The Bachelorette stars Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia have fired back at Clayton Echard and Susie Evans for saying the premiere of Season 19 was an attack on Clayton and a means of promoting cyberbullying.

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"Of course, no one was ever using his name maliciously or to be mean or bully him," Rachel, 26, told Us Weekly on its "Here for the Right Reasons" podcast after Monday's premiere.

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On Monday night's The Bachelorette premiere, many suitors mocked and slammed Clayton as they introduced themselves to Gabby and Rachel on Night 1 at The Bachelor mansion.

Jason Alabaster joked about being in love with three women -- his mother, his sister and his dog -- and Johnny DePhillipo flat out called Clayton a "piece of sh-t."

Ryan Mula dressed like a clown and insisted he's not a clown like Clayton, and Alec Garza had a children's choir sing a lengthy song about how "Clayton sucks."

"We would've maybe liked to hear it a little less," Rachel said of Clayton's name and memory. "I'm sure he would've as well, but it was just all kind of in good fun in a way to try to connect with us since the only time [the bachelors] ever saw us was on his season."

Gabby, 31, said she hopes the episode "doesn't really play" like an attack or bullying.

"I mean, in the moment, you know, Rachel and I were like, 'Man, I wish we could kind of talk about something else.' But it was literally just a week prior that [The Bachelor] had ended and everybody saw the ending at AFR. So it's still so fresh," Gabby explained.

"So I think watching it back this many months later is why it also has kind of a bigger feel to it, [like], 'Why now?' But you also have to remember when we were filming, it was really fresh."

Gabby agreed with Rachel on how none of their 32 bachelors "meant anything malicious" by taking digs at the former medical sales representative and college football player.

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But the nurse noted how she and Rachel "understand" if Clayton and Susie didn't love all of the jabs taken at Clayton on the first episode of the season.

"I don't think it was truly slander. I feel they were just trying to poke fun at it. But we understand definitely where they're coming from," Gabby said.

Clayton and Susie watched The Bachelorette premiere together, and he said on Tuesday's episode of the "Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe" podcast, "Do I think that that's what should have been shown? I mean, no. I do think it was cyberbullying or an attack or it's going to lead to cyberbullying."

"And so for that, I'm not the biggest fan of how that was shown, but it was... and it's just the nature of the beast. I'm not gonna lose sleep over it at this point anymore."

Clayton, however, insisted that he was able to laugh it off and conclude that the jokes will wear themselves out and eventually stop.

Susie, on the other hand, told The Bachelorette alum Kaitlyn Bristowe, "Clayton handled it better, overall, than I did. I was annoyed."

"I thought, 'Come on!' Clayton... can laugh at himself and I can laugh at Clayton. He's the butt of most of my social media jokes... But also, my fear is, like, 'Does this open the floodgates back up of all the hate and stuff?'"

"So that's where I was like, 'Oh, my gosh, really?'" Susie continued. "But Clayton, definitely was, like, going with the flow... He didn't really think it was funny, but he was able to laugh."

Some fans have argued Clayton and Susie are a little sensitive considering Clayton had been heavily criticized and scrutinized while his The Bachelor season was airing earlier this year.

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Clayton received Instagram DMs from trolls telling him to kill himself and that he's not worthy of love.

When asked if they feel any sympathy for Clayton after a trainwreck of a Bachelor season in which Clayton had fallen in love with three women and slept with two women, Rachel explained, "It's two completely different situations."

"Of course, going even into Night 1, realizing that you can have different connections with different guys and they're all so different and bring different things to the table. We can definitely see, you know, how people form multiple connections."

"But I do think it is a little bit just different all around," Rachel shared. "It's two separate journeys and two different ways people handle things."

And the dual The Bachelorette leads also confirmed they haven't spoken to Clayton or Susie in recent weeks.

"We did have closure at AFR, which was really nice -- that's what it's there for," Gabby said.

"We were able to kind of say our piece, get that closure in order to move on. I feel like we're all going in separate directions and we're happy for them and want them to succeed as we hope they are to us in this new opportunity that we've been given."

Clayton told The Virginian-Pilot newspaper in an interview published Sunday that he's "disgusted" with how he was portrayed on The Bachelor and "would never, ever" do the show again.

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Clayton previously said he hit "rock bottom" and sank into depression and anxiety while The Bachelor's 26th season was airing. However, he decided to go to therapy and push through the negativity, ultimately becoming an advocate for mental health.

But Clayton's spirit-breaking experience on The Bachelor ultimately had a happy ending.

Susie -- who quit The Bachelor during her Fantasy Suite date -- ultimately returned to the show and made an appearance at the Final Rose Ceremony, but she dumped the Bachelor instead of accepting his final rose.

Susie, who was heartbroken over the idea of Clayton being in love with both Gabby and Rachel and having slept with them both, said at the time that Clayton wasn't her person and they didn't seem meant to be.

However, Susie reached out to Clayton post-filming seeking some answers, and the pair reconciled.

Clayton even quit his job as a medical sales rep and moved to Susie's Virginia hometown following the filming of The Bachelor: After the Final Rose so they could have a real shot at a relationship.

They are now dating and in love.

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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