Matt James is opening up about what went down in the fantasy suites during his season of The Bachelor. The fantasy suites take place after the lead has chosen his final three women. In Matt's case, those three women were Rachael Kirkconnell, Bri Springs, and Michelle Young. During the week of fantasy suites, the lead goes on a one-on-one date with each of the final three, which then leads to alone time in a hotel room. While no one knows what goes on in the fantasy suites, the couple usually uses this time to get to know each other off-camera.
Before this season of the ABC reality series, viewers of the show had never met or seen Matt on the franchise. However, those who follow former contestants on social media may have recognized him as Tyler Cameron's best friend. When Matt was announced as The Bachelor, fans were excited to see a fresh face in the franchise who was new to the experience. Nonetheless, Matt had a lot to learn during his journey as the lead, especially when it came down to the fantasy suites.
In an exclusive interview with WSJ Magazine, the 29-year-old spoke about what really happened with his and his top three during the fantasy suite week. Inside of getting physical, which is implied during a fantasy suite date, Matt used the alone time to engage in deeper conversations with the women. "I can't speak for anybody but myself, but I think the women appreciated it," he told the publication, adding, "I did learn things about them that I hadn't gathered, that I don't think I would have learned if I hadn't used that time to really dive deeper into something that they might not have been comfortable talking about on camera." What was important to Matt was allowing the women to understand him on a deeper level so they can decide if Matt is the one for them.
The former football player saw his personal journey as baggage and wanted to make sure the women desired to be with someone like him. "If they wanted to be with someone like me, who had this 'baggage' because that's what I saw it as initially," he continued, "It wasn't until I became more comfortable with who I was [...] as a Black man, as a brother and a son, that it just became more of my story." Matt wanted his top three to get to know the real him and not what he was showing on camera. He also spoke about how disheartened he was about the producer's not airing intimates discussions the women shared on camera. Matt knows the journey is about the women as well and was disappointed to see their stories weren't more of the focus.
Matt did not want to waste his off-camera time with the women by getting intimate so soon in the relationship. Instead, he used the time to get to know the women better on a deeper level. The foundation of a healthy relationship is built on honesty and openness, which Matt wanted to establish in the fantasy suites. Matt made the right move; no one should get engaged if the two people in a relationship aren't on the same page. Maybe that's why Matt is hesitant to confirm his relationship with Rachael.
Sources: WSJ Magazine, Matt James