The Bachelor star Matt James allegedly continued to date a woman after he was named Season 25's Bachelor late last spring and tried to convince her to compete for his heart on the show.
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A woman named Grace conducted an Instagram Live session with Reality Steve spoiler blogger Steve Carbone on Friday and revealed she had met Matt and his "Quarantine Crew" in 2020 and the pair dated before and after he was chosen to star on The Bachelor's 25th season, which began filming in late September.
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"I would say I had a romantic friendship with Matt before the show," Grace revealed.
She explained, "Matt and I were talking super casually throughout all of [Winter 2019-2020], very casually, and there's no shame in that. He wasn't the Bachelor or even trying to be the Bachelor at that point. He was just a random guy whom I was talking to. He seemed like a nice guy."
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Grace said she and Matt went out on a date or two and then he was announced as the Bachelor on Good Morning America in June 2020.
The big announcement came "just a couple of days" after Matt and Grace went out on a date.
"And then we continued to talk and we went out on another date," Grace shared, "and then he tried to get me to go on the show and nominated me to go on the show. And I said, 'No.' I just got a new job... I also thought I might be 'the villain' because I already knew him."
A couple of months later, Grace admitted that she began considering going on the show because her job wasn't really working out.
"I had a couple interviews. I was like, 'Okay, Matt, I'm ready to go on the show, I guess.' And a producer contacted me, I had a couple interviews, and I didn't get on the show. And then I found a better job," Grace said.
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But Grace pointed out she doesn't feel like a victim and is "completely fine." She also added that she's "completely fine with Matt."
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"He went on the show and he found love, and that's great. I'm happy for him -- no issues there. I hold no grudge towards Matt," Grace noted.
But Grace's feelings about Matt have since changed.
Grace said she and Matt "casually talked" after he and Rachael Kirkconnell broke up in mid-February over her racism controversy in which she had "liked" racially-insensitive material on social media as well as posed for racially-ignorant photos in the last several years.
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"[We] very casually [talked] and never made plans to meet up, and then I didn't hear from him until Sunday, [April 4]. It had been a month since we last talked," Grace shared.
Grace, who currently lives in Florida, said Matt contacted her on April 4 around 8PM when he was in Miami after she had worked about 13 hours.
"Matt texted me out of the blue and said, 'What are you doing this week?' And I was like, 'Shouldn't be too busy. Mondays I always have off.' And he says, 'Why don't you come to Miami for the night?'" Grace recalled.
While Grace acknowledged Miami could be fun and a nice "change of scenery," she called Matt on the phone and said she had to think about it more because she was really tired.
"And then he said, 'Oh, well we could have a quieter night, if that's what you want,'" Grace alleged.
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After showering and thinking about the situation, Grace said she decided to just go to bed.
Two days later, Grace saw that Matt was trying to get back together with Rachael and the pair was spending time together in New York, where Matt currently lives.
"It just didn't sit right with me. I just felt like Rachael was so in love with him, and for him to try and contact me and hang out with me -- someone he's had a past romantic relationship with -- two days prior in Miami, it just didn't sit right with me and I felt like I had to say something for Rachael's sake," Grace explained.
Grace therefore contacted Carbone and told him that Rachael needed to be made aware of Matt's actions.
"Rachael and I have talked," Grace said.
She added, "I think trying to hook up with somebody and then two days later talking to this girl who's saying she's in love with you and saying you're going to get back together with, it was shady. And I wasn't okay with it... I feel like Rachael is really the victim here."
Grace noted that a man "two-timing" women is "just not okay" and she hopes that Rachael "finds someone better."
According to a different Instagram Live session Carbone had done on Friday, Carbone insisted Matt -- who had allegedly been talking and FaceTiming with Rachael every day since their breakup aired on The Bachelor: After the Final Rose in March -- had told Rachael that he still loved her and wanted to get back together during her stay in New York.
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Carbone reported that Matt had lied about wanting to remain "just friends" with Rachael and was dishonest with Rachael about his intentions with Grace, saying Grace didn't mean anything to him. In addition, Matt also allegedly lied to Grace about having invited Rachael to his place shortly after his trip to Miami.
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When Rachael found out about Grace, she reportedly confronted The Bachelor star and also called Grace to compare stories.
"Rachael essentially walked out on Matt and [said], 'We're done,'" according to Carbone.
"Matt got caught with his pants down and she left and called her [The Bachelor] girls and hung out with them... She left Matt's apartment in a huff very upset and crying."
Grace told Carbone that she believes Matt appeared on The Bachelor to begin with "for fame" but that doesn't really bother her.
"At a certain point when you start changing your character and lying and gaslighting and trying to do all of these things to protect your image and your fame, that's sort of when I have an issue," Grace said.
"All power to you if you go on the show for fame, but in Matt's case, I just feel like it reached a point where it got to be a little too much."
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