New “Bachelor” star Matt James is quick to admit that he has never truly been in love before, but he seemingly didn’t allow that fact to stop him from finally finding it throughout the season.
Whether those feelings stuck around or not remains to be seen, but in a new interview with Entertainment Tonight correspondent Lauren Zima, he opened up about love, all things “Bachelor,” and the potential for marriage in his life someday down the road when the timing is right.
His Take
“Love to me looked different before I got to Nemacolin [the show’s filming location] because of what I experienced up to that point,” James explained to Zima, adding, “And yes, I guess I’d say I haven’t experienced love until I got out there.”
Although James is a newcomer to the “Bachelor” world, he has been very candid about his life up until this point and the factors the he believes contributed to the man he is today, including trauma he endured due to his parents splitting up when he was a child.
His Parent’s Split
“That was huge,” James said, reflecting on his parent’s split and how it changed his life course.
“That was kind of a crutch coming into this. Like, I don’t want to force something. I don’t want to put myself in a situation to hurt somebody or be hurt, and that was a realization I came to in quarantine. You’re never going to be more so or less so ready to experience this. You just gotta go into it, and I’m glad I did.”
His ‘Bachelor’ Experience
During another recent interview with Entertainment Tonight,James reflected on the experience on the reality show as a whole and said it broke him down.
“It really did break me down. There were a lot of conversations that I had, that I needed to have that I hadn’t had and I wasn’t planning on having,” he said of how much he had to endure during the show’s process. “But that’s where this whole experience took me, and I’m so fortunate for it.”
On Marriage
With all things considered, James says he is still ready to make the ultimate commitment when the time is ready, meaning that marriage is definitely in the picture.
“Absolutely [I’m ready for marriage],” James shared his thoughts on getting hitched by saying, adding that it was the main reasoning behind his appearance on the show. “That’s why I came out there. And I don’t think that anyone is more so ready or not, it’s something that you just know when you experience it.”
