Bachelor star Clayton Echard wins paternity suit

Former Bachelor contestant Clayton Echard has successfully defended a paternity suit, and his accuser has been referred for prosecution.

Laura Owens filed a petition for a court order of paternity seeking child support from Echard in Maricopa County Superior Court in August 2023.

Owens subsequently filed a motion to dismiss the petition to establish paternity, saying she was "no longer pregnant".

The judge granted Owens' motion to drop the petition for paternity but said the issues of sanctions and attorney's fees still needed to be resolved.

On Monday, she issued a scorching ruling.

Owens was found to have altered documents, changed the results of a pregnancy test, given false testimony, and potentially perjured herself in what the judge said appeared to be "a case of serial fabrications".

Owens had also provided a sonogram to Echard supposedly showing her pregnancy which was found to have been posted to YouTube seven years ago.

Owens has a pattern of falsely claiming to be pregnant, according to Echard's attorneys, and he was not her only victim.

Echard is best known for his appearances as a contestant on season 18 of The Bachelorette, and as the star of season 26 of The Bachelor.

In the final episode, Echard chose Susie Evans, but she rejected him. It was later revealed on the live After the Final Rose special that they had since got back together.

Echard was in a relationship with Evans from December 2021 to September 2022