Matt James and Estranged Dad Reunite for Emotional Confrontation in Promo
Emotions are running high for the remainder of Matt James’ season of The Bachelor. In the promo for the upcoming final episodes of season 25, the lead is reunited with his estranged father, Manny James, as he prepares to pick between his final three contestants: Rachael Kirkconnell, Bri Springs and Michelle Young.
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“There’s still a lot of fear based on what I’ve seen in my family in the past,” the 29-year-old former football player says in the teaser released during the Monday, March 1, Women Tell All special. “I don’t want to make the same mistakes that caused my family to be torn apart.”
The clip then cuts to Matt and Manny talking at Nemacolin Resort in Pennsylvania.
“When I needed you, you weren’t there,” a visibly emotional Matt tells his dad.
Manny, who split from Matt’s mother, Patty James, when the reality TV personality was young, replies, “Do you know what I went through with your mom?”
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After Matt says, “I don’t want you to make excuses,” Manny notes, “Nobody’s perfect, son.”
Matt has been candid about how his parents’ divorce affected him, telling Tamron Hall in January that his father was unfaithful.
“There [are] very tough conversations that I have with individuals that allude to where I’m at in my life and why it’s been so difficult for me to be in a relationship,” Matt said on the Tamron Hall Show on January 27. “A lot of that stems from my dad and my mom’s relationship. I saw what infidelity looked like at a young age. I saw family members that were against the relationship and doubling down on it after seeing the infidelity between my dad and my mom.”
After his parents split, Patty raised Matt and his older brother, John, on her own.
“[Infidelity] is such a selfish thing to happen,” Matt added. “For it to take place when you’ve made that commitment to somebody — and knowing how serious I take that commitment — is why I want to make sure that I’m going about this process as seamless[ly] and focused as I can so I’m not putting someone in the situation to get hurt.”
While it’s unclear when Matt had last seen his dad before their conversation on-camera, the ABC Food Tours founder shaded Manny via Instagram on Father’s Day in June 2020.
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“Happy Fathers Day Mom
,” Matt wrote alongside a picture with Patty at the time, adding a Bible verse that reads, “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.”
Patty was also featured in the promo for the rest of the season, warning her son, “People fall in and out of love and love is not the end-all, be-all.”
The Bachelor airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.
