Laura Owens faces sentencing for fake pregnancy scheme targeting former ‘Bachelor’ star

PHOENIX – An Arizona woman faces a judge on Friday for sentencing after admitting to faking pregnancies and fabricating medical records to target multiple men, including a former “Bachelor” star.

The backstory:

Laura Owens, 35, pleaded guilty to multiple felonies in August. Investigators say Owens went to “extreme lengths to manipulate men,” including Clayton Echard, who was a contestant on season 18 of “The Bachelorette” before being selected to star as “The Bachelor” in season 26 of the reality TV show.

Investigators say that between May 2023 and June 2024, Owens altered an ultrasound photo, faked a pregnancy video and lied several times under oath.

What they’re saying:

FOX 10 spoke with Echard’s attorney, who has been by his side throughout the entire ordeal and says Echard is ready to put this all behind him.

“Clayton’s exhausted by this. I’ve been spending time with him on and off for years since this first happened. I remember the first day I met him, when Laura was, you know, faking pregnancy essentially with twins and knowing that she had done that before to at least one other victim,” he said. “It’s been a lot of years of watching Laura do a lot of damage to a lot of men. She faked medical records. She fakes medical conditions. She’s faking pregnancy. She faked twin pregnancies multiple times, and it finally caught up to her,” he said.

What’s next:

Owens’ sentencing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. She faces up to 12 and a half years in prison.