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

Bachelor spoilers revealing the ending of Matt James' The Bachelor season and what led up to his Final Rose Ceremony have continued to leak out -- including new spoilers about The Bachelor star's Final 5 bachelorettes, how his Final 4 were narrowed to his Final 2, who Matt picked as his winner and ended up with, and where they stand now.

[Bachelor Spoilers Warning: This report includes spoilers revealing Matt James' Final 4 bachelorettes and who The Bachelor star picked as his winner as well as spoilers about their current status.]

The Bachelor will air its fifth episode on Monday night, and 20 women are still in the running for Matt's heart.

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

The 20 women include four new arrivals: Brittany Galvin, a 23-year-old model from Chicago, IL; Catalina Morales Gomez, a 29-year-old former Miss Puerto Rico Universe from Caguas, Puerto Rico; Michelle Young, a 27-year-old teacher from Edina, MN; and Ryan Claytor, a 26-year-old dancer and choreographer from Brooklyn, NY.

The 20 bachelorettes are also comprised of 16 original cast members including Anna Redman, a 24-year-old copywriter from Owatonna, MN; Pieper James, a 24-year-old graduate student from Happy Valley, OR; Kit Keenan, a 21-year-old fashion entrepreneur from New York, NY; and Magi Tareke, a 32-year-old pharmacist from Adwa, Ethiopia.


Rachael Kirkconnell, a 24-year-old graphic designer from Cumming, GA, will also be featured in the next episode as well as Abigail Heringer, a 25-year-old client financial from Salem, OR; Chelsea Vaughn, a 29-year-old runway model from Marietta, GA; Jessenia Cruz, a 27-year-old social media marketer from San Antonio, TX; and Katie Thurston, a 29-year-old bank marketing manager from Lynnwood, WA.

Serena Pitt, a 22-year-old publicist from Markham, ON, is also still on Matt's journey to find love, in addition to Serena Chew, a 24-year-old flight attendant from San Bruno, CA; Bri Springs, a 24-year-old communications manager from Owatonna, MN; and Lauren Maddox, a 29-year-old corporate attorney from Miami, FL.

The rest of the women on Season 25 are Mariela "Mari" Pepin, a 24-year-old marketing director from Luquillo, Puerto Rico; MJ Snyder, a 23-year-old hairstylist from Hudson, OH; and Victoria Larson, a 27-year-old self-described "queen" from New York, NY.

Matt is beginning to develop some strong connections at The Bachelor resort, but he doesn't appear to have a frontrunner at this point.

Matt seems smitten with Michelle, Rachael, Bri and a couple of other women!


But before Matt can continue dating his cast of bachelorettes, he'll need to address rumors, gossip and tension amongst the ladies.

Brittany, for example, was accused of being "a slore" as well as an "escort" in the Chicago area.

Although Brittany denied ever sleeping with wealthy men for money, Katie Thurston pointed out such allegations could ruin a woman's reputation and career.

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

What will happen after Matt addresses the "mean girls" or "bullies?" And which girl will end up receiving Matt's Final Rose?


Read on for Episode 5 spoilers and what is expected to unfold on the rest of Matt's The Bachelor season!

The Bachelor Episode 5 Spoilers

When The Bachelor airs its next episode on Monday night at 8PM ET/PT on ABC, Matt will be shown addressing the drama and having a few tough conversations.

Matt essentially warns the women that bullying and toxic behavior is not okay with him.

"But not everyone takes that news to heart and one woman finds herself in an emotional spiral of denial," ABC teased of the next episode in a press release.

Matt will also have to make difficult decisions about whom to keep or eliminate at the fourth Rose Ceremony of the season.


After the Rose Ceremony, Matt will embark on a group date and two one-on-one dates.

At the group date, Matt will show off his country roots given he's from North Carolina, and the women will prove whether they can get down and dirty.

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

And for the two solo dates of the week, one woman will receive a shopping spree and the other bachelorette is treated to a special home-cooked meal.

So what else happens on Matt's The Bachelor edition? Read on to find out!

Matt James had "a rude awakening" on The Bachelor 

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

Chris said Matt is now "a different man than when he came to us" when filming began.

"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.'"

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.


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

Matt James' exe didn't appear on The Bachelor as Reality Steve initially claimed

Reality Steve spoiler blogger Steve Carbone had initially reported that Matt's ex-girlfriend, Madison Nelson, a 27-year-old from Granger, IN, was one of the five bachelorettes that joined Matt's cast before the season's third Rose Ceremony.

"Some tea for you already: Apparently Madison Nelson was dating Matt last summer when Tyler was seeing [Gigi Hadid]," Carbone tweeted in early December.

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

However, Carbone clarified in a January 4 blog post that he was incorrect about Madison's appearance on the show.

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


"I originally thought that Madison Nelson was one of the five, but was told she is not," Carbone wrote.

"Was actually told once they found out she HAD dated Matt last summer, they decided against bringing her on."

According to Carbone, Madison and Matt dated in 2019 and she was hoping to win him back on The Bachelor.

But Heather Martin is on Matt's The Bachelor season

In addition to revealing five  bachelorettes joined the season after Night 1, a season preview ABC aired at the conclusion of The Bachelor's January 4 premiere also showed former The Bachelor bachelorette Heather Martin attempts to join Matt's group of suitors at some point in the season.

Heather, a close friend of former The Bachelorette star Hannah Brown, originally appeared on Colton Underwood's season of The Bachelor along with Hannah in 2019.

Heather's The Bachelor return had been previously announced by Carbone.


"We know Heather Martin shows up," Carbone tweeted late last year.

Carbone had also clarified on his blog that Heather joined the show after the five other 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 appearing on The Bachelor since the women are such great friends and Hannah became close to Matt while she was 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.

However Heather only lasted a few hours

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 Colton's The Bachelor edition.

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 take the step of introducing Colton to her parents and family.

Carbone doesn't know who goes home during the next several episodes

Although Carbone hasn't been able to pinpoint when each woman goes home, he released a list of twelve bachelorettes who didn't last very long on Matt's The Bachelor season the day the season premiered on ABC.

According to Carbone's January 4 blog post, all the bachelorettes on his list went home before the third Rose Ceremony or so.


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

"There's obviously more that would go home during that time, but these women I know aren't major players at all this season," Carbone wrote, before rattling off his list of rejected bachelorettes.

Seven of the twelve bachelorettes on Carbone's list were among the eight women Matt sent home at the season's first Rose Ceremony.

Four more bachelorettes on Carbone's list were among the five women Matt eliminated at The Bachelor season's second rose ceremony, leaving Khaylah Epps, a 28-year-old from Bronx, NY, as the only bachelorette on the list still in the running for Matt's final rose.

Khaylah was then eliminated by Matt at the season's third Rose Ceremony, and Carbone has not released any additional information about which bachelorettes are eliminated at the next several Rose Ceremonies.

Carbone acknowledged his spoiler information is much spottier than prior season given Matt's The Bachelor season followed the same format as last year's The Bachelorette season and was filmed at a single resort.


"So kinda like last season, I have information about things, but not necessarily full details," Carbone wrote in his blog.

For example, Carbone reported last year that Zac Clark and Ben Smith finished as Tayshia Adams' Final 2 bachelorettes and Brendan Morais self-eliminated.

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

"[The spoilers] ended up being right in the end, but the details surrounding it weren't there," Carbone explained in his January 4 blog post.

"Not knowing Ben actually went home at [the final] 4 then came back, or when Brendan eliminated himself. So it makes it tougher to know how much is true. Same deal this season as I have things I was told, but without details behind it, you just never know."

Matt's father also makes an appearance on The Bachelor

According to Carbone, Matt receives a surprise visit from his seemingly-estranged father, whom Matt has told multiple women about in conversations so far this season.


Matt revealed his father wasn't around much when he was growing up and his mother raised his brother and himself. Matt also gravitated towards friends with big families to fill that void and said his parents didn't set a good example of what a marriage should be.

"Just like last season where I reported [producers] were trying to get [Kelsey Weier]'s dad to show up for her hometown date, I guess they succeeded with Matt's," Carbone wrote in a January 26 blog post.

"I don't know the outcome. If it was contentious, if Matt got closure, if it's a touching moment, etc. Not sure."

In a preview The Bachelor has aired multiple times, Matt is shown sitting down outside on a curb as host Chris Harrison asks if he's okay. Matt replies, "No, I'm not."

Carbone believes this scene had to do with the appearance of Matt's father.

"Either he'd just met him or was just told his dad is there to speak with him," Carbone reasoned.


"I know immediately people will think this is a low blow by the show because clearly they didn't consult Matt beforehand. Which is why I think that this meeting between Matt and his dad probably ends cordially at least."

Carbone doesn't think Matt's conversation with his father ended badly or else the show would look bad for not asking for Matt's consent first.

Regardless of the outcome, Matt's chat with his dad was likely a tough one and probably very emotional.

"But when it's over, Matt probably feels better," Carbone predicted. "I can't imagine for the life of me that Matt calls it a disaster/walks off set/f-bombs production for bringing him on, etc."

Carbone, however, clarified how he does not know the end result of Matt and his father's conversation.

Matt's Final 4 bachelorettes are Michelle Young, Rachael Kirkconnell, Bri Springs, and Serena Pitt

In his January 4 spoilers blog post, Carbone claimed he only knew three of Matt's Final 4 bachelorettes for certain.


Carbone reported Serena Pitt, a 22-year-old from Markham, ON; Rachael Kirkconnell, a 24-year-old from Cumming, GA; and Michelle Young -- one of the five bachelorettes who joined the show later in the season -- made it to Matt's Final 4.

"I do not know who the 4th girl is," Carbone admitted, but added he had heard Bri Springs, a 24-year-old from Owatonna, MN, may have been the fourth member of Matt's Final 4 women.

"I haven't gotten the confirmation I needed... If/When I get solid confirmation, I'll let you know if Bri is in fact the 4th girl," Carbone wrote in his blog.

Carbone also clarified that he wasn't sure that would have meant Bri was eliminated from Matt's The Bachelor season in fourth place.

"I'm just trying to give you the 4 girls that got hometown dates. Serena P., Rachael, and Michelle definitely did," Carbone reported.

However, in a subsequent blog post on January 21, Carbone announced he had now confirmed Bri, Michelle, Rachael, and Serena were in fact Matt's Final 4 bachelorettes.


In addition, Carbone also revealed he had learned Abigail Heringer finished Matt's The Bachelor season in fifth place.

Michelle Young, Bri Springs and Rachael Kirkconnell are Matt's Final 3 bachelorettes

Given the pandemic, Matt's The Bachelor season reportedly used the same format as The Bachelorette's 2020 season and held its "hometown dates" at the Pennsylvania resort in which the rest of the season was also filmed.

"Their families came to Nemacolin just like on Tayshia's season where their families traveled to the location of filming due to COVID," Carbone wrote.

In his January 21 post, Carbone also revealed he had discovered Serena Pitt was eliminated after the hometown dates and finished in fourth place.

Serena's ouster therefore left Bri, Michelle and Rachael as Matt's Final 3 bachelorettes.

Rachael Kirkconnell and Michelle Young are Matt's Final 2 bachelorettes

According to Carbone, Michelle Young and Rachael Kirkconnell finished as Matt's Final 2 bachelorettes.


"I was told 'Michelle and Rachael were final 2,'" Carbone wrote in his January 4 blog, explaining he was still unsure who had been Matt's third-place finisher.

But in his subsequent January 21 blog, Carbone revealed he had now learned Bri was eliminated after Matt's overnight dates with his Final 3 bachelorettes.

"Bri gets eliminated after overnights," he wrote.

Matt's BFF Tyler visited The Bachelor star on-location while the season was filming and revealed in an early December video log 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."

So who did Matt James pick as his The Bachelor winner?

In his January 4 blog, Carbone had insisted he was "positive" Serena Pitt and Michelle Young did not ultimately win Matt's heart.

Carbone reported in his January 4 blog post that he believed Rachael received Matt's final rose of the season.

"I was told, 'Michelle and Rachael were final 2, and Rachael wins,'" Carbone revealed.

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

The spoiler blogger, however, wasn't totally confident in the knowledge he had about the winner.

"If you believe everything coming out of the small town of Cumming, GA, then it's Rachael Kirkconnell [who won]," Carbone explained.


"Because for the last month, all I keep being told out of Cumming is that Rachael won, and all her friends and family know and they're telling everyone."

But Carbone noted he heard similar information about Madison Prewett during Peter Weber's The Bachelor season -- and that information ultimately turned out to be incorrect.

(Peter got engaged to Hannah Ann Sluss at the Final Rose Ceremony after Madison quit the show in second place. After Peter and Hannah Ann split, Peter briefly reunited with Madison but the pair never really got their relationship off the ground and broke up within a few days).

"I never ran with it because I was never convinced it was that easy. And it ended up being wrong anyway," Carbone explained.

"Maybe Rachael did win. All I'm saying is that if she did, she, her family, and her friends are doing an awful job of keeping it secret."
 
Carbone therefore questioned if Rachael's alleged victory was another situation in which someone started a false rumor about her winning and it then spread like wildfire.

"I'm not 100 percent sold on it yet, but, I'm just telling you that's the one I've heard most," Carbone wrote.


The spoiler blogger said he expected to hear more details as Matt's season unfolded on TV, "but that's what I got for you right now." 

However, in his January 21 blog Carbone announced he had now gotten full confirmation that Rachael had in fact received Matt's final rose.

"Tuesday night into yesterday, I got the confirmation I needed about this seasons spoiler: Matt chose Rachael and is still with her," he wrote.

"I know it's been out there, but I don't base my spoilers on what anyone else reports. Never have, and never will. Been hearing it was her for a while but never felt fully secure saying with certainty he chose her."

Matt sent Michelle Young home prior to the final Rose Ceremony

In his January 26 blog post, Carbone reported he had also now learned that Matt did not follow The Bachelor's usual format and dump Michelle at the Final Rose Ceremony before choosing Rachael.

Instead, according to Carbone, Matt decided to send Michelle home early instead of embarrassing her and breaking her heart at the Final Rose Ceremony.


"Matt actually lets Michelle go before the final rose ceremony," Carbone wrote in his blog post.

It's rare viewers have seen The Bachelor star let a bachelorette go prior to the Final Rose Ceremony-dumping.

In Season, 23 The Bachelor star Colton Underwood had a similar outcome in which he decided to dump Tayshia Adams and Hannah Godwin during the overnight Fantasy Suite dates in order to pursue a relationship with only Cassie Randolph.

"Well, apparently it happens again and Matt eliminates Michelle before the final rose ceremony," Carbone wrote.

Are Rachael Kirkconnell and Matt James engaged?

While Carbone stated Matt and Rachael are still together as a couple in his January 21 blog post, he clarified he is not sure they got engaged at The Bachelor season's final Rose Ceremony or if the couple may have gotten engaged since.

"I do not know if they're engaged or not," he wrote.


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

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski