The villain of the season does have some regrets.
Shanae Ankney does have some regrets from her time on The Bachelor. After a contentious appearance on "Women Tell All," the villain of Clayton Echard's season stopped by the Talking It Out With Bachelor Nation podcast to weigh in on all the drama that played out.
"I do regret isolating myself from the women. I wish I got a chance to know them a little bit more. But at the same time, isolation for me, for my mental health, was to get away from all of that. I didn't feel like I had anyone on my side," she said. "... I wish I did give those individuals a chance and didn't judge them so fast."
"We're all human. We make mistakes," Shanae added. "I am sorry for some of the actions. I am sorry I caused so much drama. I'm sorry [for] the foul language. I really do mean it. I'm so carefree and lighthearted. It wasn't intentional and it came across like that and I am sorry."
Shanae added, "I didn't go in there saying, 'I'm going to take all of them down.' Yes, I'm a competitive person. I said, 'This is a competition,' and it was. You're going for Clayton. Whatever obstacle you're in or date you're on, you're spending more time with Clayton. I wanted to be that person, but I could've handled it a lot different."
Shanae, who referred to other women as "b**ches" and "whores" while on the show, did admit that she "said some things that were maybe harsh at the time," but noted that her "humor's just so carefree and lighthearted, calling them 'b**ches,' I didn't mean like, 'Hey, you're a b**ch.'"
"In the moment it was fun. It was carefree... In the moment, I'm just being funny. I was trying to have fun... In the moment, no, I did not mean that and I am sorry for that," she said. "... I wasn't trying to be nasty and I was. That's something that watching back I cringe. I really do."
One of the specific things that she regrets is mocking Elizabeth for having ADHD.
"My intentions weren't to throw any mental illness, mental health under the bus," Shanae said. "I do feel for those people. Watching back, making fun of her, poor taste for sure. That is something that I do regret."
Her other feud with Elizabeth, though, in which the women went back-and-forth about shrimp, is something Shanae stands behind.
"What you guys didn't see is I did share the eight pieces of shrimp... When I returned the favor to make shrimp, I was being nice... I think it just escalated from there," she said. "Everyone thought I was trying to incorporate shrimp of why Elizabeth's mean, or why Elizabeth isn't paying attention to me. No, that isn't it... It was definitely petty, but it wasn't about shrimp, it wasn't about the damn hot tub, it was about Elizabeth being fake, two-faced."
That two-faced comment is one Shanae sticks to as well, claiming that her relationship with Elizabeth "was back-and-forth. It was like a game. I'm like, 'You either like me or you don't like me.'"
As for the times she faked tears and an apology to stay on the show, Shanae admitted, "The tears were fake. One hundred percent fake."
The crocodile tears were a major topic of conversation on "Women Tell All," but Shanae noted that one instance of fake crying didn't mean that all of her tears were phony.
"There was one part where I actually did cry to Clayton. Those were not fake tears. But no one believed me. When I tried to explain myself time after time... I couldn't get a word out," she said. "That's how it was at the house, that's how it was at 'Women Tell All.' I'm like, 'I don't know what else you want me to say, because you guys keep attacking me, you're not listening, so I'm just gonna shut up.'"
While Shanae had major screen time on "WTA," it actually could have been even more extensive, as she spent more than 45 minutes in the hot seat when the episode was filmed.
"Forty-five minutes of it was hard. I didn't want to be there," she said. "... I didn't think I was going to watch it, but I was like, 'I have to. Let's see what they put together now.' I'm actually kind of glad I watched it."
After all the drama, Shanae admitted that she does "see why they feel the way they do" about her, but noted that the other contestants didn't give her a chance to explain herself.
"There was reasons behind it. I do think edits are really real, but it was so carefree and lighthearted in the moment, but playing it back I was like, 'Eek. Ouch.' I understand 100 percent," she said. "But they didn't give me the time of day to talk about, to listen. It was just hard to explain myself."
While Shanae does believe she got a villain edit, what bothers her more is that her connection with Clayton was glossed over on the show.
"Yes, I'm this villain, but they're not playing anything of funny Shanae, sweet Shanae. They're not showing me and Clayton's connection," she said. "That's what was hard because there was something there, despite the drama."
Now that The Bachelor is behind her, Shanae, who described herself as competitive, funny, and strong, hopes that America gets to know her for her.
"There's so much behind me than this mean girl," she said. "... I want people to go on social media and see my life. I'm funny, I'm silly, I'm angry at times, I'm mad. I share my life on social media, my friends, myself, my family, what I do for fun. That's me. I hope people follow me and really get to know me more, and be like, 'OK, I can relate to Shanae.'"
If producers tapped her to be the next Bachelorette, Shanae said it would allow the public to "see the real Shanae, more layers of Shanae, the vulnerability, the sweetie, the carefree."
"I'm not opposed to it... but seeing Clayton get attacked by the ladies, I felt for him. I really felt for him," she added. "... Being a lead, it has to be the hardest thing ever. To be honest, I don't know if I could see myself as that. Watching him go through that was really hard."
Bachelor in Paradise, however, seems to be the more likely path.
"We'll see," she said of if she'd appear on the franchise spinoff. "If they call me it's something to think about for sure. Watching on TV is hard... I'm not used to that. I'm not used to this publicity. It is hard, but I want people to see what you guys are seeing now and really understand me as a person."
Shanae said that she'd hope to meet the "pretty cute" Spencer Robertson on the beach, and added that she'd "100 percent" approach BiP differently than she did The Bachelor.
"[I'd be] more funny, [happy] go lucky, sensitive Shanae. I am very sensitive, believe it or not... There's so much more to me," she said. "Hopefully I don't say things out loud and the camera catches me... Just go in there trying to actually build a connection. I hope I do. I hope my person's there. We'll see."
Clayton Echard's season of The Bachelor will air its two-part finale Monday, March 14, and Tuesday, March 15. ET has got you covered throughout the entirety of Clayton's season with all of our Bachelor content.
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