“He was NOT looking for a serious relationship”: The Bachelorette’s Clare Crawley Claims Matt James Almost Joined Her Season But She Begged To Keep Him Out
- Clare Crawley, who was featured on The Bachelorette Season 16, has made some revelations.
- She has subtly implied that she tried to keep Matt James from appearing on her season of the show.
- Crawley and James have a history and it is not a very pleasant one.
The Bachelor universe seems to be in a little bit of chaos right now. While Grant Ellis, the lead of Season 25, is looking for the love of his life, the couple from Season 25 of the show broke up earlier this month. Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell broke up, and now The Bachelorette‘s Clare Crawley seems to be shading the former.
Crawley was the runner-up on Season 18 of The Bachelor and was one of the two leads in Season 16 of The Bachelorette. She left the show with contestant Dale Moss in Episode 4. Amidst James’ breakup with Kirkconnell, Crawley has opened up about a decision she made regarding the former’s casting on her season of the show.
The Bachelorette’s Clare Crawley subtly shades Matt James, who was almost cast in her season of the show
The Bachelor franchise is one of the most popular reality TV series. A spin-off of the show, The Bachelorette has been airing since 2003. In the sixteenth season of the show, Clare Crawley, a then 39-year-old hairstylist, and Tayshia Adams, a then 29-year-old phlebotomist, had the lead role. The season aired much later than it was originally planned due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At 39, Crawley is the oldest Bachelorette in the history of the franchise. 4 of the intended 32 original contestants for the season were recast. Matt James was one of those 4 contestants, and he was cast as the lead of The Bachelor Season 25. Rachael Kirkconnell was the one who won that season.
James and Kirkconnell were together for 4 years before breaking up earlier this January. Things got even worse when the latter appeared on the Call Her Daddy podcast and revealed her side of the story, although she did not seem to have anything nasty to say about her ex. However, Crawley recently posted an Instagram story in which she wrote (via Reddit):
Catching up on [social] news and smh at some of this stuff. Remember that one time I specifically asked producers to please not allow one specific guy on my season because I knew for a fact he was NOT looking for a serious relationship whatsoever and I didn’t want him to waste anyone’s time. So, instead, they made him the next Bachelor.
While she did not name anyone particularly, it is quite obvious that James is the person she is talking about considering that he never showed up in her season of the show and became the Bachelor for the season that aired after hers.
Clare Crawley and Matt James have a rocky past
Before the season was initially about to begin airing, Crawley posted on X calling out those suitors who she believed were not going to appear on the show for love, but for fame and attention instead. She did not name anyone, but fans following the show obviously did not need to be told.
At the time, James seemingly responded to her claims by clarifying that he was active on the Cameo app to raise money for people who had been affected by COVID-19. According to E! News, he wrote:
Now for those of you who may have missed the messaging earlier this week, myself and Alex Bachman … pledged all of our Cameo earnings to the Robin Hood Foundation to fight this fight. We’re just coming up with creative ways to raise money for these kids that are the future and I hope y’all can help.
Later, Crawley clarified her stance by replying to one of the fans that she was not talking about any one man in particular.
Judging by this indirect exchange, it is quite obvious that Crawley and James might not have been on the best terms, and her recent Instagram story only confirms the suspicions.
