I Am the Anonymous Woman | EP 4

Summary

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Love Trapped – "I Am the Anonymous Woman" (Episode 4)

Date: March 12, 2026
Podcast: Love Trapped
Host: Stephanie Young, iHeartPodcasts and Glass Podcasts

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Episode Overview

This gripping episode of "Love Trapped" plunges deep into the real-life paternity scandal that ensnared former Bachelor star Clayton Echerd. What starts as one man’s desperate battle to clear his name unravels into a tangled web of suspicious legal claims, social media sleuthing, online harassment, courtroom drama, and the critical intervention of supporters—both professional and civilian. The episode follows the timeline from the viral tabloid story to the relentless online scrutiny, legal maneuvers, and emotional toll on everyone involved, ultimately highlighting the power and pitfalls of internet justice.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Tabloid Scandal Breaks

[02:08]

• Reporter Diana Cooper reveals how she broke the story after receiving Laura Owens’ detailed tip—complete with documents and supposed evidence.
• Clayton is blindsided on the first day of a new TV hosting job, feeling immediate dread:

  "I put my hands on my head and I'm like, oh my gosh, this is gonna be such a mess." (02:59, Clayton)

• Despite expecting hate, the messages Clayton receives aren’t universally negative—and one crucial DM arrives.

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2. Early Internet Reaction & Citizen Sleuths

[03:19–15:28]

• Ashley, a stranger, messages Clayton with a warning:

  "You're not the only one. Look up Owens vs Gillespie in the AZ court docs." (03:31, Clayton’s DM from Ashley)

• Dave Neal, comedian and bachelor news podcaster, quickly gets involved. He and Reality Steve sense something is off:

  "This is either the craziest story of a bachelor villain or the biggest scam is happening. It's one or the other." (09:31, Dave Neal)

• Laura’s narrative is immediately scrutinized online, with commentators noting manipulative patterns and inconsistencies:

  "It read like fan fiction. It didn’t make sense." (10:26, Dave Neal) "She cherry picked the hell out of things." (10:33, Dave Neal)

• The tide of public opinion quickly shifts—from overwhelming suspicion of Clayton to skepticism toward Laura.

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3. The “Anonymous Woman” Fights for Control

[14:23–16:52]

• Laura goes public, revealing "proof" in Dropbox links and Reddit posts under the self-declared headline: “I am the anonymous woman in the Clayton scandal. Here's the proof. Here's my story.”
• Online, her "evidence" (ultrasounds, selfies, cropped texts) fails to convince sleuths, who demand full context.
• Nicknames like "Tonsil Twins" and "Blowjob Babies" circulate, as Laura continues to engage directly with the community.
• Clayton decides to push back on social media:

  “I have been through so much shit…I'm like, this doesn't rattle me like you think it does.” (16:07)

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4. The Pattern Emerges: Other Victims & Legal Complications

[22:34]

• Clayton is introduced to Greg Gillespie, a previous target of Laura’s similar false paternity claim, thanks to a tip from Ashley (Greg’s wife).
• The original lawyer, Greg Woodnick, connects the dots between the cases:

  “It's the same fucking person…what are the chances that a podcaster from Scottsdale is involved in the same sort of crap?” (24:21, Woodnick)

• Even with this emerging pattern, Clayton struggles to secure legal help due to costs. Woodnick warns him:

  "I don't think you know what you're up against." (25:57, Woodnick to Clayton)

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5. The Paternity Test Ordeal

[26:29–30:57]

• After months of Laura claiming Clayton refused to test (he asserts he tried but faced logistics issues), a test is eventually performed.
• The lab result: "little to no fetal DNA."

  “I said, what's that mean? He said…we didn't have enough fetal DNA to prove whether or not you're the father.” (28:01, Clayton)

• No conclusive answer—frustratingly ambiguous for everyone involved.
• Clayton’s response video is intentionally triumphant:

  “Listen, it's Friday… I got the good news. What's that good news, Clayton? Well, test results came back early, and they said little to no fetal DNA present. Let's go, baby. We knew…” (30:28, Clayton)

• Laura escalates, winning an emergency restraining order against Clayton and filing further legal threats.

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6. Deepening Suspicion: Fabricated Evidence

[35:02–37:26]

• Dave Neal’s audience discovers that Laura’s ultrasound “evidence” is actually doctored—traced via metadata to a years-old YouTube video.

  "She sent us a video of an ultrasound, and the timecode wasn't moving…She messed her name up…that was a gigantic red flag." (35:54, Dave Neal)

• A silent, headless hospital room video further raises questions; Dave theorizes Laura is leveraging her sister’s real pregnancy.

  "It's my belief she's faking a pregnancy and using her sister's real pregnancy as cover." (37:26, Dave Neal)

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7. Courtroom Drama & Crowdsourced Support

[42:14–56:44]

• Both sides file restraining orders; Clayton represents himself at the first hearing, quickly realizing he’s in over his head.

  “I'm raising my hand at points. The judge is like, very kind to me, being like, dude, what are you doing here without a lawyer?” (43:16, Clayton)

• The first hearing is live-streamed, becoming the most-watched family court case in the county’s history.

  "That was the most watched family court case in that county's history." (44:46, Dave Neal)

• Dave Neal’s online community crowdfunds Clayton’s legal fees overnight, bringing in experienced attorney duo, Greg Woodnick and Deandra Arena.

  "We were hoping to get him the attorney that could crack this thing. And of course that's Greg Woodnick." (48:32, Dave Neal)

• Deandra cross-examines Laura, who appears agitated and deflective under questioning:

  “There are times where I remind her that these are yes or no questions and…she's not an easy witness to cross examine.” (53:38, Deandra)

• Ultimately, Clayton wins his injunction.

  “We end up winning. She won for me. And she's like, Clayton, hopefully this is like the end of it for now.” (56:01, Clayton)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Turning Point in Public Opinion:

  "The audience was about 90% against Clayton immediately. Within the week, they were about 99% for Clayton…The complete tide shifted." (13:58, Dave Neal)

• Reddit’s Role:

  "The internet is a jury and all people want to see is like, show me the full story." (15:28, Dave Neal)

• Suspicion of Manipulation:

  "When someone wants to share information, but not all the information…We knew early on. She cherry picked the hell out of things." (10:33, Dave Neal)

• Expertise from Online Community:

  "It was the nurses, the professionals in our community, when we shared the ultrasound that said…she messed her name up…" (35:54, Dave Neal)

• On Courtroom Drama:

  "Who would make this up? Well, Laura Owens, that's who would make it up. My Money was on 911 phone calls. She was going to be in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. And I was right." (56:53, Stephanie Young)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Clayton’s Initial Reaction to Tabloid News – [02:59]
• Key DM from “Ashley” about Other Victims – [03:31]
• Internet and Podcasters Dig Deeper into Claims – [09:31–10:43]
• Laura Posts “Proof” and Engages Publicly – [14:23–15:43]
• Clayton Fires Back on Social Media – [16:07–16:52]
• Discovery of Pattern: Prior Victims – [22:34–24:21]
• Paternity Test Frustration and Results – [27:25–30:57]
• Internet Debunks Ultrasound “Proof” – [35:02–36:24]
• Crowdsourcing Clayton’s Legal Defense – [45:13]
• Live-Streamed Court Hearing & Community Impact – [44:46–45:03]
• Attorney Deandra’s Cross of Laura – Key Testimony – [50:53–53:38]
• Victory in Court for Clayton – [56:01]

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Final Thoughts

This episode deftly unspools the layers of a viral scandal, illustrating how a high-profile controversy can spin out of control but also how collective scrutiny and tenacity—by strangers, legal experts, and social media communities—can unearth the truth. Twisting between personal pain, online groupthink, legal wrangling, and the fierce battle around public narratives, Clayton’s story becomes emblematic of the challenges facing public figures in the age of internet justice—and the dangers posed by the weaponization of social and legal systems.

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For further updates, follow @glasspodcasts on Instagram, and email the team at [e-mail]

Transcript

[Clayton Eckerd]

I'm Clayton Eckerd. In 2022, I was the lead of ABC's the Bachelor.

[Stephanie Young]

But here's the thing. Bachelor fans hated him.

[Clayton Eckerd]

If I could press a button and rewind it all, I would.

[Stephanie Young]

That's when his life took a disturbing turn. A one night stand would end in a courtroom. The media is here. This case has gone viral.

[Clayton Eckerd]

The dating contract.

[Stephanie Young]

Agree to date me, but I'm also suing you. This is unlike anything I've ever seen before. I'm Stephanie Young. Listen to Love trapped on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Greg Woodnick]

14 years in prison for killing a young woman. A 15 year sentence for a crash that caused three deaths. 12 and a half years for killing a child and critically injuring her mother. All true stories, all caused by marijuana. Impaired drivers. No matter what you tell yourself, if you feel different, you drive different. So if you're high, just don't drive.

[Clayton Eckerd]

Brought to you by NHTSA and the Ad Council.

[Stephanie Young]

I'm Heather Dubreu.

[Clayton Eckerd]

And I'm Terry Dubrow.

[Stephanie Young]

And we're going to keep this between us.

[Dave Neal]

Not really.

[Clayton Eckerd]

The TMZ guy walks up to me, goes, terry, what do you think about Bradley Cooper? They asked him and they said he's not had any plastic surgery. But I mean, what's the latest rumor? I'm gay, right? Isn't that the latest rumor?

[Stephanie Young]

Yes.

[Clayton Eckerd]

First of all, if I were gay, I would be gay.

[Stephanie Young]

Listen to Between Us on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Follow between us and start listening on the free iHeartradio app today.

[Dave Neal]

Saturday, May 2nd, country's biggest stars will be in Austin, Texas at our 2026 iHeart Country Festival presented by Capital One. Tickets are on sale now. Get yours before they sell [e-mail] that's

[Stephanie Young]

Ticketmaster.com on September 18, 2023, the story hit the press. The headline read, baby mama drama bachelor Clayton Eckerd's ex fling demands he take paternity test in court case after she becomes pregnant with twins.

[Laura Owens]

My name is Diana Cooper and I

[Stephanie Young]

am a former reporter with the U.S. sun. And back in 2023, I broke the

[Laura Owens]

story of Laura Owens and Clayton Eckerd

[Stephanie Young]

alleging that she was pregnant with his twins. Diana received a tip, an email from a woman in Arizona with a shocking claim.

[Laura Owens]

A lot of people on our team were like, is it real?

[Stephanie Young]

Like, when you have to question something,

[Laura Owens]

it's kind of like, okay, maybe readers

[Stephanie Young]

are gonna be just as interested as we are. The readers were very interested. Under the headline, the sun posted multiple pictures of Clayton from his time on the Bachelor. You can imagine what this felt like for him. He was trying to leave his bachelor past behind. Now he was in the spotlight again, and not in a good way. As soon as he saw the article,

[Clayton Eckerd]

I put my hands on my head and I'm like, oh my gosh, this is gonna be such a mess.

[Stephanie Young]

Clayton's phone started blowing up with texts and DMs.

[Clayton Eckerd]

It was nerve wracking at the time because I assumed Most of these DMs were going to be negative.

[Stephanie Young]

But they weren't all negative. One of them turned out to be extremely important.

[Clayton Eckerd]

So I was just scrolling through my Instagram DMs and all of a sudden I see this message from named Ashley.

[Stephanie Young]

The message came in just 24 hours after the story broke. And this is what it said.

[Clayton Eckerd]

Hey, you need to look into this court case. You're not the only one. Look up Owens vs Gillespie in the AZ court docs. Two plus years ago, she accused my boyfriend of getting her pregnant with twins.

[Stephanie Young]

I'm Stephanie Young, and this is Love Trapped.

[Greg Woodnick]

There's no way out.

[Stephanie Young]

You better believe I'll be raising holy hell, my love, if you ever, ever, ever, ever try to. The day the news broke, Clayton was actually on his first day of a new job. A hosting gig for a local TV show called Pickleball Paddle Battle.

[Clayton Eckerd]

The thing is, I don't even play pickleball. But when the opportunity came through, I figured, hey, why not? It'll be a fun gig, we'll have a good time, and I'm not gonna pass this up.

[Stephanie Young]

The day before filming started, he posted on social media saying he'd be on set that week. And then he got an email. The kind of email he'd been getting all summer. It was from Laura Owens. He'd come to expect them, but he hadn't gotten used to them.

[Clayton Eckerd]

And she said, look, I'm going public if I don't hear back from you. I've given you enough chances. But now it's time for this story to be heard and for people to find out who you really are.

[Stephanie Young]

He'd been issued this ultimatum a few times before. Laura demanding he engage with her and threatening to go public if he didn't. Clayton ignored her message. But this time, Laura wasn't bluffing. Laura sent us a tip to the Sun's tip line. Email. That's Diana Cooper again, the one who broke the story. At the time, she was writing nearly a story a day for the sun, mostly about the Bachelor when she got the tip email from Laura Owens. It had a lot of attachments, like court documents, police reports, and photos. It looked legit in the beginning.

[Laura Owens]

I was convinced.

[Stephanie Young]

I was like, okay. She had all these dates. She had proof in email. Clayton was getting ready for his first day of filming when he got an email from Diana Cooper.

[Clayton Eckerd]

She wrote, hey, I've been talking with Laura Owens and we're going to release the story today at this time.

[Stephanie Young]

Diana needed his response within the next few hours.

[Clayton Eckerd]

I hopped on a phone call and I said, this is a complete lie. This woman is lying out of her teeth. She has no evidence.

[Stephanie Young]

But Laura provided the tabloid with court documents and a very compelling narrative. It was enough for the sun to run with. Diana published it that evening and she sent Clayton the link. He was on set in between filming when he opened the article.

[Clayton Eckerd]

I'm like, oh, my gosh, what do I do? First thing I think I'm like, I gotta go tell the pickleball paddle battle. I gotta tell these people. Like, it's day one. They've all literally just met me and I've gotta explain what's going on. I can't just, like, breeze over this. This is gonna get right in front of them.

[Stephanie Young]

He went to the show producers to explain the situation and tell them his side of things. They held a closed door discussion about how to move forward. When they called him back in, they

[Clayton Eckerd]

said, we believe you, so let's just keep it rolling. And that meant a lot to me. You know, like, I remember just being like, I can't believe it. These people just met me and they're gonna roll with me.

[Stephanie Young]

So Clayton went back to filming. All the while, his phone was in his locker, buzzing nonstop with text messages and calls.

[Clayton Eckerd]

One thing I'm really good at is compartmentalization. Unfortunately, I did it on the Bachelor. I learned it through football.

[Stephanie Young]

While Clayton was in compartmentalization mode, his friends and family were all sending around the article. Here's how it starts. Bachelor, Clayton Eckard's ex fling, has demanded he take a paternity test in court documents exclusively obtained by the US Sun. When Clayton got a chance to sit down and read it, he was surprised to see that Laura hadn't used her own name. She'd asked the sun not to publish her name. Here's Diana. She said she was a podcast host, she gave TED talks, and she wanted

[Laura Owens]

me to include that information.

[Stephanie Young]

We used her age and where she's from, Arizona. She just didn't want her name used. Even though the Tabloid didn't print her name. The clues Laura provided were enough for the Internet to identify her within minutes.

[Dave Neal]

Female podcaster, has a TEDx talk, lives in Scottsdale. Sorry, too much information. They know your street address within a moment. Like, welcome to the Internet.

[Stephanie Young]

That's Dave Neal. He's a stand up comedian and host of the popular daily podcast the Rush Hour, where he covers pop culture and bachelor news.

[Dave Neal]

Good morning, everybody. Happy Thursday to you. I got all your news for your Rush Hour ride to work.

[Stephanie Young]

His show has been going for almost six years, and it's earned him an extremely loyal following. Dave was one of the first people to pick up the story about Clayton.

[Dave Neal]

My audience is so piped in that usually I'll get 10 messages before I even wake up when there's a story like this.

[Stephanie Young]

Dave wasn't alone. He called reality Steve, who'd also been covering Bachelor news for years. They'd seen a lot of drama before, but nothing quite, quite like this. Immediately, Dave Neal and I contacted each

[Greg Woodnick]

other and we were like, oh, my

[Stephanie Young]

gosh, this is crazy covering Bachelor Nation. I just hadn't seen anybody involved in a paternity scandal like this. So I was like, dave, this is huge. And Dave's like, absolutely, we got to cover this. At first, they weren't sure what to make of it.

[Dave Neal]

This is either the craziest story of a bachelor villain or the biggest scam is happening. It's one or the other.

[Stephanie Young]

For Dave, in Reality Steve, the peace in the sun was jaw dropping. It's just not the kind of thing you read every day. In it, Clayton is adamant about his side of things. He told the tabloid. My response is in the court documents. I'm not giving it the time of day because it's baseless. We did not have sexual intercourse. That caught Dave Neal's attention.

[Dave Neal]

I'm looking at this going, this does not pass the sniff test.

[Stephanie Young]

In the article, Laura doesn't provide any medical documentation like ultrasounds or scans, but she does provide multiple text exchanges with Clayton. She openly expresses that she wants to try dating him. For Dave Neal and reality Steve, Laura's apparent infatuation with Clayton was an immediate red flag.

[Dave Neal]

It read like fan fiction. It didn't make sense.

[Stephanie Young]

Something doesn't seem right with this story.

[Dave Neal]

The red flags for me is when someone wants to share information, but not all the information. We knew early on. She cherry picked the hell out of things.

[Stephanie Young]

So they started investigating Laura's claims.

[Dave Neal]

I have to take these claims seriously for the sake of my audience. Initially, it's a fact Finder mission.

[Stephanie Young]

Within a few days of the article coming out, Reality, Steve tried to fill in some of the blanks by reaching out to Clayton directly. I got ahold of Clayton. We had about a 90 minute conversation, and I believed every word of what he told me. And it had nothing to do with, oh, just gonna side with the guy. Because if Clayton seemed shady in that phone call with me, I absolutely would have called him out for it.

[Greg Woodnick]

He didn't.

[Stephanie Young]

He told me so many details that I'm like, there's no way this guy's

[Greg Woodnick]

that good of a liar.

[Stephanie Young]

Dave Neal believed him too.

[Dave Neal]

The reason I believe Clayton is his biggest issue on his season was that he was too honest.

[Stephanie Young]

I heard this from so many people, including Clayton's own family. One of his defining characteristics is candor, maybe even to a fault. Here's Dave Neal again.

[Dave Neal]

For him to say, hey, no, this isn't true. That immediately, you know, was like, game on. Now we have a story, because it's a he said, she said, which, by the way, is the most provable thing in the world. Either she's having these kids and they're yours or they're not. Why would anybody lie about that when you could prove it the next day?

[Stephanie Young]

Dave was right. This should be a very simple thing to prove. By this point, the Internet was going crazy. The story was blowing up on Reddit in the Bachelor and Bachelor Nation subreddits. I can't believe I started to feel bad for Clayton for all the hate that he got.

[Laura Owens]

Well, that's gone.

[Stephanie Young]

If he didn't want children, he should

[Dave Neal]

have worn a condom.

[Stephanie Young]

For anyone defending Clayton. In here, y'. All, Okay? I hope you'll get full custody and child support. It's confirmed that Clayton is a piece of garbage. I feel for those poor babies.

[Greg Woodnick]

I never liked him.

[Stephanie Young]

Him.

[Greg Woodnick]

And I guess my gut feeling was right.

[Stephanie Young]

At first, everyone assumed Clayton was the bad guy. I'll be honest, I did too. I remember seeing the headline and thinking, sounds about right. His reputation from the Bachelor preceded him. Plus, we've worked hard as a society to air towards believing women when they say they've been victimized. I wanted to believe Laura, but the way she presented her side of the story in the sun was just off. People on Reddit were picking up on that too. This isn't a good way to start motherhood. If you want anonymity, then let it get settled in court.

[Dave Neal]

Posting Clayton's texts without including your own in the full conversation suggests you're hiding something.

[Stephanie Young]

It sounds like this isn't really about your pregnancy. This is about your unrequited feelings for him.

[Greg Woodnick]

I really don't understand why this was brought to the Internet in the first place.

[Stephanie Young]

Why are you desperately pursuing someone who doesn't want anything to do with you?

[Laura Owens]

You claim to be so innocent, but

[Stephanie Young]

I see so many red flags on your end, girl. The cracks in Laura's story were showing. It only took days for online sleuths

[Dave Neal]

to realize that there is a lot of groupthink online. But the audience was about 90% against Clayton immediately. Within the week, they were about 99% for Clayton. The complete tide shifted away from Clayton being the worst person to ever be on the Bachelor to oh boy, this might be a different story.

[Stephanie Young]

Laura likely expected the public to be on her side after coming forward. But after the Internet started poking holes in her story, it seemed like going public had backfired. A few days after she went to the tabloids, Laura took to the Bachelor subreddit, where she made a post with this headline read by a voice actor. I am the anonymous woman in the Clayton scandal. Here's the proof. Here's my story. When she made this Reddit post, Laura added a link. It went to a Dropbox folder filled with what Laura claimed was proof of her pregnancy, mirror selfies, cropped text messages, and a photo of the positive pregnancy test. The Dropbox link has since been deactivated. As a side note, for those who are questioning whether I want attention or followers, please remember I am anonymous in this case. I don't want money from Clayton. All I have asked for is communication. By this point, the Internet had already figured out Laura's name. This is what Dave Neal thought he saw the Dropbox folder of proof that Laura posted on Reddit.

[Dave Neal]

The fact that she was so brazen in sharing evidence but wouldn't share the screenshots. The Internet is a jury and all people want to see is like, show me the full story. She wouldn't do that.

[Stephanie Young]

The story was becoming an Internet sensation, taking on a life of its own. It earned some creative nicknames online, like the Tonsil Twins or the Blowjob Babies. And Laura was actively replying to people on Reddit and on social media. She was writing comments about her alleged pregnancy. Clayton had to decide how he was going to respond.

[Clayton Eckerd]

This woman released this publicly, thinking it was going to derail me, thinking that I was going to want to do everything in my power to keep it silent. But once you open up Pandora's box, guess who's jumping in with you? Me. I have been through so much shit. I was publicly humiliated from my time as the Bachelor. I'm like, this doesn't rattle me like you think it does.

[Stephanie Young]

Clayton fired back on Instagram and included a pointed message.

[Clayton Eckerd]

So I post a story and I said, hey, guys, I'm actively in court with this individual in the Phoenix court system. That was me saying, go look so you can find her name. And then I said, you know, I'm not the only one. I put that story out without doxxing her, but basically like leading a horse to water.

[Stephanie Young]

And this really pissed Laura off.

[Clayton Eckerd]

She's sending like all caps emails, and so she's like, we gotta steal this. I'm gonna sue you. And I was just like, ah, this is music to my ears right now. Like, I'm so annoyed that we're in this, but at least for this moment, I'm like, oh, yeah? Like, how's it feel? Everyone just found out your name and now you're in the spotlight. And guess what? Now it's going to be a matter of who can withstand the fire longer. And as far as I'm concerned, you've never been in the fire. But I have.

[Stephanie Young]

Clayton wasn't afraid of bad press. He'd been through it before. Now that the story was out, his goal was to expose the truth about Laura Owens.

[Greg Woodnick]

Fourteen years in prison for killing a young woman. A 15 year sentence for a crash that caused three deaths. Twelve and a half years for killing a child and critically injuring her mother. All true stories, all caused by marijuana. Impaired drivers. No matter what you tell yourself, if you feel different, you drive different. So if you're high, just don't drive.

[Clayton Eckerd]

Brought to you by NHTSA and the AD Council.

[Stephanie Young]

Segregation in the day, integration at night. When segregation was the law, one mysterious black club owner had his own rules.

[Laura Owens]

We didn't worry about what was going on outside.

[Greg Woodnick]

It was like stepping in another world.

[Stephanie Young]

Inside Charlie's Place, black and white people danced together. But not everyone was happy about it.

[Laura Owens]

You saw the kkk.

[Greg Woodnick]

Yeah.

[Laura Owens]

They were dressed up in their uniform.

[Greg Woodnick]

The KKK set out to raid Charlie, take him away from here. Charlie was an example of power. They had to crush him.

[Stephanie Young]

From Atlas Obscura, Rococo Punch and visit Myrtle beach comes Charlie's Place, a story that was nearly lost to time. Until now. Listen to Charlie's place on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A ambitious, well intentioned, ferocious and wealthy mother looks like in the black community this Women's History Month. The podcast. Keep it posit. Sweetie celebrates the power of women, choosing healing, purpose and faith. Even when life gets messy, love. It's not a destination.

[Laura Owens]

You have to work on it every day.

[Stephanie Young]

Keep it positive. Sweetie creates space for honest conversations on self worth, love, growth, and navigating life with grace and grit, led by women who uplift, inspire and tell the truth out loud.

[Greg Woodnick]

I have several conversations with God and I know why it took 20 years

[Stephanie Young]

to hear this and more. Listen to Keep It Positive sweetie on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Greg Woodnick]

I'm Anna Navarro and on my new podcast, Bleep with Anna Navarro, I'm talking to the people closest to the biggest issues happening in community and around the world. Because I know deep down inside right now we are all cursing and asking what the BLEEP is going on. I'm talking to people like Julie K. Brown, who broke the explosive story on Jeffrey Epstein in 2018. These victims have been let down time and time again for decades and decades and decades by local law enforcement, by federal law enforcement, by administration after administration.

[Stephanie Young]

The Justice Department through I think we counted four presidential administrations, failed these victims.

[Greg Woodnick]

Listen to Bleep with Ana Navarro as part of the My Cultura Podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Stephanie Young]

If there's one thing I've learned about Laura Owens while researching for this podcast, it's that she doesn't back down easily. Clayton thought the public backlash might be her breaking point, but the pressure only pushed her to take it a step further. On September 22, 2023, Laura called the Scottsdale police. Here's a recording of that call Skype.

[Laura Owens]

So please hi, my name is Laura Owens. I am out of town right now, I'm out of Arizona. But I'm trying to get an emergency injunction against harassment against my ex, who is celebrity and is very publicly posting for people to look at my cases, our current case, and look up my case. I have two other restraining orders against the same man and I am just desperately trying to stop it, to stop him from continuing to post because it's getting picked up by like People magazine and that's weekly. I'm not in town. I don't know what to do.

[Stephanie Young]

The Scottsdale police followed up with Clayton.

[Clayton Eckerd]

I said, here's what I posted. I said, she's trying to defame me. I'm a public figure. You don't have to worry about me. I'm not going to go after this woman. I literally don't want anything to do with her. And so he was like, all right, well, she told me to call you. So I told her I would. Hopefully this will blow over for you. I said, yeah, hopefully. And that was it.

[Stephanie Young]

But of course, that wasn't it. She also hit Clayton with a cease and desist. He kept talking about Laura anyway because he knew something about her story was very wrong. Remember, Clayton got that DM from a stranger named Ashley who said her boyfriend had been through the same thing with Laura Owens. Clayton reached back out to her.

[Clayton Eckerd]

She gave me his number, and that's when Greg and I first started talking.

[Stephanie Young]

His name was Greg Gillespie. Greg had experienced a remarkably similar encounter with Laura two years prior. We'll hear more about Greg's story later. But for now, Clayton was feeling a rush of relief.

[Clayton Eckerd]

It almost didn't feel real. Talking to Greg was the first time that I had hope. I was like, oh, my gosh, I'm gonna be able to connect the dots and prove that this is a whole paternity scheme that this woman runs.

[Stephanie Young]

Hearing Greg Gillespie's story lit a fire under Clayton. Suddenly, everything made sense.

[Clayton Eckerd]

I go right to the courthouse because honestly, at this point, this is the most important thing in my life by far. Work. All these other things go by the wayside. I couldn't even function anyways. Mentally, I couldn't focus. So I sit down on this computer and I type in the court case number and up pulls all of the documents. And so I was sitting there for probably an hour to an hour and a half.

[Stephanie Young]

As Clayton sat in the courthouse reading Greg Gillespie's documents, he realized that his case was part of a pattern.

[Clayton Eckerd]

One thing Greg did that I'm super grateful for was he said, I did not seal the documents because I knew she was going to do it again.

[Stephanie Young]

The person who initially messaged Clayton Ashley was actually Greg Gillespie's girlfriend, now wife. And Ashley had said one other important thing at the end of her message to Clayton.

[Clayton Eckerd]

You have to connect with my boyfriend's lawyer if you don't already have someone.

[Stephanie Young]

That lawyer was named Greg Woodnick. 2. Greg's confusing. I know we're going to call this lawyer Woodnick from now on. Unbeknownst to Clayton, Woodnick had already heard about his story.

[Greg Woodnick]

I'm sitting at my desk one day, and my law clerk walked into my office with her laptop, and she said, you got to see this. I didn't know what she was here to talk about. And she turns around her laptop and there's an article from, I think, the sun magazine. And it describes this woman and Clayton Eckert. And she said, doesn't this remind you of that case you worked on? And she was obviously referring to the Greg matter. And I looked at the article and I go, it's the same fucking person. And she said, what? I go, it's the same person. And she looked at me, like, quizzically, and she's like, how do you know that? I go, what are the chances that a podcaster from Scottsdale is involved in the same sort of crap that we were dealing with with Greg? And so I'm looking at the article and my eyes bug open and I pick up my cell phone, and as I go to text Greg, the three dots pop up on my iPhone that Greg is texting me.

[Stephanie Young]

Clayton took Ashley's advice and decided to reach out to Woodnick. They had a great conversation, but ultimately, Clayton didn't think he could afford Woodnick's help.

[Greg Woodnick]

I think people assumed that him, coming from celebrity status, that he had a lot of resources. And I learned pretty quickly that he didn't. He was getting his feet on the ground in the real estate market. He wasn't poor, but the potential expense and legal expense dealing with Laura was going to be significant. He didn't have the resources to go forward. And I said, just let me know if you need anything. And we kind of left it at that.

[Stephanie Young]

But before they hung up the phone, Woodnick gave Clayton a warning.

[Clayton Eckerd]

He's like, I don't think you know what you're up against. I was like, yeah, no, I'll be fine.

[Stephanie Young]

Even without legal representation, Clayton knew he had to act. Fearing what Laura might do next, he filed for a restraining order to hopefully put an end to the chaos. His day in court was officially on the books for the following month.

[Clayton Eckerd]

I inform her of it because she obviously has to defend herself. And then that's when she shortly filed an order of protection against me.

[Stephanie Young]

It seemed like Laura filed the order of protection as retaliation. If that wasn't it, it was convenient timing. You see, after five months of back and forth about getting a paternity test done, Clayton found a company willing to do a prenatal paternity test on twins. At the time, a lot of companies wouldn't. Because of the remote possibility that twins could have two different fathers. Laura had publicly claimed that Clayton was refusing to take a paternity test. He says that wasn't the case. It was more of a matter of logistics. Finally, he found the right testing facility, RAV gen and submitted his DNA sample. Now he just had to wait and see if Laura would submit her portion of the test. Clayton wasn't sure if she was actually pregnant, but if she was, there was no way he was the father. So he hoped this test would finally put an end to the conversation.

[Clayton Eckerd]

A few days later, I get an email. They're like, hey, just wanted to let you know, Laura submitted her sample. And my heart dropped. I was like, what? She submitted a sample? And they're like, yeah, yeah, she submitted it. So we have it, and we'll get you the answers back within, like, seven to 10 business days.

[Stephanie Young]

All Clayton could do was wait. When the phone finally rang, I wait

[Clayton Eckerd]

there for about a second or two to answer because I'm just like. Like, this is where my life changes forever, potentially.

[Stephanie Young]

Rav. Jen said the results came back inconclusive.

[Clayton Eckerd]

I said, what's. What's that mean? He said, well, it means that, like, there wasn't enough evidence. Like, there was little to no fetal DNA. I said, okay, so, like, she's not pregnant? He goes, well, no, it's not saying that. It's just saying that we didn't have enough fetal DNA to prove whether or not you're the father.

[Stephanie Young]

Prenatal paternity testing companies assume that if a woman is submitting her blood for testing, there is in fact, a pregnancy. Then they test the blood for paternal DNA. In Laura's case, the results came back saying there was little to no fetal DNA present. It could mean there was an issue with the sample, or it could mean there was no pregnancy. So Clayton asked the lab if they could prove that Laura wasn't pregnant.

[Clayton Eckerd]

He goes, well, you can't really with this. In a case like this, what happens is we have to retest her. I go, and what happens if it comes back a little to fetal DNA again? He goes, then we'll retest her a third time.

[Stephanie Young]

Clayton was becoming frustrated, and he wanted proof, but Ravjen couldn't provide it.

[Clayton Eckerd]

He goes, well, after the third test, we would tell her to go to her doctor. Her doctor would conduct an exam.

[Stephanie Young]

The problem was Laura wasn't allowing Clayton to participate in any of the doctor's appointments she said she'd made actually to get technical here. A few months prior, Laura told Clayton she'd had an ultrasound done, and she said she had the image, but that she would only show it to him if he met her in person. He didn't want any further communication with her, and he definitely didn't want to see her in person. Clayton felt like he was out of options. The paternity test wasn't the definitive end that he expected it to be. He couldn't prove that Laura wasn't pregnant. But he was desperate to bring this scandal to an end. Clayton decided to take to social media and announced the rav gen results that there was little to no fetal DNA found in Laura's sample.

[Clayton Eckerd]

I can't say she's not pregnant because I was like, that would technically be a lie based on what I was just told. I'm going to say it in a way that sounds so confident that, like, it's over. That was the whole point. I'm going online and I'm going on with everything that I got at this

[Stephanie Young]

point, he was desperate, rabid even, for the public to believe him. Here's what he posted.

[Clayton Eckerd]

Listen, it's Friday, and you know what we need on a Friday?

[Stephanie Young]

We.

[Clayton Eckerd]

We need some good news. And who's got the good news today? I got the good news. What's that good news, Clayton? Well, test results came back early, and they said little to no fetal DNA present. Let's go, baby. We knew. I knew that that was gonna happen. Thankfully, five months of torture can finally be put to rest.

[Stephanie Young]

Clayton's celebratory tone here may seem off putting. I asked him why he sounded almost enthusiastic in this video because it's my impression that he was at a breaking point. He told me that it was an intentional performance. He'd given himself this pep talk before filming the video.

[Clayton Eckerd]

You need to make this seem like you are 1000% confident that it's done. It's over. Hey, thanks, everybody, for following along. Glad we got this put to rest. Everyone have a great day. We're done.

[Stephanie Young]

For a moment, it seemed like the video worked.

[Clayton Eckerd]

Everybody was like, congratulations. I'm so happy this is over with. Like, I won. In the public eye, it's over.

[Stephanie Young]

But if you've learned anything about Laura by now, you know this was far from over. Her response to the video was quick. First, she filed a restraining order, and unlike Clayton's, hers was immediately granted. A hearing was set for the next month. Now, she and Clayton had dueling restraining orders, but hers had been given emergency status, likely due to the very real precedent of women needing emergency protection in cases of domestic violence. Then Laura demanded that Clayton remove the video under threat of a lawsuit. She followed that up with another call to the Scottsdale police.

[Laura Owens]

Scott, please. Hi, my name is Owens. I got an order of protection granted a couple of hours ago, and the person's already violated the order. The judge said I could call okay, well, it only happens once they've been served. Have they been served? No, but he. He said that I could call before and if I had a copy of it. And I do have a copy, but it doesn't go into effect until that person's been served the order. Oh, okay.

[Stephanie Young]

Even though she'd just filed for an order of protection, Laura began contacting Clayton again. The same day she made that call to the police. She sent him more than 10 emails. One of them was particularly notable. It contained a video of an ultrasound. This was something Clayton had been asking her to send for months. Then a few days later, Laura sent a photo of another ultrasound. But the photo looked strikingly different from the video. Most notably, the photo shows a pregnancy with a single baby. The video shows a twin pregnancy. This is where things get confusing. Even though these were the first ultrasounds Laura had sent him directly, it wasn't the first one Clayton had seen. A few months earlier, he'd been on a zoom call with Laura's attorney, who was sharing her screen. Clayton took a screenshot of the page that supposedly showed Laura's six week ultrasound of twins. It was the only image he had until these new ones showed up in his inbox. There's something else about these ultrasound images. Clayton and his lawyers weren't the only ones to receive them. By this point, Laura was in constant contact with content creators like Reality Steve and Dave Neal. Laura was aggressively refuting their coverage and sending them what she claimed was proof. Here's Reality Steve. Here are three reasons I'm going to

[Greg Woodnick]

prove to you that I'm pregnant.

[Stephanie Young]

One was a note from her neurologist. Neurologist. Last time I checked, neurologists don't deliver babies. The second thing was an ultrasound. And then the third thing was a picture of her in the mirror with a baby bump. Laura sent the video ultrasound evidence to Reality Steve, an audio only podcaster, yet notably bypassed Dave Neal, one of the creators who actually specializes in video content. Dave Neal is going to pick up the story.

[Dave Neal]

Steve and I, we go way back. And then of course, your boy gets a copy of it and we analyze it. And this ultrasound, I would have believed this was a real ultrasound. It was the nurses, the professionals in our community, when we shared the ultrasound that said, oh, no, no, no, no, the header is all off. She messed her name up, right? It didn't say Owens comma Laura. It said Laura Owens. That was a gigantic red flag. The one thing we can all agree on is that in the medical world, it's all standardized now. There might be different brands of ultrasounds, different medical equipment, but she sent us a video of an ultrasound, and the timecode wasn't moving. So in her, I don't know, photoshopping, she was able to insert her name. So, technically, the pixels, the color, the font, perfect replicas, the flaws come in from user error.

[Stephanie Young]

Dave's audience knows what they're doing. They were the first online sleuths on this case. They traced Laura's ultrasound video back to its Original source, a YouTube video posted six years prior by an ultrasound company. For everyone following the case online, this discovery was a bombshell. But they hardly had time to process it because Laura was sending even more quote, unquote proof of her pregnancy to content creators like Dave Neal.

[Dave Neal]

I have a video of what Laura claims is her father in a hospital bed in a hospital gown, rubbing Laura's belly. This ends the conversation. If it's real.

[Stephanie Young]

This video clearly shows Laura's father, Ron Owens. I've seen a copy of it. Ron is a public figure. He's recognizable. But to Dave, several things about the video seemed off.

[Dave Neal]

It is a video with no sound, which, first of all, is a super red flag. When was the last time you recorded an iPhone video and turned the sound off?

[Stephanie Young]

Laura sent the same video to Clayton again after she'd filed the restraining order against him.

[Clayton Eckerd]

It was blatantly obvious that it's not her, because the video's really cut off, so you can't see above the neck. That was what was so odd about it and why it instantly flagged me, and I'm like, this isn't you. This is ridiculous. Like, I can't believe you just sent this to me.

[Stephanie Young]

As Dave and his audience did more digging, they developed a theory that could explain the hospital room video.

[Dave Neal]

I find out that last year, Laura's sister was pregnant. And then my alarms go full siren mode. It's my belief she's faking a pregnancy and using her sister's real pregnancy as cover.

[Stephanie Young]

Dave even reached out to Laura's sister Sarah to try to set the record straight.

[Dave Neal]

I received no comment.

[Stephanie Young]

Laura could no longer control the narrative when she initially reached out to tabloids, asking them to cover her story. I don't think she anticipated that she herself would be scrutinized in the public eye. I don't think she imagined that online sleuths would analyze her videos frame by frame. But what had begun as an online discourse was about to enter the courtroom.

[Laura Owens]

And how far along are you as we sit here today with respect to pregnancy? I am 24 weeks along.

[Stephanie Young]

I actually drive better when I'm high. It heightens my senses, calms me down. If anything, I'm more careful.

[Clayton Eckerd]

Honestly, it just helps me focus. That's probably what the driver who killed

[Greg Woodnick]

a four year old told himself. And now he's in prison. You see, no matter what you tell yourself, if you feel different, you drive different. So if you're high, just don't drive. Brought to you by NHTSA and the AD Council.

[Stephanie Young]

Segregation in the day, integration at night. When segregation was the law, one mysterious black club owner had his own rules.

[Laura Owens]

We didn't worry about what went on outside.

[Greg Woodnick]

It was like stepping in another world.

[Stephanie Young]

Inside Charlie's Place, black and white people danced together. But not everyone was happy about it.

[Laura Owens]

You saw the kkk.

[Greg Woodnick]

Yeah, they was dressed up in their uniform. The KKK set out to raid Charlie, take him away from here. Charlie was an example of power. They had to crush him.

[Stephanie Young]

From Atlas Obscura, Rococo Punch and visit Myrtle beach comes Charlie's place, a story that was nearly lost to time. Until now. Listen to Charlie's life place on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. A ambitious, well intentioned, ferocious and wealthy mother looks like in the black community this Women's History Month. The podcast Keep It Posit Sweetie celebrates the power of women choosing healing, purpose and faith. Even when life gets messy, love is not a destination.

[Laura Owens]

You have to work on it every day.

[Stephanie Young]

Keep it Positive. Sweetie creates space for honest conversations on self worth, love, growth and navigating life with grace and grit, led by women who uplift, inspire and tell the truth out loud.

[Greg Woodnick]

I have several conversations with God and I know why it took 20 years

[Stephanie Young]

to hear this and more. Listen to Keep It Positive sweetie on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.

[Greg Woodnick]

I'm Ana Navarro and on my new podcast, Bleep with Ana Navarro, I'm talking to the people closest to the biggest issues happening in your community and around the world. Because I know deep down inside right now we are all cursing and asking what the BLEEP is going on. I'm talking to people like Julie K. Brown who broke the explosive story on Jeffrey Epstein in 2018. These victims have been let down time and time again for decades and decades and decades by local law enforcement, by federal law enforcement, by administration after administration.

[Stephanie Young]

The Justice Department through, I think we counted four presidential administrations failed these victims.

[Greg Woodnick]

Listen to BLEEP with Ana Navarro as part of the My Cultura Podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio and app Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Stephanie Young]

By October, Clayton and Laura both had filed restraining orders against the other. Technically, Clayton filed an injunction against harassment, which is what you file when it's a stranger harassing you. And yes, he said he did that to be petty, but it functions nearly the same as a restraining order. Over a period of a week, they would both be in court for the restraining order hearings.

[Laura Owens]

All right, thank you. You may be seated.

[Stephanie Young]

Laura attended the first hearing virtually with her lawyer present in the courtroom. Clayton appeared pro se, meaning he represented himself. He didn't have the cash on hand to hire Woodnick, the lawyer he'd been connected with.

[Clayton Eckerd]

I walk in there and I have my briefcase and I printed off all these documents and I'm like, this is my time.

[Stephanie Young]

Laura was on zoom. Standing up in front of the camera, she looked very pregnant. She told the court she was six months along. In the video of this hearing, it looks like she's wearing a nude long sleeved bodysuit underneath her tank top. It was widely speculated online that she could be wearing a fake pregnant belly.

[Laura Owens]

We're here in the matter of Clayton Eckhart. Am I saying that right now? Eckhart, sorry, versus Laura Owens. This is CB 202-305-3952. We'll begin by having everyone state their name. Mr. Eckard, if you can state your name.

[Stephanie Young]

Once the hearing got underway, Clayton quickly realized he might be in over his head.

[Laura Owens]

Head.

[Clayton Eckerd]

I have no idea, like, how the court runs. So I'm over here and I'm raising my hand at points. The judge is like, very kind to me, being like, dude, what are you doing here without a lawyer?

[Stephanie Young]

Ultimately, Clayton did a pretty good job of representing himself. But there was one small problem. Dave Neal explains.

[Dave Neal]

Laura's attorney tried to hand Clayton a USB drive of information. And Clayton goes, I don't have a laptop with me. I wasn't prepared for this. And the judge gave Clayton the best gift in the world. The judge said, we're going to pause this and we'll come back a week later.

[Stephanie Young]

And as the judge was looking for a date on the calendar to continue the hearing, Laura piped in over zoom. What you're about to hear is the courtroom audio from this moment.

[Laura Owens]

Your honor, is it possible for me

[Stephanie Young]

to show Clayton that I am, in

[Laura Owens]

fact pregnant because he hasn't seen me? No.

[Stephanie Young]

Laura had been showing the camera her belly the whole time.

[Dave Neal]

When you kind of really read between the lines, see that she's standing for 90 minutes, she's like, at a standing desk, she continues to reframe things so that it shows the belly.

[Stephanie Young]

Right after the hearing was adjourned, I

[Clayton Eckerd]

get a text from Dave Neal, and he's like, hey, you did good in there. And I was like, what?

[Dave Neal]

He's like, wait, you were in there? And I was like, bubba, we all were in there.

[Stephanie Young]

Clayton didn't realize it, but this hearing had been live streamed. Thousands of strangers who'd become interested in this case had been watching it live.

[Dave Neal]

That was the most watched family court case in that county's history.

[Stephanie Young]

Probably word of the livestream had reached Reddit, where the link circulated rapidly, drawing a massive crowd of eager viewers.

[Dave Neal]

So it was at that moment where I said, clayton, we gotta help you.

[Stephanie Young]

The help Clayton needed was legal representation, but at the time, he couldn't afford it. Dave and his online community were ready to jump in.

[Dave Neal]

I said to Clayton, let me know when I can turn on this gofundme. Everyone wants to support you. And Clayton had a lot of pride. He didn't want to ask for help. He needed it.

[Stephanie Young]

After some back and forth, Clayton agreed to let Dave Neal crowdfund for his legal fees overnight. They raised enough money to cover the rest of his proceedings. But things were moving faster than Clayton could keep up with, because the very next day, he and Laura were both due in court again for Laura's restraining order hearing against Clayton. Since it had been less than 24 hours, Clayton was still representing himself. And this time, Laura appeared in person. She wore a black and white striped sweater that highlighted her visible pregnancy. The central point during this hearing was a specific photograph of Laura that had surfaced on Reddit. A photo of her had been turned into one of those Halloween costume memes, and Laura was offended by it. Again, this is audio from their hearing. It starts with Laura talking.

[Laura Owens]

So exhibit 11 is a screen grab of a Reddit thread saying how to win the scariest costume contest.

[Stephanie Young]

And it's me turn showing my stomach,

[Laura Owens]

and it's me holding a sonogram of our son that only he had possessed possession of. So he clearly made this up of

[Stephanie Young]

me, which obviously was offensive. Whoever made this meme photoshopped the sonogram in as if Laura was holding it. Laura testified that Clayton was the only recipient of the sonogram, implying he was the only one who could have posted this meme. However, multiple sources have told me they saw the sonogram and the Dropbox folder of evidence Laura posted on Reddit. I can't confirm that because the link has since been deleted. But Clayton denies that he posted the Halloween meme. Furthermore, in my opinion, the possibility remained that Laura could have fabricated the post herself. Despite these inconsistencies, the judge ultimately ruled in Laura's favor.

[Clayton Eckerd]

She said, you're the only person that she sent it to. I realize it's possible that she could have sent it to somebody else who could have published it. And then I have to decide would she really want to do that? Because it's not the most flattering picture that obviously when a person's pregnant, you know, their body changes. And it's something that I don't believe that she would have wanted to share. And this depiction not only showed her, but it was poking fun at her.

[Stephanie Young]

The judge claimed the photo of Laura was so unflattering that she would not have sent it to anyone else or posted it anywhere. It was mind blowing for me to hear this from a judge. But that was his final decision. And on October 25, 2023, Laura was successfully granted an order of protection against Clayton. As Clayton prepared for his follow up hearing the next week, he utilized the funds from Dave Neal's audience to retain professional legal representation.

[Dave Neal]

We were hoping to get him the attorney that could crack this thing. And of course that's Greg Woodnick. I mean, Greg Woodnick, he knew the game plan.

[Stephanie Young]

He knew the game plan because he had represented the other victim of Laura Owens a couple years prior. But because of what he knew, he wasn't immediately ready to jump back in. Here's Woodnick.

[Greg Woodnick]

I was feeling really bad because I knew what he was about to go through. I was remembering what had happened with Greg. I was remembering what I had learned at that point. And I didn't really want to get involved with her again.

[Stephanie Young]

While the weight of the decision took a toll on him, he was supported by the expertise of Deandra Arena, a fellow family law attorney.

[Greg Woodnick]

At some point, Deandra walks into my office and she says to me, are you sure you don't want to help him? I said, no, I'm not sure I don't want to help him. I do. And I also realize what is happening to him and how bad it is. And I think at that point Deandra said to me, what if I help him? And I said, seriously? And she said, yeah. She said, what if I just help him with the balance of this protective order thing? We just represent him kind of one and done. Let me go in there and help him clean this mess up.

[Stephanie Young]

Here's Deandra. I said, listen, I think we all know that she needs to be cross examined by a woman who understands the ins and outs of pregnancy. And I had been recently pregnant, so I'm happy to do it. I can do this. We'll just do this one case, this one injunction against her asthma hearing, and we'll be out.

[Greg Woodnick]

And I said, have at it. And so I think at that point, Deandra and I agreed to represent Clayton. But Deandra was going to handle the hearing, and she did, and she did a wonderful job.

[Stephanie Young]

For their third hearing, Laura appeared virtually once again, though this time her pregnancy was not visible on camera and she wore a black turtleneck. Clayton appeared in the courtroom with his new attorney, Deandra. I remember thinking, how do I make this clear? Like, what is the one point that I can make for another woman, or even a man who has had a pregnant sister, wife, whatever, who's been through that process to. To really understand. This is weird. When Laura got on the stand, Deandra wasted no time immediately questioning Laura regarding the current status of her pregnancy.

[Laura Owens]

And how far along are you as we sit here today with respect to the pregnancy? I am 24 weeks along.

[Stephanie Young]

Laura's testimony here would later become incredibly important.

[Laura Owens]

Can you please provide us with your alleged due date? February 14th. As we sit here today, not a single DNA test has come back indicating that Clayton's the father. Correct. The samples were diluted. And I'm going back next month. Is what I was either yes or no questions. It's a very simple question. As we sit here today, you have no DNA test that indicates that Clayton is the father. Right. The results. The testing is ongoing is what I

[Stephanie Young]

was told, as was Clayton. In the video of this hearing, you can see Laura visibly chugging a monster energy drink. If that was what was actually in the can, it has 160 milligrams of caffeine that stood out to Dave Neal.

[Dave Neal]

My wife's pregnant. I'm making my wife decaf coffee. At most couple milligrams here and there. You're not supposed to have caffeine. It even says it on the label of monster, like, don't drink this if you're pregnant.

[Stephanie Young]

The scope of this hearing was not to verify Laura's pregnancy. Rather, the burden of proof rested on Clayton to demonstrate that she had been harassing him. With this objective in mind, Deandra continued her cross examination.

[Laura Owens]

Mr. Eckert told you he didn't want you contacting him anymore and then would block your telephone number. Correct.

[Stephanie Young]

But told me to email him.

[Laura Owens]

Ms. Owens, these are yes or no questions. Isn't it true that Mr. Eckerd indicated he did not want you contacting him anymore and then would block your telephone number. Actually, that's incorrect.

[Stephanie Young]

It's slow going. Just getting Laura to acknowledge the messages and she sent to Clayton.

[Laura Owens]

And here Ms. Owens, on May 25th of 2023, Clayton says to you, I'm debating buying a police report. Please leave me alone. Correct the the context needs to be stated.

[Stephanie Young]

He did not make

[Laura Owens]

yes or no question and he was found in. Your attorney will have the time just ask you a question again, Ms. Owen. So just answer her question and your attorney will ask opportunity to question you again.

[Stephanie Young]

With every question, Laura's agitation becomes increasingly apparent. I asked Deandra what it was like to cross examine Laura. There are times where I remind her that these are yes or no questions and you can tell that, you know, she's not an easy witness to cross examine.

[Laura Owens]

Candidly.

[Stephanie Young]

As the hearing continues, Laura is very visibly rolling her eyes, sighing, shaking her head, laughing and throwing her head back. I've done a lot of bench trials. I don't recall seeing a reaction like that more than maybe one or two other times. Then it came time for closing arguments. Here's Deandra's audio from the hearing.

[Laura Owens]

She's not being truthful today, and my client is legitimately fearful of what else she's capable of. He's asking that this court recognize that he has done everything to handle this appropriately. He has begged and pleaded with her to stop contacting him. There is no reason for these two to have communication. Despite what Ms. Owens will say regarding this alleged pregnancy. There is no proven pregnancy at this point. So we are asking that this court find that she has harassed Mr. Eckert from May of 2023 up until today's date. And we're asking if the court finds that the injunction against harassment needs to be ordered and maintained when the judge

[Stephanie Young]

finally gave her ruling.

[Laura Owens]

As I stated when we first started this hearing, I'm not making a determination as to whether or not she's pregnant or not. The communications that I have a lot of concerns with are the ones where she's trying to make offers to him to continue a relationship that she is trying to facilitate. If you do this, and I'll give you this, those kinds of messages are of the nature that are harassing and can be viewed as alarming, annoying. There were a number of threats to go to the media, which were other additional attempts to try to use the media as manipulation or the threat to go to the media as manipulation. I find those to be alarming, annoying, or harassing. So I am going to grant the injunction at this time. Injunction is going to prevent any communication outside of the legal process.

[Stephanie Young]

As Clayton walked out of the courtroom, he repeatedly thanked his lawyer, Deandra.

[Clayton Eckerd]

We end up winning. She won for me. And she's like, Clayton, hopefully this is like the end of it for now. She's not gonna be able to bother you anymore. So I was like, thank you. It should be quiet from here on out, and if it's not, she'll get arrested.

[Stephanie Young]

Given everything you've learned about Laura so far, you're probably expecting her to continue her relentless pursuit of Clayton. Instead, she fell uncharacteristically silent, a stillness that proved to be even more unsettling than the noise. In the silence, this scandal would take on a new dimension. Hundreds, even thousands more strangers would get involved, and they would uncover so much more about Laura Owens.

[Dave Neal]

Good morning everybody in our family. Featured Story Bachelor Clayton Eckerd and the lady that accused him of being the father of her unborn twins.

[Stephanie Young]

Who would make this up? Well, Laura Owens, that's who would make it up. My Money was on 911 phone calls. She was going to be in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. And I was right.

[Dave Neal]

I'm sent all of this from Reddit community, from people in my audience. They find this stuff before I even can.

[Stephanie Young]

This is the greatest programming in the history of YouTube. It was like the smoking gun of the entire case discovered live Reddits were getting taken down. She's so screwed because people are watching and they're not going to allow it to happen.

[Dave Neal]

And if he wasn't famous enough to have a Sun article written about him, she would have gotten away with it 1000%.

[Stephanie Young]

I. Thank you so much for listening. Please be sure to follow Love Trapped on Apple Podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And please leave us a review. A five star rating helps others find this show. We're grateful for your support. If you would like to reach out to the Love Trapped team, email [e-mail] that's lovetrappedpodmail.com Love Trapped is a production of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass Entertainment Group in partnership with iheart Podcasts. This show was executive produced by Nancy Glass, Andrea Gunning and Ben Federman. Written, produced and hosted by me, Stephanie Young. Our story editor is Monique Laborde. Additional production support from Sidney Gladue and Todd Ganz. Our production manager is Kristin Melkery for iHeart podcasts. Ali Perry was our executive producer. Audio editing and Mastering by Anna McLean. Additional editing support by Zac Proteau and Matt Del Vecchio. Thank you to our voice actor, Leslie Tolley. This podcast was developed in collaboration with Danny Passman and Leb Abramoff at Crybaby Media. The Love Trapped theme is composed by Oliver Baines Music Library, provided by My Music. A special thanks to Carrie Lieberman, Will Pearson, Jessica Kreincheck, Ali Kanter and the entire iHeart podcast team. And for more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.