While Clayton Echard rose to fame on The Bachelor, he made headlines in 2023 when Arizona woman Laura Owens accused him of getting her pregnant and then demanded he pay child support. Echard denied the allegations and prosecutors are now arguing that she made the whole thing up. On Luxury Handbag Shopping’s latest episode of Uncovered, investigative journalist Kristin Thorne spoke to Echard about the case and he revealed his hopes that Owens will be held “accountable.”
Owens has been charged with multiple felonies, including fraud, forgery and perjury for falsifying medical records that said she was pregnant with Echard’s children. Owens has insisted that she was pregnant with Echard’s twins and suffered a miscarriage. She said she has several lab tests which prove she was pregnant, including a urine test and a blood test.
She has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges she’s facing and her attorney told Thorne that Owens should be presumed innocent.
While speaking to Thorne, Echard – who works as a real estate agent – explained that he first met Owens when she contacted him about looking for a home. He said they exchanged information and kept things professional, though one night he was “under the influence of marijuana” and he invited her to come over after he says she sent him a provocative photo.
“She performed oral sex and then 11 days later she claimed she was pregnant,” Echard said. “She sent me an email with a positive pregnancy test stating she was pregnant.”
Echard told her that the claims were “ridiculous” because they “never had sex.” He added, “She just kept pushing and then she said, ‘No, I am pregnant.’”
Owens went on to send Echard videos where “her stomach looked pregnant.”
Owens’ submitted a sample, which showed “little to no fetal DNA.”
Owens said the test was not conclusive and that there was an issue with the sample.
Ultimately, Echard won the paternity case.
And then Echard said he got a message over Instagram.
“I got a DM from … one of the previous victim’s now-wife that said, ‘Hey, look at this court case. You’re not alone,’” he recalled, stating that he later looked into the court system and confirmed “there’s a previous victim.”
In fact, a family court judge in Arizona ruled that he believed Owens’ claim that she was pregnant with Echard’s children was false and referred her actions to the county attorney.
Echard ultimately spoke to the police and prosecutors, and they determined that Owens fabricated a pregnancy video, altered an ultrasound image and lied multiple times while under oath.
Owens was formally indicted in May 2025 and she’s appeared in court several times since. Prosecutors have offered her a plea deal that is set to expire in a few weeks, though her attorney, Christian Lueders, said they’re “not yet at the point in this case where we are ready to seriously consider a plea agreement.”
“But we’re working diligently and that time could come in the next several weeks,” Lueders continued in a statement.
Lueders added that he is reviewing all the evidence in the case to see how it could be presented to a jury, while the prosecution is doing the same. The two sides will later meet to discuss how they see the case going to trial and whether a plea agreement is the right decision.
Owens’ attorney said that his ultimate goal is to get to the truth, and Echard feels the same way.
In light of the situation, Echard has shared his story on a podcast called “Love Trapped” produced by Glass Entertainment.
“I signed up for the podcast because I want to stop her from ever doing this again. And I want to make sure that, like, we seal the book on this,” he said. “There is no questioning. There’s no her getting a slap on the wrist and walking away.”
Echard said he ultimately wants Owens to be “held accountable” and hopes that other people won’t have to live through the same experience.
“How do we deter future perpetrators from doing this? We hold them accountable,” he said. “If, you know, Laura is locked up in prison for five, 10 years, well that’s gonna probably make a perpetrator go, ‘Hmm, I probably shouldn’t do this.’”
If Owens doesn’t accept a plea deal, the case will go to trial in July.
