ABC/Billy Kidd Matt James is the Bachelor for season 25.
Stop reading if you do not want spoilers for season 25 of The Bachelor.
Matt James is getting an unexpected visitor on The Bachelor: his estranged father. Reality Steve reported the reunion during a recent post on his website.
Not much is known about their meeting, including at what point in the season it happens.
But Reality Steve predicted, “I think now that scene they’ve shown a few times of Matt sitting down outside on a curb and Chris Harrison asking if he’s ok and him saying ‘No, I’m not,’ without knowing 100% for sure, I can probably guess now that scene has to do with Matt and his dad. Either he’d just met him or was just told his dad is there to speak with him.”
While viewers have met his mother, not much is known about James’ father. Following the Bachelor’s parents divorcing, his father seems a largely absent figure in his life.
Reality Steve Does Not Think the Reunion Will Be ‘a Complete Disaster’
The Bachelor producers have attempted to reunite a cast member with their estranged parent in the past, according to Reality Steve. The Bachelor Nation aficionado claims they were unable to make it work for Kelsey Weier on Peter Weber’s season, but as he wrote, “I guess they succeeded with Matt’s.”
While he thinks viewers will find the return of James’ father to be “a low blow by the show because clearly, they didn’t consult Matt beforehand,” he thinks the meeting “ends cordially at least.”
He explained his “guess,” writing, “I just can’t see this being a complete disaster, because then the show looks horrible in the end for bringing him on without Matt’s consent, and they’re never going to openly say they never should’ve done something. I’m guessing it’s probably a tough conversation they have, probably very emotional, but when it’s over, Matt probably feels better.”
James Has Cited His Parents’ Failed Marriage as a Reason He Struggles in Relationships
Before meeting the women on night one, James admitted to franchise host Chris Harrison that he had never really been in love. During his confessional interview, he pointed to his parents’ failed marriage.
“My mom did a great job but growing up in a single-parent home I feel like I missed out on a lot of what it takes to be in a good relationship,” James said during his season’s premiere. “In the past, I’ve struggled with opening up and being vulnerable.”
James and his brother John were raised by their mother, Patty Cuculo James, in North Carolina.
While he is clearly close with his mother, a Wake Forest Weekly interview with the former football player described his father as “absent.”
For Father’s Day, he even shared a photo of his mom with the caption, “Happy Fathers Day Mom… Psalms 68:5.” That particular psalm reads, “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.”
Yet, James was always intrigued by more nuclear families. Patty spoke with ABC 11 in his hometown of Raleigh about his ABC Food Tours charity benefiting homeless kids in New York City. She told them. “He was always drawn to families where the mom and dad were together. I am so proud of him. He overcame everything and he wants to be a role model for these kids.”
Viewers will have to watch The Bachelor on ABC every Monday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern to see how James’ eventual reunion will go.
READ NEXT: Rachel Lindsay Weighs in on Clare Crawley & Dale Moss’ Split