Matt James Pokes Fun at Himself for Kissing With His Eyes Open (Again)
Up close and personal! Matt James is laughing off Bachelor Nation’s criticism of his kissing skills after making out with several of his contestants with his eyes open.
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“*Literally any kiss POV*
,” the 29-year-old former football player wrote alongside a selfie with his eyes open wide and lips puckered up on Monday, January 18, via Twitter.
*Literally any kiss POV*
— Matt James (@mattjames919) January 19, 2021
Matt made headlines after the January 11 episode of the ABC series after he kissed Lauren Maddox with his eyes open during the group date. The Wake Forest alum’s BFF Tyler Cameron, who was the runner-up on season 15 of The Bachelorette, was among the social media users to troll him.
“Ayyyyoooo @mattjames919 what we got going on over here,” Tyler tweeted alongside a fan’s screenshot of the kiss, adding a series of laughing emojis.
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Matt replied, “Gotta make sure no one sneaking up on us! When your eyes are closed … ANYTHING can happen! It’s for both of our protection.”
ABC executive Robert Mills previously opened up to Nick Viall about the PDA on Matt’s season.
“He’s not really the kissing bandit type,” the exec said on “Viall Files” earlier this month. “He’s not afraid to kiss, but he’s also not somebody who’s going to set the record [for Bachelor kisses].”
Nick, the season 21 Bachelor, noted that it’s hard for the lead to “reject” a kiss from a contestant. “It’s more on the cast [how many people the lead kisses],” he said.
While Arie Luyendyk Jr., the season 22 Bachelor, previously earned the “kissing bandit” title, Peter Weber made history for smooching the most women on night one during season 24.
“I don’t know why people think it’s weird. I was dating them [and if] I feel it, I don’t hold back. There was a lot of instant chemistry and connections,” the pilot told Entertainment Tonight after his January 2020 premiere. “I’ve seen people say, like, it’s weird [and] I’m like, ‘Really? OK.’ I was dating them, you know? … [And] some of the girls were coming up to me and kissing me.”
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Matt, for his part, started his journey on January 4. He previously opened up to Us Weekly about becoming “emotionally attached” to several of his contestants.
“I think [falling for multiple women is] just something that comes with the territory because when people are sharing these things with you and you’re sharing things with them, it’s only natural that over time you’re going to form some type of feeling for that person,” he told Us ahead of the premiere. “It’s just such a great group of women, like, women that you would never think would be single. That’s why I was so skeptical coming in, because it’s like, you don’t think the type of woman exists that I was interacting with and that were part of this experience. So, it made my life and decision-making that much more difficult because you’re having to send home incredible women.”
