Bachelor Drama: Matt James Reflects on Clare Crawley Shade

The drama is never over in Bachelor Nation! Whether contestants are fighting on the show, or on social media, there is lots of drama to go around! Former star of The Bachelor Matt James is finally addressing shade from former star of The Bachelorette Clare Crawley.

Thanks to insight from Us Weekly, here is the scoop on the drama between Matt James and Clare Crawley!

Clare Crawley Shades Matt James

Keeping up on Bachelor Nation drama can be difficult, be we are here to help, so here is the breakdown! Back in early 2020, Clare Crawley began filming for season 16 of The Bachelorette. Whithout directly naming Matt James, Crawley tweeted, “If you are doing interviews and creating Cameo accounts before you are even on my season… you are in it for the wrong reasons… #dontwasteyourtime.”

James was apparently supposed to appear on her season, but instead became the star of The Bachelor. At the time, James had been making Cameo videos to raise funds for charity. James had also been making the videos with Alex Bachman, the wide receiver of the New York Giants

Matt James' Written Reflections

On May 3, 2022, the former Bachelor star released his very own book: First Impressions: Off Screen Conversations with a Bachelor on Race, Family, and Forgiveness.

While addressing Clare's Tweet, James writes, “The sentiment backfired. On Twitter, Bachelor Nation quickly pounced, rushing to point out the worthy cause our work benefitted.”

He continues, “I appreciated their support, but it was hard to take any positives away from the tiff. I hadn’t met Clare, yet I still held out hope that, once the world was back up and running, there might be chemistry for us to discover.”

Unfortunately, because Matt then became The Bachelor, he and Clare never had their chance to explore their chemistry.

Will Matt and Clare Clear the Air?

Fans want to know if Matt and Clare have ever met and discussed the drama. Matt James also addresses the topic in Us Weekly’s “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast. He says, “I’ve never spoken to her in my entire life.”

He also mentions his initial reaction fo Clare's Tweet. “I had nothing to say [when I first saw her tweet]. I was just like, ‘Dang, that’s crazy!’ I was in shock. I was at a loss for words when I saw that.”

Matt explains that he wanted to keep an open mind about Clare, even after her Tweet. “I just think it would be unfair, especially for someone in her situation with her track record on the show, for me to come in with a preconceived notion of everything.”

James continues, “So I didn’t look into any of it. I knew she had gone on other [seasons of the shows], but, like, I didn’t do any research into it because it didn’t matter — who she was in this moment wasn’t who she was back then and I didn’t, frankly, care because we’re here in this moment. So to be judged by her or anybody to judge somebody on what they think about someone without meeting them, I don’t think is the right way to go about getting to know somebody.”

While not intending to throw shade at Clare, Matt also adds, “I couldn’t tell my story without including that because it was very pivotal in my journey. If that wouldn’t have happened, then who knows if I would have become the Bachelor. It was just giving the full context of how I ended up where I did.”

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That is the scoop on the current Matt James and Clare Crawley drama! Do you think these two will ever meet and talk things out? Let us know in the comments below!

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