If one follows news around The Bachelor closely; they have probably heard of Laura Owens and her claims. In 2023, Laura Owens filed a paternity lawsuit against The Bachelor star Clayton Echard, claiming she was pregnant with his twins and demanded child support.
Clayton Echard has, however, maintained that he is not the father of the twins Laura was allegedly pregnant with. Investigations have been going on since Laura filed her lawsuit, and it turns out, everything she had claimed was false. Here’s what really happened.
Laura Owens fake pregnancy case explained in detail
Clayton Echard was the bachelor on Season 26 of The Bachelor. After his season finished airing, Clayton had become a realtor. Laura Owens had reached out to him on LinkedIn as a client, saying that she was looking for property. While this exchange seemed normal to Clayton initially, it soon led to something unbelievable.
Clayton showed Laura several homes, as a realtor does, and they exchanged a few flirtatious messages here and there. Laura then visited Clayton’s home, and they engaged in sexual activity, but Clayton has maintained in his statements that they did not have actual sexual intercourse that could lead to a pregnancy.
The next day, Clayton apologized to Laura for getting involved with her since she was a client, but surprisingly, Laura asked him to date her. Clayton repeatedly refused her and told her that their encounter was a one-time mistake. After Clayton consistently refused her, Laura eventually dropped the matter, and Clayton had thought that issue was over.
Approximately 11 days later, Laura told Clayton that she was pregnant with his child. Initially, Clayton was worried that the claim could be somehow true despite his strong belief that they never had actual intercourse. In August 2023, Laura Owens filed a paternity lawsuit against Clayton, claiming that she was two months pregnant with Clayton’s twins, and demanded he recognised them legally as his, and provided child support.
Clayton denied the allegations and fought Laura in civil court. In December 2023, Laura claimed that she was no longer pregnant, and had miscarried. To prove that he had never fathered children with Laura Owens, Clayton filed a lawsuit against her in the Putative Father Registry 2024.
After investigation, in 2024, a judge ruled that Laura was not pregnant with Clayton’s child. The judge also concluded that there was evidence of fraud, perjury, and evidence tampering, referring the matter to the Maricopa County Attorney for criminal investigation. In early 2025, Scottsdale police searched Laura Owens’ home, during with Laura maintained her stance, saying,
“I have done nothing except get pregnant by The Bachelor.”
In 2025, the Maricopa County grand jury indicted Laura Owens on seven counts kf felony related to allegedly lying about being pregnant with Clayton’s child and making false statements under oath. In late 2025, Laura was indicted for a second time, on seven more felony counts, this time over similar allegations involving another man, Greg Gillespie. In the past, Laura allegedly claimed that she had been impregnated by two other men, both of whom have also maintained that those claims were false.
Laura pleaded not guilty to all the criminal charges. In January 2026, Laura’s criminal trial involving Clayton was scheduled to begin but was postponed after she changed attorneys and prosecutors added additional charges. The trial has been rescheduled for July 29, 2026, with both the Clayton Echard and Greg Gillespie cases expected to proceed together.
During 2025–2026, Laura Owens filed for bankruptcy, which was dismissed. Her parents also filed for bankruptcy, but their petition was later dismissed. Clayton has stated that he has already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars defending himself but believes justice is finally being served after Ownens was criminally indicted.
Stay tuned for more updates.
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Edited by Riddhee