Okay, I’ll be the one to say it. Matt James is really, really, ridiculously good looking with a stellar personality to match.
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We’re only one episode into the 25th season of The Bachelor, and it’s already shaping up to be my favorite season ever. Matt James is easily one of the most attractive human beings I’ve ever laid eyes on, this season takes place at Western Pennsylvania’s very own Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, and some of the girls, like Abigail and Chelsea, seem genuinely cool. Of course, others call themselves queens and kings, CEOs, presidents, but you can’t like them all. I’ll endure a house full of drama queens to watch hours upon hours of Matt James.
If you’re not a die-hard fan of the Bachelor franchise, you probably had no idea who Matt James was before last night. Matt James, who has never been on a single episode of any show in the Bachelor franchise, is the best friend of former contestant and current heartthrob Tyler Cameron. According to his introduction in last night’s episode, he’s a 28-year-old real estate broker who grew up in North Carolina but now lives in New York City. When he’s not real estate broking (?), he’s working with inner-city youth, of which 50% are homeless. He is the product of an interracial marriage, grew up with a single mom, and, as he told Chris Harrison, has never been in love. Marriage might seem daunting for someone who’s never been in love, but, at the beginning of the episode, his mom said he’s ready. His mom also does not seem Barb-level crazy, so I trust her. Matt also has abs, so I already like this season better than last season.
Matt also has a beautiful, diverse group of women to choose from. It’s hard to know who to focus on this early in the season, but the ones to watch, in my opinion, are:
Abigail
Abigail, the recipient of the highly coveted first impression rose, is the Bachelor franchise’s first-ever deaf contestant. In her introduction package, Abigail said that she was born deaf and wears cochlear implants. Upon their first meeting on the steps of the Chateau at Nemacolin, Matt was instantly taken with her sweet personality and gave her the first impression rose later in the evening. Excellent choice, Matt!
Bri
Bri, a 24-year-old communications manager at a tech company, was the first woman Matt met, and she wasn’t even two steps away when he told production how impressed he was with her. We don’t know a lot about her yet, but we know he likes her. I, personally, loved her dress. It was a total vibe.
Rachel
I personally don’t know if I’d vibe with Rachel, but Matt seems to like her. After he met all the girls, Matt kicked the evening with a prayer and Rachel straight-up cried. Later, when they sat down to chat, he said that he wants all the girls to be vulnerable with him like Rachel was. She seems nice enough, but every season has a crier, and Rachel is already this season’s crier. Calling it now.
Sarah
No, that’s not Alexis Rose, that’s Sarah the broadcast journalist. In her introduction package, Sarah revealed that when she was 19, her dad was diagnosed with ALS and she’s been caring for him ever since. She’s sweet, gorgeous, and totally the kind of girl I would’ve been jealous of in high school. Rock on, Alexis – I mean, Sarah.
Chelsea
Oh my goodness, this girl. Chelsea easily wins best dressed of the night. I have zero idea if Matt like her or not, but she definitely gets my first impression rose. Chelsea has cool girl vibes for days, and I’d probably be too scared to talk to her if I met her in real life. Matt also told her that he was glad that she was there, so I think that’s a good sign. Please keep her forever, Matt, just so I can have more fashion moments like this one.
Katie
Katie may not have made the best first impression, but hers was the most memorable of the evening. She gave Matt a vibrator, then proceeded to carry it around with her all night. She even tapped a girl on the shoulder with it when she tried to ‘steal Matt for a second’. Katie might not win Matt’s heart, but she’s a woman of the people. Kaitlyn Bristowe even predicted on Twitter that she’ll be the next bachelorette.
Victoria
In addition to a crier, every Bachelor season needs a villain, and I’m thinking Victoria is this season’s villain. Victoria made her entrance on a throne and called herself Queen Victoria all evening. My favorite part of last night’s episode was when she asked a girl what she did for a living. When the girl said marketing, she goes, “Then MARKET YOURSELF TO MATT.” Calm it down, girl. You need to dial it like ten steps back.
Kit
Every queen needs her king, CEO, president (or does she?), and that just happens to be Kit. Kit is a 21-year-old ‘fashion entrepreneur’ from New York City, which I think means she buys a lot of clothes. Shortly after she met Matt, Kit said she loved being the center of attention, and you could practically see the steam coming out of her ears when Victoria made her grand entrance. Bring on the two-on-one!
As far as drama goes, last night’s episode didn’t have a whole lot of it. We met Matt, Matt met the girls, and the girls met each other. In his one-on-one with Chris Harrison, Matt did say he was nervous, which makes no sense to me because he’s ridiculously hot. He also said, in a particularly poignant moment, that he put a lot of pressure on himself to be the perfect Black bachelor. He is the franchise’s first-ever Black bachelor, and he says that he doesn’t want to limit himself to a certain kind of person. In my opinion, Matt’s already off to a great start. Bring on week 2!