Matt James made history when he became the first Black Bachelor in history—just don't ask him about the franchise now.
Matt, who became The Bachelor during the show's 25th season in 2021, chose Rachael Kirkconnell at the end of his season, and while the two split after Rachael was seen in old pictures from an antebellum plantatation-themed fraternity party, the couple has been back together for several months.
Between the controversy surrounding Rachael and the franchise's reckoning with race—host Chris Harrison was fired from the show in June 2021 after defending Rachael—Matt said it all became too much.
"My relationship had been made into a sideshow, a complete circus," Matt told the Los Angeles Times. "Rachael and I have moved on. We're one of the only couples from that franchise still going strong. The reason is we're going at things at our own pace. We're not playing games that a lot of people play just to stay in that circle."
Safe to say Matt and Rachael won't be popping up on Bachelor in Paradise anytime soon.
Matt gave plenty of criticism for his time on the show, as well. While his casting was long overdue, he argues that it lacked any sort of context, saying, "There was nothing to lay the framework—my background, who I was or why I'm here."
Regardless, Matt said it might not have mattered.
"It wasn't the right audience," he argued. "My message was not the one that The Bachelor was trying to promote across their franchise, which is fine. That's on me, being naive."
E! News has reached out to ABC for comment and has not heard back.
Matt believes that if the experience had been more honest, it might have brought some topics to the table that would have been uncomfortable for the average Bachelor viewer.
"If they're not willing to have that conversation, they should strongly consider not going there in the first place," he said. "There are things about being Black that people who aren't Black can never understand. It's too much for them to handle. But it's my life."
But hey, what do they say about silver linings?
"One of the main reasons I went on the show was to find someone who was compatible with me," the former football player said, "and I did that despite the show, which is hilarious."
All's well that ends well?
For more of the inside scoop, Matt's book First Impressions: Off-Screen Conversations With a Bachelor on Race, Family, and Forgiveness is available now.