Matt James says he was frustrated watching his season of 'The Bachelor'

Former star of The Bachelor Matt James is opening up about how he felt following the airing of his turbulent season.

Back in 2021, James, 30, took on the role of the bachelor as the first Black lead, hoping to share his story and bring diversity to the predominately white show.

Instead, James says he felt the franchise failed to live up to the expectations it had set.

Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, James said many of the raw and important moments he shared about his life were cut out to make room for the show's typical drama-filled plot line.

"It looked like I lacked substance, I lacked depth," James told LA Times. "We had the opportunity to have those tough conversations, but the show missed the mark."

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James' season was considered very ordinary up until the final weeks when fans of the show (referred to as Bachelor Nation) dug up an old photo of one of the frontrunners, Rachael Kirkconnell, attending an antebellum-themed party in 2018.

On top of the storm occurring on social media, former Bachelor and Bachelorette host Chris Harrison faced backlash when he brushed off the issue while speaking with Rachel Lindsay, a Black woman, and star of The Bachelorette.

Although Bachelor Nation did not know it at the time, James had chosen Kirkconnell as the winner of his season. Eventually, when it was revealed, fans were critical of the relationship

Kirkconnell issued an apology on Instagram, but the two's relationship had been rocked.

“I’m disappointed, not only for myself,” James told LA Times. “Middle America could have benefited so much. So many lives could have been enriched, not only by my conversations with Rachael but with the other women who were on this journey.”

Despite the difficult journey, James and Kirkconnell have worked things out and are still going strong as a couple.

The 30-year-old added that he felt the show was the wrong audience for him to share his journey with. Instead, he's taking the narrative into his own hands with a memoir.

First Impressions: Off-Screen Conversations With a Bachelor on Race, Family, and Forgiveness is James taking back control and allowing fans to understand his experience growing up biracial and being raised by a single mom.

But for fans looking for more dirt on the situation on James' season of The Bachelor, you won't find much in his new memoir.

"There will be another Bachelor, and there will probably be another Black Bachelor, and there will be another tell-all book," James said. "I wasn’t interested in that. If that’s what interests fans, and that outweighs the personal things I want to share, then my book isn’t for them.”

Indy100 reached out to ABC for comment.

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