Matt James Didn’t Know He Was the 1st Black Bachelor When He Accepted the Gig and More ‘First Impressions’ Revelations

usmagazine.com:

Life after the final rose proved to be more challenging than expected for Matt James, but the former Bachelor is ready to share his side of the story in his new book, First Impressions: Off Screen Conversations with a Bachelor on Race, Family, and Forgiveness.“It’s been such a crazy journey to that point,” the 30-year-old former reality TV star said on Us Weekly’s “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast ahead of the memoir’s Tuesday, May 3, release. “I couldn’t be better.

I’m healthy, which is the biggest blessing, and I’m in a great headspace. I’m in a great relationship. I recently moved down to Miami and it’s allowed me to reallocate my time, energy and resources on things that are most important to my life.”Bachelor Nation officially met James when his season debuted in January 2021.

He made history as the first Black Bachelor — something he wasn’t aware of when he accepted the gig in June 2020 — and for being one of the only leads that had never been part of the franchise. (While he was set to compete on Clare Crawley’s season 16 of The Bachelorette in 2020, production was shut down amid the coronavirus pandemic.)“I wasn’t really asking the right questions or, I guess, I didn’t think that was something that hadn’t been done.

It’s 2022, I didn’t think that that was something that we hadn’t crossed yet,” James told Us of admitting he didn’t know he was the first Black male lead in the show’s decades-long history. “I’ve seen a bunch of Black people come through the franchise that I guess I assumed [there had been a Black Bachelor].”James was living with Bachelorette alum Tyler Cameron in Florida when ABC reached out to him weeks after Crawley’s season was put on hold.“Initially, I thought it was a prank call because it