm Good Enough'

Clayton Echard.Photo: ABC/Pamela LittkyA former NFL player, a contestant onThe Bacheloretteand the star ofThe Bachelor,Clayton Echardis now using his fame to spread awareness about a mental health issue he has dealt with for most of his life:Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD).The 29-year-old first started fixating on his image in the mirror when he was in seventh grade. “I would catch myself before brushing my teeth, staring at my stomach, pinching my sides, pinching my lower abs, and just feeling the fat there, the loose skin,” Echard tells PEOPLE.

Clayton Echard Opens Up About Rocky 'Bachelor' Journey in Emotional Post: I've 'Learned My Lesson'

Photo: ABC/Craig Sjodin Clayton Echardrecognizes that he is a work in progress. On Instagram Tuesday, the 28-year-oldopened up abouthis journey onThe Bachelorand the lessons he’s taken away from the experience. In doing so, Clayton admitted that he eventually hit “rock bottom.” “6 months prior, I was standing outside as the first limo pulled up and kept thinking to myself how I was so lucky to be in this position asThe Bachelor.