It’s official: Matt James is back on Instagram — and his posts about The Bachelor are not. Just under a week ago, a few days after that devastating finale and After the Final Rose special, the ABC lead decided to take a little break from social media. Fans noticed on Friday, March 19, that his Instagram account suddenly contained exactly zero (0) posts, and that came right on the heels of him tweeting about looking into therapy.
It seemed like the reality star really was spiraling a little after his experience on the franchise, especially the after show where he was pushed to reconcile the experience he had filming with all of the unfortunate developments that followed. He needed to take a moment to wipe the slate clean. The star had already been particular about what he posted online — sleuthers on /r/TheBachelor noted that he only posted one-on-one pictures with women of color from his season, and his final choice Rachael Kirkconnell only appeared in a shot from one of the group dates — but now he’s leaving the entire show behind. Well, with one notable exception.
The Last Post
The only evidence of his time on the show that remains on Instagram (other than his vast array of followers and commenters, of course) is the statement he posted on February 22, just over a week after Chris Harrison announced he would be “stepping back” from his hosting duties. BTW, it was also the same day that entertainment blogger Reality Steve claimed he could “confirm” that Matt and Rachael had broken up.
Reflecting on Rachael’s actions and Chris’ defense of them, Matt wrote, “This moment has sparked critical conversations and reporting, raised important questions, and resulted in inspiring displays of solidarity from The Bachelor nation. It has also pushed me to reevaluate and process what my experience on The Bachelor represents, not just for me, but for all of the contestants of color, especially the Black contestants of this season and seasons past, and for you, the viewers at home.”
A Fresh Start
The move to delete everything but that post is particularly interesting in light of the speculation that leads and contestants on the show are contractually obligated to promote their season on social media. While that’s never been confirmed, it makes sense — and even if it’s not true, it also figures that it would be good practice for the contestants who hope to have a future in the franchise to stay in its good graces. By directing their online audience to tune in, they increase their own relevance in the franchise and butter up the producers, a.k.a the people who decide who gets invited to come back for Bachelor in Paradise or other future installments.
Matt hasn’t erased all of his digital ties to the franchise. After all, he still follows former leads like Rachel Lindsay, Tayshia Adams, and Sean Lowe. Heck, he even still follows Chris Harrison himself. But he doesn’t follow the official accounts for The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, or Bachelor Nation, and it seems like he’s pretty much done with all of them. Guess we won’t be seeing a take two where he returns to the franchise in a few years to find love for real this time — and that’s almost certainly for the best. For now, he’d just like to be excluded from that whole narrative, thanks.
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Image: ABC