Matt James Is Proof The 'Bachelor' Lead Shouldn't Be A Newbie

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Matt James Is Proof The 'Bachelor' Lead Shouldn't Be A Newbie

Four episodes into Bachelor Season 25 and I'm ready to call it: Matt James is proof The Bachelor lead shouldn't be new to the franchise. His ignorance of how The Bachelor works, particularly when it comes to the politics and tensions in the house, is only making the petty mean girl drama worse. And this was more evident than ever in Week 4 when five new women entered the competition, creating a war between the New Girls and The O.G.s.

Matt is the first newbie Bachelor lead in 13 seasons. For the past decade, almost every Bachelor has been fresh off the previous season of The Bachelorette, with the exception of Arie Luyendyk, and I think we learned a lot from that choice! (Editor's note: Matt was originally cast to appear on Clare Crawley's season.) And while at one time I thought new blood might shake things, watching Matt I realize I was wrong. Having a lead who hasn't been through the process is just setting him or her up to fail, especially when it comes to managing drama among contestants.

Matt's lack of familiarity with the Bachelor "process" made him susceptible to manipulation from Night 1. It's a common Bachelor storyline for one contestant to go up to the lead to accuse another contestant of something shady. And in the past, we've seen leads who have been through the wringer take time to get both sides and really question whether or not they're being manipulated. Instead, Matt just let Victoria Larson manipulate him into sending Marylynn Sienna home on Week 2.

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