False Paternity, 14 Felonies, and a Former Bachelor: Stephani Young on Love Trapped

This week, Kate sits down with Stephani Young, the journalist (and longtime Beth!) behind the viral investigative podcast Love Trapped, the year-plus deep dive into the Clayton Echard paternity scandal that turned out to be so much bigger than a Bachelor Nation headline. Kate opens with why a story like this is so culturally tricky to talk about and the tension between believing women and recognizing when the systems built to protect them get weaponized. Then Kate and Stephani get into how the story spans not just Clayton but a years-long pattern involving multiple men that ultimately led to 14 felony indictments. They also discuss Stephani's editorial process, in terms of building the series in parallel with how internet sleuths discovered it in real-time, what got cut, what landed her in legal review, and the moment she became part of the story when Laura's emails started arriving in her inbox too. Listen to Love Trapped first (truly, do not proceed without it), then come back. Enjoy! SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS Order Kate's NYT Bestselling book, One in a Millennial here! Text or leave a voicemail for Kate at 775-HEY-BETH! Thank you to AllModern for furnishing Kate's Season 2 Studio! AllModern has the best of modern furniture and decor all in one place. With styles from Scandi and mid-century, to minimalist and maximalist, every design is hand-vetted for quality by their team of experts. Plus they have fast + free shipping! Check out allmodern.com; you'll find Kate's bookshelves here and her new rug here! Give your skin the affordable, luxurious glow up it deserves. Go to Naturium.com/BETHEREINFIVE for 10% off the Glow Getter Bundle today. That's Naturium.com/BETHEREINFIVE. Go to helixsleep.com/bethereinfive for the Memorial Day Sale. It's the Best of Web Sale, May 1-31, 2026 for 27% Off Sitewide. Exclusive for listeners of Be There in Five. For a limited time get 40% off your first order PLUS get a free item in every box for life. Go to Hungryroot.com/bethereinfive and use code bethereinfive. Head to cozyearth.com and use my code BETHEREINFIVE for an exclusive 20% off. And if you see a post-purchase survey, mention that you heard about Cozy Earth right here on Be There in Five.