The bizarre saga of a fake pregnancy that launched a thousand podcast episodes is over, as the daughter of legendary KGO radio host Ronn Owens has been indicted for faking a pregnancy with a guy from The Bachelor and lying under oath about it.
If you’re a fan of the unholy trinity of reality TV, online influencers, and YouTube podcasters, you likely have some familiarity with the story of Laura Owens, who happens to be the daughter of 50-year KGO AM radio staple Ronn Owens. The younger Laura Owens hooked up with season 26 Bachelor star Clayton Echard in May 2023, in an apparent one-night stand (which may have only involved oral sex?). But Owens then claimed she was pregnant with twins from the encounter, and filed a paternity suit against Echard.
That Arizona civil suit apparently contained fake pregnancy tests and doctored ultrasound photos, and a fair amount of lying under oath. Now the Arizona Republic reports that Owens has been indicted on seven felony counts, including perjury and tampering with evidence.
The YouTube video above explains the whole stupid saga, and indeed, this gossipy controversy has been largely litigated on YouTube podcasts. But what’s interesting about the above video is how it details that Owens allegedly victimized three other men — two of them in San Francisco — in similar fake pregnancy scams (generally claiming she was carrying twins).
In May 2023, Owens and Echard first met on LinkedIn with regards to some real estate investments. That turned into a brief sexual fling, which Echard insisted was only oral sex. But Owens quickly claimed she was pregnant, went public with her claims, and sued Echard. Her story went viral, she diaried the whole thing on Medium, and the dispute became a cause célèbre online.
got an update to the Clayton Echard Laura Owens story on the morning episode of Rush Hour podcast. Just uploaded it, reading Laura Owens latest statement following the 7 felony charges. shes a cookoo bird @ClaytonsJustice https://t.co/vkCbvHiQL8
— Dave Neal (@DNealz) May 8, 2025
Enter Youtube podcaster Dave Neal, a sort of low-rent Joe Rogan who glommed onto this story like Captain Ahab chasing Moby Dick. But this was both lucrative and validating for him, as he analyzed and showed that Owens has used fake ultrasounds, sonograms, pregnancy tests, and other falsified evidence to back up her claims.
Thus, in June 2024, Owens lost her paternity case against Echard, and was ordered to pay his legal fees. The judge ruled this was "a case of serial fabrications," and even referred Owens for criminal prosecution, leading up to Wednesday’s indictment.
According to the Chronicle, Owens was indicted on counts of fraudulent schemes, forgery, tampering with physical evidence, and four counts of perjury.
Note: A previous version of this post stated that Owens had been found guilty. She has merely been indicted on seven charges.
Image: Laura Owens via Medium
