So...Here's Everything We Didn't See on Matt James' Season of The Bachelor

A lot of important scenes and group dates hit the cutting room floor on this season of The Bachelor.

By Tierney Bricker Mar 09, 2021 11:00 AMTags

Previously on The Bachelor, you missed a whole lot of context.

No, it wasn't because you missed an episode or scrolled on your phone a bit too much while watching Matt James' historic season unfold. It's due to the astonishing amount of tape that hit the cutting room floor, including entire group dates—If a group date isn't aired did it even really happen? A question for the ages!—and one of Matt's most emotional revelations. Hey, who needs romance and real conversations when you can focus on girl-on-girl bullying among the women and unfounded rumors, right? 

Still, it was quite jarring to see the ABC reality hit point out that it just decided not to include multiple dates in the season, rather airing quick clips from them during the Women Tell All. Oh, and apparently two former Bachelorettes paid Matt a visit that we just never got to see?!

We're sure we're not the only ones a bit frustrated heading to the penultimate episode feeling like we barely know our lead or his final three—Bri Springs, Michelle Young and Rachael Kirkconnell—and that's not even getting into everything happening offscreen in Bachelor Nation right now. 

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From one woman being seemingly edited out of the Women Tell All special entirely to the heartbreaking backstories we just never learned, here's everything we didn't see during Matt's season...

JoJo Fletcher and Tayshia Adams' Entire Visit

Imagine producers asking you to quarantine for two weeks in a hotel room in Pennsylvania for them to ultimately cut your entire appearance, aside from a quick clip in the bloopers real? Justice for our Bachelorettes!

Alas, we have no idea what these three talked about during their sitdown, but apparently spicy food was involved.

Heather Martin's Disappearing Act

But did she arrive in the minivan?

After the Women Tell All special aired, social media sleuths pointed out that Heather appeared to be sitting in the back row next to Kit Keenan. But because there wasn't a close-up of Heather or an aired interview with her, so many members of Bachelor Nation didn't even know she was there.

Some Twitter users even accused ABC of cutting her out of the episode, which, arguably, is even dirtier than having her wait to arrive toward the end of Matt's season and making her rent her own ride. 

MIA Dates

It was revealed during the Women Tell All that not one, not two, but three different group dates were just completely cut from the season. Three!

Not sure how much we would have learned from the women digging through insects for Neil Lane baubles, but it goes to show how much time was spent fixated on the mean girls of it all.

Serena P.'s Prior Heartbreak

How did it take until the hometown dates episode for us to learn Serena "got so hurt" in a previous relationship, tearfully admitting she was "so sure" her ex-boyfriend was The One. Who dare hurt our beloved Serena? When did they date? Why did they break up? That's another secret we guess the show will never tell and we should know more about our final four!

Michelle's Heartbreak, Too!

And in the same episode, a crying Michelle talked to her father about how he had seen her in "a really emotional place" just two years ago after a relationship ended. Um, what?! Reader, we literally had no idea she even had a romantic past based on her edit. 

Matt's Emotional Response

While he thanked her for sharing her experience and gave her a rose, Matt actually had a deeper and more significant response to Chelsea using her one-on-one time during a group date to discuss the politics of Black hair and why she decided to shave all of hers off.

While on the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast, Chelsea revealed Matt's full response was cut from the episode. 

"I'm from a little suburb in Georgia, and he's from somewhere similar in North Carolina," Chelsea shared. "We both grew up in places that were predominately white. It was just nice to know that he could relate. He also said that he used to have an afro and he shaved it off and that people said he was more approachable afterwards. Even Black men have the same issues when it comes to hair."

Hey, at least we still had time to see the women snark at each other during their power-walks through the Pennsylvania hillside, right?

The Bachelor's finale airs Monday, March 15 at 8 p.m. on ABC.