Because Matt James is new to the Bachelor franchise, fans of the show don't know too much about him beyond the show and what we've seen of the Bachelor on social media. But new details about the ABC dating series lead are emerging from someone who knows him pretty well, and what she has to say about Matt is shocking, to say the least.
The popular pop culture podcast Stay At Home Pop (hosted by Molly Ryan and Arielle Haller-Silverstone) invited Matt's former roommate to appear on the January 20 episode to talk about her time living with the Bachelor. Only referred to as "Sophia," the woman revealed that Matt was a less-than-stellar roommate. Let her tell it, he was a nightmare to live with.
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"[Matt's] the worst," Sophia said on the podcast. "I didn't like him. We actually had a falling-out towards the end."
According to Sophia, her year as Matt's roommate was marked by a lack of boundaries and disrespect. She told the Stay At Home Pop hosts that Matt had essentially turned their tiny New York City apartment into the unofficial Bachelor crash pad, inviting best friend Tyler Cameron and other Bachelor alum to stay at their home for days on end whenever they were in town. Sophia also claimed that the Bachelor also invited his fellow Wake Forest University alum to the apartment and even made multiple copies of their house keys for the guests without their approval; this meant that random men came in and out of the apartment at will without the actual tenants being present.
When Sophia approached Matt to discuss the house rules, sharing that she wasn't comfortable with the way things were, he allegedly had a chilling response.
"I told him that I was a single woman and felt uncomfortable," said Sophia of the conversation. "He looked at me dead in the face and said, 'I don't care that you feel uncomfortable.' I started crying."
If Sophia's story about Matt is true, Bachelor Nation has a right to feel unsettled. Not respecting the woman that you live with — who pays half of your rent! — is a giant red flag, perhaps even more alarming than the other warning signs we've seen from the three weeks of Matt's season so far. (He's already travelling down the path of Bachelors past by playing into producer machinations and white women's tears.) These allegations and his on-camera misbehavior may actually point to an even bigger issue: a lack of consideration for others.
Matt's currently on a virtual press tour, dropping by numerous Bachelor-sponsored podcasts to talk about his journey and defend himself against critics. The next stop, wherever it lands him, should definitely include a conversation about his roommate — and an apology.