Matt James says he's looking for a therapist after 'The Bachelor' finale
The Bachelor's Matt James is going to need some time to recover from the show.
He said Tuesday, the day after the finale and the After the Final Rose special aired, that he's in search of a therapist.
??? Google ??? Therapist ??? Near me
— Matt James (@mattjames919) March 16, 2021
James's season was dramatic, even for The Bachelor. In the final episode, viewers watched him give the final rose to Rachael Kirkconnell, only to learn in the aftershow that he's since ended their relationship. Their breakup came after photos of Kirkconnell, who is white, attending an antebellum-themed party in college and stories of other racially insensitive behavior surfaced online. James is the show's first Black Bachelor.
He explained his reaction to Kirkconnell's past to her on the special.
"The most disappointing thing for me was having to explain to you why what I saw was problematic and why I was so upset. And that's why it was problematic," James said. "When I questioned our relationship, it was in the context of you not fully understanding my Blackness and what it means to be a Black man in America. And what it would mean for our kids when I saw those things that were floating around the internet. And it broke my heart because this is the last conversation I thought we'd be having."
Kirkconnell, who's apologized for her past behavior, wrote a long post about her time on the ABC hit that she shared on Monday night. She said she knew from the first night she met James that he was "something special," and she called him "the love of my life."
James's season also saw Chris Harrison, who's hosted The Bachelor stable of shows since it debuted in 2002, step away. Harrison did so after he defended Kirkconnell during an interview with Rachel Lindsay, who was the first Black star of The Bachelorette in that show's history. He's since apologized.
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