ABC Matt James.
Rumors that Matt James has been dating someone following his time on The Bachelor have been around for several weeks. Fans of the show have been keeping a close eye on his social media activity and his whereabouts for weeks, and some have come to the conclusion that Matt is actually dating Heather Martin.
Heather was asked about the rumors during a recent chat with Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti on The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast.
“I’m not dating Matt. I think he has a lot going on in his life. You know, he’s going through a ton. I can’t even imagine…so many different aspects of the show, just everything. So, I think he has a lot going on right now. So, no, I’m not dating Matt,” she said.
Matt has not spoken out about the rumors. Lately, he’s been spending some time in Florida with his BFF Tyler Cameron, and doesn’t appear to be thinking about his next relationship at the present time.
Here’s what you need to know:
Heather & Matt’s Relationship Has Been Rumored Since ‘The Bachelor’ Finished Filming
Heather first appeared on Colton Underwood’s season of The Bachelor, and is pretty good friends with former Bachelorette star Hannah Brown. Evidently, Hannah thought that Heather would be perfect for Matt — who is also a friend of Hannah’s — so Hannah encouraged Heather to go on The Bachelor. She rolled up to Nemacolin Resort in a minivan a few weeks into the season, but things didn’t work out; Matt ended up sending her home the very same night.
Heather was in attendance at the Women Tell All special, but she was not filmed, nor did she get any air time, according to People. Fans started wondering why Heather was at the taping but wasn’t part of the show, and speculation about a possible relationship with Matt started to circulate, according to Bustle. Ben and Ashley asked Heather about it, and she sort of admitted that she couldn’t really talk about it — likely because of her contract with ABC.
“I don’t know, guys. I don’t know what I’m allowed to say these days,” she said.
Then, as Heavy previously reported, fans were quick to notice that Matt and Heather were both in San Clemente, California, back in early March — on the same day. Although the two weren’t in the same location, they were just a few miles away from one another around the same time, according to their respective Instagram Stories. This is something that Heather discussed during her interview with Ben and Ashley as well.
“I mean, San Clemente is like 30 minutes from me. My best girlfriend lives there. So, I’m in San Clemente all the time. I guess he was there, too,” she said.
Heather also traveled to New York City — Matt’s current hometown — at one point over the past few weeks. And she got some support from Matt’s mom, Patty James, on her new project — but Ben and Ashley didn’t ask her about those apparent coincidences.
Heather Won’t Be Joining the new Cast of ‘Bachelor in Paradise’
While Heather has been open to finding love on the Bachelor franchise, it sounds like she won’t be heading to a tropical location with a bunch of singles this summer. She gave a fairly matter-of-fact response when asked if she’d consider joining the Bachelor in Paradise cast.
“I don’t think that’s the show for me for multiple different reasons,” she told Ben and Ashley, adding “Yeah, I don’t think so.”
Heather didn’t have the easiest time when she showed up to see Matt on The Bachelor, but she says that she doesn’t harbor any bad feelings about the women on the show or how she was treated.
“I have no, like, bad feelings about the girls now. I understood where they were coming from, and, like, I understood they were frustrated… I was really sad and shocked about the reaction. But no, I have no ill will towards the girls or any, like, negative feelings. I understood it,” she told Ben and Ashley.
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