While Matt James has not appeared on any other iteration of The Bachelor franchise, he will look familiar to many dedicated fans. James is the longtime best friend of The Bachelorette fan-favorite, Tyler Cameron.
James and Cameron first met as teammates at Wake Forest University, where they both played football. The new Bachelor “was the older cool kid who took me under his wing,” revealed Cameron during an appearance on the Bachelor Party podcast. “We’ve just been boys ever since. Super grateful for that friendship and what he’s shown me in the city.”
The duo would go on to live together in New York City, with their adventures often documented on Instagram.
When the quarantine hit, James went to Florida with Cameron where they would form the Quarantine Crew along with former Bachelorette Hannah Brown and other friends. They documented their adventures quarantining together and filming TikTok videos.
They took their friendship to the next level when they co-founded the non-profit ABC Food Tours in 2018. According to James’ LinkedIn, it is “a food touring company that leads students on both food/fitness tours through NYC stopping at restaurants native to the area to taste their signature dishes and learn about their history.”
He continued, “We partner with schools to provide tours for students that are directly affected by homelessness at no cost to them.”
Cameron’s Mom Nominated James for the Show
Originally, James was cast to appear on Clare Crawley’s season of The Bachelorette. However, with coronavirus related production delays, he was announced as the Bachelor before her season started filming.
Cameron advocated for his turn as the lead in 2019, joking to People in 2019, “I can’t wait to watch him next year.”
The real estate broker later revealed Cameron’s mom nominated James before her passing.
“She would be happy to know that I followed through with it,” James told Entertainment Tonight. “I think she saw everything that it did for Tyler and the way that he had changed as a man, and me being his roommate and being one of her sons, I think that she wanted something like that for myself.”
James Is Making History as the First Black Bachelor
Despite passing away before it came to fruition, the nomination from Cameron’s mom led to James’ appointment as the franchise’s first Black Bachelor.
During a recent promo on People, he opened up about the weight of the role.
“You know, I feel a load of responsibility, but in that, I feel like my experience isn’t everyone’s experience,” James said into a contestant’s question. “I can only go and speak on things that I’ve experienced and live out my truths. And do the best I can to represent who I am and how I was raised.”
He elaborated during a confessional, saying, “Being a person of color, it’s important to me that someone knows what that’s like and embraces it because that was part of who I am and it’s going to be part of our relationship.”
James’ turn as Bachelor begins tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
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