Bachelor spoilers: What happens on Matt James' 2021 season of 'The Bachelor' Who did Matt pick and end up with? (SPOILERS)

Bachelor spoilers have begun to leak out about Matt James' 2021 season of The Bachelor, revealing spoilers about the major twists and surprises that will unfold on Season 25 of The Bachelor.

[The Bachelor Spoilers Warning: This report contains spoilers on the events of Matt James' 2021 season of The Bachelor and will spoil the season for you].

The Bachelor viewers were first introduced to Matt, a 28-year-old real estate broker, entrepreneur and community organization founder, because he's the best friend of The Bachelorette alum Tyler Cameron and has often been featured on Tyler's social media accounts.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' SEASON 25 BACHELORETTES ANNOUNCED! MEET ALL OF MATT JAMES' LADIES! (PHOTOS)

Matt was originally cast for Clare Crawley's The Bachelorette season back in March, but ABC chose to promote him to The Bachelor lead before Clare's edition even began filming.

Matt's The Bachelor casting announcement was made in mid-June on Good Morning America, and he'll be the first black The Bachelor star ever.


ABC has cast only one black lead, Season 13 The Bachelorette star Rachel Lindsay, in 40 seasons and 18 years of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette prior to this year, when Tayshia Adams became The Bachelorette's second black star when she replaced Clare as Season 16's star mid-season.

Matt has said he's looking for a woman who is selfless, honest and compassionate, adding that those qualities can be found in women of all shapes, sizes and races.

So what happens on Matt's The Bachelor journey to find love that premieres Monday, January 4 at 8PM ET/PT? Keep reading for all the spoilers that are currently out there!

Matt's entire The Bachelor season filmed at one resort, just like The Bachelorette season

According to Reality Steve spoiler blogger Steve Carbone, Matt's The Bachelor season started filming at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Pennsylvania on October 10.

ABC announced 43 bachelorettes who "may" have a chance to meet and date Matt shortly before production commenced.


A bunch of extra potential bachelorettes were presumably invited to Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in case anyone tested positive for coronavirus during the pre-production quarantine period.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)  

Nemacolin Woodlands Resort is an upscale golf resort with a casino that is set on 2,000 wooded acres and boasts a pool and spa with many dining options.

This is the same resort former The Bachelorette star JoJo Fletcher and her group of Season 12 bachelors visited on her season in Episode 4 when Chad Johnson got eliminated during a two-on-one date, according to Carbone.

Matt and his bachelorettes were not allowed to leave the bubble and travel around the U.S. or internationally due to the ongoing pandemic, and strict rules and precautions were put into place to keep the cast and crew safe.


Carbone says production on Matt's season wrapped around November 20.

Matt James has never been in love before

In a November promo for The Bachelor's new season, Chris asked Matt, "You've never been in love?"

"I haven't," Matt replied.

"My job is to change that," Chris responded.

Chris later clarified what Matt meant by that disclosure in an interview with Us Weekly.


RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)

"It's not that he hasn't said 'I love you' before. I think the problem with him is he realized being the Bachelor, he had never fully understood what it means. He didn't understand the weight of it," Chris explained to the magazine.

ABC also teased of Matt's journey on the show, "Although Matt hasn't been in love before, he feels he is ready now to welcome it into his life—no matter what challenges he will face."

Matt James had "a rude awakening" while filming

Chris told Us that The Bachelor process really changed Matt and "opened [his] eyes."

Chris said Matt is "a different man than when he came to us" this past fall.


"He got really a crash course because he didn't get the few steps of being on the show. He really just ripped the Band-Aid off and sometimes that hurts a little bit," Chris shared.

"So, I think he had a bit of a rude awakening of the man he is, the way he loves [and] what love means to him."

Chris teased that fans will take a really "amazing journey" with Matt, "not just as the Bachelor but also as this man who realizes, 'Wow, okay, this is love and this is what it means and I'm really here to find this.'"

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)

Chris also admitted that production had a thing or two to learn given their leading man hadn't appeared on a previous The Bachelorette season, which is when cast members learn the ropes of filming.

The Bachelor season begins with 32 bachelorettes

A whopping 32 bachelorettes exited limos and were introduced to Matt on Night 1.


One woman caused a stir by arriving in nothing but black lingerie and asked Matt to help her pick out an outfit from a rack of clothes.

And there were two dueling ladies: one in a chauffeur-driven gold Bentley followed by another bachelorette being carried in on a throne like Cleopatra, wearing a gold crown.

But Matt was apparently taken with one woman -- Abigail Heringer, who was born deaf and has a cochlear implant.

Matt found his first Rose Ceremony "overwhelming," according to ABC, and realized it's difficult to say goodbye to multiple women and disappoint them after they put themselves out to meet him.

By the end of the first Rose Ceremony, 24 bachelorettes remained and continued on Matt's adventure to find The One.

Even more bachelorettes were added to the cast after the season began filming 

Chris Harrison has confirmed a Season 25 spoiler that more women -- including a face already familiar to viewers, and another already familiar to Matt -- joined the cast of bachelorettes later in the season.


"There are 32 women, a record-number of women applied for Matt James. That's how many arrive on Night 1," Chris said during a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight.

"That's not how many we'll end up with."

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' SEASON 25 BACHELORETTES ANNOUNCED! MEET ALL OF MATT JAMES' LADIES! (PHOTOS)

Chris shared, "There will be more than those that arrive, and I can also give you this nugget: one woman who arrives is a very, very familiar face to Bachelor Nation."

Carbone previously reported that The Bachelor welcomed six additional women onto the show after Matt's second Rose Ceremony of the season -- including the "familiar face" Harrison mentioned.

"The (SPOILER) is, after Rose Ceremony #2, they bring 5 women in," Carbone tweeted on December 11.


While Carbone has not been able to identify one of the five women, he revealed the following bachelorettes arrived and stirred things up: Brittany Galvin, a 23-year-old from Chicago, IL; Michelle Young, a 27-year-old from Woodbury, MN; Madison Nelson, a 27-year-old from Granger, IN; and Ryan Claytor, a 25-year-old from Mechanicsville, VA.

Those four women were all members of the initial cast of Matt's 43 bachelorettes.

Madison Nelson actually previously dated Matt James!

However, Matt and Madison Nelson weren't meeting for the first time she joined The Bachelor cast midseason.

According to Carbone, Madison and Matt actually dated in 2019 and she chose to compete for his heart and hopefully win him back!

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)  

"Some tea for you already: Apparently Madison Nelson was dating Matt last summer when Tyler was seeing GiGi," Carbone tweeted earlier this month.


"Went to one of the fashion shows with him. Here they are together. Heard they were together for at least a couple months."

The Bachelor alum Heather Martin also shows up looking to date Matt

The familiar face from The Bachelor franchise was reportedly Hannah Brown's close friend Heather Martin, who initially appeared on Colton Underwood's season of The Bachelor.

"We know Heather Martin shows up," Carbone tweeted.

"In addition to Heather Martin... I can tell you that Madison, Brittany, Ryan, and Michelle definitely are brought on the show later along with 1 other person I haven't identified yet."

Carbone later clarified on his blog that Heather did not join the show after the second Rose Ceremony like the other five women.

"[This means] all in all, Matt meets 38 women (original 32, the 5 that come after Rose Ceremony #2, then whenever Heather shows up) at some point this season, which is more than any previous 'Bachelor' did in history," Carbone wrote in a blog post.


"Why did they hold 5 women from the group of original 43 for two Rose Ceremonies before bringing them on? Because they can?... They do it for dramatic purposes."

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)

Carbone believes Hannah put Heather up to competing on The Bachelor since the girls are such great friends and Hannah became close to Matt while quarantining with him and Tyler in Florida earlier this year.

"Clearly Hannah told [Heather] this would be a good idea since she's friends with Matt (you know, Quarantine Crew and all), and I guess convinced Heather she thought the two of them would get along," Carbone explained.

But Heather Martin doesn't last on Matt James' The Bachelor season

While it's unclear when exactly Heather made her appearance, Carbone reported that her stint on The Bachelor's 25th season didn't last long.

In fact, Carbone revealed in a December blog post Heather only stuck around for a few hours!


"Here's what I know: [Heather] doesn't show up the first night, it's somewhere after filming is already started, and she's literally there only a few hours as Matt sends her home the same day she arrives," Carbone wrote.

Carbone doesn't know why Matt chose to give Heather the boot so early.

"I don't know Matt's reasoning for sending Heather home so quick... But Heather showing up on Matt's season and getting eliminated the same day, well, kinda embarrassing," Carbone wrote.

Heather was a 23-year-old from Carlsbad, CA, when she appeared on The Bachelor's 23rd season in 2019.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)

ABC labeled her occupation as "never been kissed" at the start of The Bachelor's season, but Heather did in fact kiss Colton during the show.


Heather quit The Bachelor process before hometown dates because she said she wasn't ready to introduce Colton to her parents and family.

Abigail Heringer won Matt James' First Impression Rose on Night 1

The recipient of Matt's special First Impression Rose was Abigail Heringer, a 25-year-old from Beaverton, OR.

That means Abigail was automatically safe at Matt's first Rose Ceremony of the season.

Abigail graduated from South Salem High school in 2013 followed by Linfield College in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Finance, according to her LinkedIn.

Abigail, a beautiful brunette, currently works as a client financial manager at the Opus Agency.

When Chris Harrison announced Matt's set of 32 bachelorettes in a Facebook Live session, he teased that Abigail has "an incredible story to tell."


"Abigail is one of our favorites. This is an absolute just gem of a woman -- impossible not to fall in love with," Chris gushed.

He revealed, "[Abigail] is the first hearing-impaired person we've ever had on the show... [She] is just beautiful and sincere, the true definition of someone here for the right reasons."

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' SEASON 25 BACHELORETTES ANNOUNCED! MEET ALL OF MATT JAMES' LADIES! (PHOTOS)

Chris added, "I think you're all going to really love Abigail, who -- I will just say this -- makes a very strong first impression on Matt."

Abigail currently lives in Portland, OR, while her parents still reside in Salem. Abigail has three siblings, an older sister and two younger brothers, according to Abigail's local newspaper, the Salem Statesman Journal.

Abigail was reportedly able to compete on The Bachelor because she was furloughed from her job due to the coronavirus pandemic.


Abigail was the bachelorette born with congenital hearing loss but had success with cochlear implants, according to the newspaper.

Abigail underwent cochlear implantation surgery at age two at Oregon Health & Science University.

The Salem Statesman Journal also revealed Abigail is an accomplished junior golfer who graduated from South Salem's International Baccalaureate program with nearly a perfect grade-point average.

And based on her Instagram account, Abigail enjoys traveling, spending time with her friends and being outdoors.

Last season, Peter Weber gave his First Impression Rose to Hannah Ann Sluss and the pair ended up getting engaged at the end of the season.

Peter and Hannah Ann, however, broke up shortly after the show finished filming.

So who did Matt pick and end up with, and is The Bachelor star engaged?

Unfortunately as of now, Carbone hasn't obtained that information and released it.

Carbone, however, expects to learn more details about Matt's ending soon.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Carbone released new spoilers -- including spoilers revealing Matt's Final 4 bachelorettes, Final 2 women, and who Matt allegedly picked as his winner -- on January 4. Click here to read the new spoilers.

However, Matt's BFF Tyler visited The Bachelor star on-location while the season was filming and revealed in an early December vlog that Matt seemed "extremely happy."

"He loves his girls... He spoke so highly of them," Tyler shared. "He's really pushing himself to be vulnerable and put himself out there, and I think you're got to get a great season and a great Matt."

Tyler predicted, "I'm excited to see how all of this ends here, because Matt seems genuinely happy. I think we're going to get the ending we all want and have been missing for a while."


RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski