If I Don’t Hear Back | EP 3

**Stephanie Young** (0:03)
When you think of a paternity scandal, this is probably what comes to mind.

**Brian Echard** (0:07)
Sir, you are not the father.

**Stephanie Young** (0:13)
Men have a millennia old reputation for refusing parental responsibilities. It can destroy families and alter the course of lives. As Maury Povich proved, a paternity test is the ultimate dramatic reveal. It's a definitive answer, a yes or no. But what happened to Clayton Echard isn't that simple.

**Clayton Echard** (0:35)
I said, OK, hey, we got to do the paternity test. That's coming up. And then she's making excuses and saying, like, I don't think I really need to do this. I already know you're the father. I haven't been with anybody else. So I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to waste my money. I'll just wait until the due date.

**Stephanie Young** (0:53)
I'm Stephanie Young, and this is Love Trapped.
On May 20th, 2023, Clayton invited a woman named Laura Owens over to his house. They'd been flirting over text. According to Clayton, they had oral sex that night, not penetrative sex. Then, just 11 days later, Laura had news. She was pregnant, and she was sure the baby was his.

**Clayton Echard** (1:46)
I was having a hard time believing it, because we didn't have sex. So I wanted her to take a test in front of me, so that I could see it with my own eyes.

**Stephanie Young** (1:55)
Laura came over to his place to take another pregnancy test. It was positive.

**Clayton Echard** (2:00)
I had my hand pressing against my forehead, elbow is on the countertop. I'm leaning over the sink, and I'm just in disbelief. And she's just like, how are you feeling? She starts rubbing my back. I'm like, is this real? And in the moment, I was like, fuck, she is pregnant.

**Stephanie Young** (2:17)
On one hand, Clayton believed his own eyes. He believed the proof he was now seeing right in front of him.

**Clayton Echard** (2:24)
And I'm like, I'm sorry. She's like, for what? I said, for not believing you. I thought you were lying.

**Stephanie Young** (2:31)
On the other hand, Laura had been behaving erratically since their hookup, so much so that he decided to block her phone number. But now she was in his house, positive pregnancy test in hand, and she was distraught.

**Clayton Echard** (2:44)
We sat down on my couch and talked for probably an hour and a half, two hours, and I was reassuring her the entire time.

**Stephanie Young** (2:52)
It was almost reflexive to comfort her and tell her it was going to be okay. But something about Laura felt off.

**Clayton Echard** (2:59)
It felt a little bit forced, or it felt a little bit like it was a production. There was an element of insincerity.

**Stephanie Young** (3:12)
Nevertheless, he told Laura he would unblock her number, and they would figure it out. After a few hours, she left. When he shut the door behind her, reality sunk back in. There was no way she could be pregnant. He replayed the night of the hookup in his memory, and his mind went to extreme places. She'd run to the bathroom right after the blowjob. What had happened behind that bathroom door? Was there some way she could have impregnated herself?

**Clayton Echard** (3:42)
I was 99.9% sure she wasn't pregnant. Unfortunately for me, there was a 0.1% chance of doubt that I was like maybe she got there in quick enough time when she went to the bathroom. Maybe she had a syringe on hand that I was unaware of. There's a small chance. I don't believe it, but I can't fully rule it out.

**Stephanie Young** (4:07)
Then he got an email. It was from Laura.

**SPEAKER_5** (4:11)
Don't bother reading this if you don't want to have the dating conversation.

**Stephanie Young** (4:15)
Her emails are being read by a voice actor.

**SPEAKER_5** (4:18)
If you don't want to try things, that's fine, but if I'm alone either way, the abortion is off the table. I strongly believe that regardless of your feelings for me, it's unfair to the child to not be exposed to both parents.

**Stephanie Young** (4:30)
The messages were bizarre, and they kept coming.

**SPEAKER_5** (4:33)
You act like it would be a punishment to date me, but I bring a lot to the table.

**Clayton Echard** (4:39)
My exact thought was either I'm dealing with the craziest woman I have ever met, or I'm dealing with someone that's telling the truth. And there's really no in between.

**Stephanie Young** (4:51)
Clayton's plan was to figure it out on his own, before anyone online got wind of the situation. He was a public figure. This could be a huge reputational blow.