Matt James, 29, is searching for his soulmate in the all-new season of The Bachelor. He’s ready to find love and start the next chapter of his life with a woman he loves. HollywoodLife talked EXCLUSIVELY with Matt ahead of the season 25 premiere about what he was looking for in a girlfriend and potential life partner going into season 25.
“Someone that I can live and spend life with,” Matt told HollywoodLife. “Someone who I can trust. Someone who respected me. Someone that I could empower to be the best version of themselves because that’s what I’m looking for, and this group of women didn’t disappoint.”
The Bachelor season 25 is Matt’s grand entrance into Bachelor Nation. He’s also making history as the franchise’s first Black star of The Bachelor. Matt revealed what he was most nervous about ahead of starting this journey to find love.
“I guess being vulnerable. Like, there are things in my dating life, in my family, that you don’t talk about. So that these women could get a feel for who I am and where I’m coming from, I had to share things that I hadn’t shared with people. It was good,” he said. Even though it can be intimidating with the whole country watching this journey unfold, Matt said “it helps you grow, though. It helps you become more comfortable in who you are. And I felt that as I continued to have these conversations and share more of myself with these women.”
Matt also spoke with notable Bachelor Nation alum to prepare for season 25. “I had multiple conversations with Hannah [Brown] and Tyler [Cameron]. They’re two of my closest friends,” Matt revealed to HollywoodLife. “I reached out to a handful of alumni. I reached out to Sean Lowe, Rachel Lindsay, Becca [Kufrin], Colton [Underwood], JoJo [Fletcher], anyone you could imagine just to get as much perspective as I could about what to expect, and nothing could prepare you for what you stepped into.”
The best piece of advice he got? “Be yourself, and don’t try to please everybody because you can’t,” Matt said. “It sounds simple, but it’s nice to be reminded of that. And when you hear it as much as I did, it started to ring true… As I’m out there I’m reminding myself of these conversations I had, and it made everything so much easier for me.” The Bachelor season 25 will air Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.