Matt James Reveals Behind-the-Scenes Trick He Did Before ‘Bachelor’ Dates

Matt James Bri Springs

ABC Matt James and Bri Springs on a date on an episode of The Bachelor.

Matt James kept his clothes on in the season premiere of The Bachelor, but in episode two he twice disrobed for a hot tub session during one-on-one dates with Bri Springs and Sarah Trott.

With his body on display on national television, James revealed the secret trick he used to make himself look just a little bit better with his shirt off.

On his Instagram story, James shared a behind-the-scenes clip of him doing pushups behind a tree in the middle of his date with Springs. On the post, he wrote, “Had to get that QUICK pump in before I saw Bri!” followed by three crying laughing emojis. In a second post, he wrote, “ANY GUY who said they haven’t done this is CAPPIN!” with another couple crying laughing emojis.

Later he revealed another clip of himself doing pushups ahead of his hot tub session with Trott.

James’ quick pump evidently served him well, as Springs was very impressed with his physique. She commented that she was distracted when he took his shirt off and “was trying not to count Matt’s abs.”


Tyler Cameron Says James Took Pre-Show Workouts Seriously

Matt James and Tyler Cameron

Dominik Bindl/Getty ImagesBachelor Nation’s Matt James and Tyler Cameron attend a fashion show together.

Tyler Cameron was a star on season 15 of The Bachelorette and is largely responsible for James earning his spot as the lead on The Bachelor. The former college football teammates are best friends and live together in New York City, so Cameron got a front seat for James getting prepared for the role of a lifetime. And according to Cameron, James took getting in shape very seriously.

“Matt before the show was getting in sick shape,” Cameron said on the Chicks in the Office podcast in November. “He cares about how he’s going to be portrayed, how he’s going to look. So I was like, are we going to get Robot Matt, or are we going to get Matt Matt?

“I talked to some of the stylists, all of the people, just ‘How’s Matt?’ And they were like, ‘Matt’s great, but all he does is eat salads and salmon.’ This is not the Matt I know, so I was nervous, but I saw him and Matt was great. We’re going to get a full dose of Matt.”

When James was first announced as the lead of The Bachelor on Good Morning America in June, Cameron revealed that they celebrated the news with a workout.

“When something big happens, I celebrate with a few beers,” Cameron said on his Instagram story. “But this mad man had me running stadium steps. You are out of your mind. Congrats, brother.”


James Was Originally Set to Appear on ‘The Bachelorette’

Before James was named The Bachelor in June, he was one of the men set to compete for Clare Crawley’s heart on The Bachelorette.

That plan got put on hold when the COVID-19 pandemic forced a delay in production and essentially took away ABC’s ability to pick a lead after season 16 of The Bachelorette. James instead became the first lead of The Bachelor since Matt Grant in season 12 of the show who didn’t previously compete on The Bachelorette.

Cameron said in October that James “dodged a bullet” by not dating Crawley.

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