Bachelor 25 - Matt James - Media SM - Discussion - *Sleuthing Spoilers*

Idlemess wrote:

gabriele wrote:TPTB really threw Matt—the first black bachelor—under the bus by casting Rachael. They didn’t force him to date her but they are master manipulators and knew exactly what buttons to push. jmo

Probably got a nice chuckle out of it thinking how clever they were

I do think the franchise should go off the air. I don’t see how they can possibly overhaul the franchise with Mike Fleiss at the helm. jmo

albean99 wrote:That was a well-said statement by Matt James. I'm sad for him if he really did pick Rachael. To me, they should have known this and told him while filming. I'm really torn on even watching but will just to see Michelle and Bri's HTDs. I don't know about the finale but I'm definitely watching the ATFR.

TPTB did the same thing to Hannah , Im sure they knew about Jed's GF during filming and purposely didn't tell her. I also think they turned her away from Tyler by pounding into her that he was a player and not a safe choice.,all along thinking they could get him to be the next bachelor (they saw how his following was climbing). They are the worst. Im not surprised one bit that they messed with Matt's season although I had hope that since it was an historical season they would want a happy ending for their first MOC. Guess not.
I think the show that many of us watched for the past 20 years, made so many life long friends from (on and off the boards) is hanging on a string. Sadly,I think the end is near. Im so thankful for the friends that I made through this show. JMO

Jolena wrote:

albean99 wrote:That was a well-said statement by Matt James. I'm sad for him if he really did pick Rachael. To me, they should have known this and told him while filming. I'm really torn on even watching but will just to see Michelle and Bri's HTDs. I don't know about the finale but I'm definitely watching the ATFR.

TPTB did the same thing to Hannah , Im sure they knew about Jed's GF during filming and purposely didn't tell her. I also think they turned her away from Tyler by pounding into her that he was a player and not a safe choice.,all along thinking they could get him to be the next bachelor (they saw how his following was climbing). They are the worst. Im not surprised one bit that they messed with Matt's season although I had hope that since it was an historical season they would want a happy ending for their first MOC. Guess not.
I think the show that many of us watched for the past 20 years, made so many life long friends from (on and off the boards) is hanging on a string. Sadly,I think the end is near. Im so thankful for the friends that I made through this show. JMO

Bolded: I agree. However, Bachelor Nation is a real thing and I don’t want to see it end. It almost feels like what this country goes through. Just because there’s pushback, or appeals to be better, doesn’t mean that it has to implode. Gosh, is it so hard to evolve? It will be just a matter of how entrenched in crap this franchise is if they can’t make a plan, make changes and pull themselves out of this. It’s a shame really, that they find it this hard.

luvnunity wrote:

Jolena wrote:

albean99 wrote:That was a well-said statement by Matt James. I'm sad for him if he really did pick Rachael. To me, they should have known this and told him while filming. I'm really torn on even watching but will just to see Michelle and Bri's HTDs. I don't know about the finale but I'm definitely watching the ATFR.

TPTB did the same thing to Hannah , Im sure they knew about Jed's GF during filming and purposely didn't tell her. I also think they turned her away from Tyler by pounding into her that he was a player and not a safe choice.,all along thinking they could get him to be the next bachelor (they saw how his following was climbing). They are the worst. Im not surprised one bit that they messed with Matt's season although I had hope that since it was an historical season they would want a happy ending for their first MOC. Guess not.
I think the show that many of us watched for the past 20 years, made so many life long friends from (on and off the boards) is hanging on a string. Sadly,I think the end is near. Im so thankful for the friends that I made through this show. JMO

Bolded:  I agree.  However, Bachelor Nation is a real thing and I don’t want to see it end.  It almost feels like what this country goes through. Just because there’s pushback, or appeals to be better, doesn’t mean that it has to implode.  Gosh, is it so hard to evolve?  It will be just a matter of how entrenched in crap this franchise is if they can’t make a plan, make changes and pull themselves out of this.  It’s a shame really, that they find it this hard.

I hope it dosen't implode but I do think it is entrenched in more crap then what we think. Past contestants have started talking and spilling more then before about what goes on behind the scenes with the producers and how they provoke , lie to them and how unhealthy it is especially afterwards ect. (, one recently being Dylan and Colton too ).Once their contract is up it seems they get the guts to talk a bit. (Im sure we'll here more from others including Rachel L )
On another note : I just saw a commercial tonight for the first time about a show that's coming out in April that looks to be some type of a spin off of The Bachelor, I didn't catch the name of it but I saw couples/Roses. Did anyone catch it?

I seem to remember there was a point in time after the photos first came out, and the public outcry had just begun, that Matt's comments seemed to leave the door open for Rachael.  But with his latest statement, that door seems to have shut. So I'm wondering if it was not an instantaneous reaction, but more of a process for him.

Honestly, I never expected him to last with his F1 anyway. He doesn't seem to have much experience with long term relationships, and he has been living an overgrown college-boy lifestyle with Tyler. What I've seen between him and Rachael onscreen seems more like youthful infatuation to me. So I expected it to blow out at a certain point, and I suppose that the current stresses proved to be an opportune time for that to happen.

A woman like Michelle would have been a really solid pick for him as a spouse, but I'm not sure that Matt has the maturity yet to see that. JMO

Amethyst wrote:I seem to remember there was a point in time after the photos first came out, and the public outcry had just begun, that Matt's comments seemed to leave the door open for Rachael.  But with his latest statement, that door seems to have shut. So I'm wondering if it was not an instantaneous reaction, but more of a process for him.

Honestly, I never expected him to last with his F1 anyway. He doesn't seem to have much experience with long term relationships, and he has been living an overgrown college-boy lifestyle with Tyler. What I've seen between him and Rachael onscreen seems more like youthful infatuation to me. So I expected it to blow out at a certain point, and I suppose that the current stresses proved to be an opportune time for that to happen.

A woman like Michelle would have been a really solid pick for him as a spouse, but I'm not sure that Matt has the maturity yet to see that. JMO

I agree,

US magazine is reporting that ABC has approached Rachel Lindsay about the possibility of hosting ATFR.

“ABC and Warner Bros. have spoken to Rachel about the possibility of hosting the After the Final Rose special and they would like her to take on the role,” a source tells Us. “She is still weighing the options and is pushing for After the Final Rose to include a bigger conversation about race overall in the franchise. No final decision has been made yet.”

https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/rachel-lindsay-is-considering-hosting-bachelors-after-the-final-rose/

Are we absolutely sure that Matt picks Rachael ? This show has always been full of twists and turns. I am still not seeing "it" with Rachael and Matt...

@suzq Yes, I think that would be great. I have watched the Russian series and others and while they do have drama, they seem to find a way to actually show the love story also!

@CHO I may be sticking my head in the sand, but I am still holding out hope that maybe he picked someone else!

luvnunity wrote:

Jolena wrote:

albean99 wrote:That was a well-said statement by Matt James. I'm sad for him if he really did pick Rachael. To me, they should have known this and told him while filming. I'm really torn on even watching but will just to see Michelle and Bri's HTDs. I don't know about the finale but I'm definitely watching the ATFR.

TPTB did the same thing to Hannah , Im sure they knew about Jed's GF during filming and purposely didn't tell her. I also think they turned her away from Tyler by pounding into her that he was a player and not a safe choice.,all along thinking they could get him to be the next bachelor (they saw how his following was climbing). They are the worst. Im not surprised one bit that they messed with Matt's season although I had hope that since it was an historical season they would want a happy ending for their first MOC. Guess not.
I think the show that many of us watched for the past 20 years, made so many life long friends from (on and off the boards) is hanging on a string. Sadly,I think the end is near. Im so thankful for the friends that I made through this show. JMO

Bolded:  I agree.  However, Bachelor Nation is a real thing and I don’t want to see it end.  It almost feels like what this country goes through. Just because there’s pushback, or appeals to be better, doesn’t mean that it has to implode.  Gosh, is it so hard to evolve?  It will be just a matter of how entrenched in crap this franchise is if they can’t make a plan, make changes and pull themselves out of this.  It’s a shame really, that they find it this hard.

TB evolving would be the most amazing journey yet and one that I would love to follow and give my FR! I'm not sure I see it happening though. It seems, IMO, that SM has changed this show from a "search for love to a search for SM followers". We've watch many contestants slip easily through the filter process and make it onto the show with relationships back home, racial bias/discrimination, history as an abusive partner, and unstable personalities. TPTB often totally ignored red-flags or feed many of these contestants triggers purely for showmanship and creating drama. Now contestants face so much scrutiny -which isn't a bad thing - but I'd bet there are many past contestants (both male and female) that attended these antebellum events. It's difficult to drag Rachel without looking back to season 1 and holding all contestants accountable too. Willing to bet that the percentage of contestants from BN that have attended these types of events is fairly high yet tptb never asked about it during interviews. Not giving Rachel a pass at all but feeling like tptb have created a place that racial bias and discrimination has been common place from the start and many past contestants have benefited from this behavior while others are left to shoulder the shame and blame. All the while CH shrugs his shoulders over the hard issues and continues to invite his "fan favorites" who are willing to play the game to more and more episodes and shows. IMO.

CHO wrote:Are we absolutely sure that Matt picks Rachael ?  This show has always been full of twists and turns.  I am still not seeing "it" with Rachael and Matt...

As you know, I’m not! For the simple fact that it’s all too obvious. So, that makes me super skeptical, looking for a twist. This just doesn’t seem normal, from the seasons I’ve watched for it to just be this blatantly clear. I’ve been reading up on story writing and romantic story arcs, and based on what a writer from the show said, “It’s all about the story”. So, I’ve just been trying to find the real story.