Before Matt James began his journey as The Bachelor, Peter Weber, the lead of the 2020 season, told Matt to follow his heart and not worry about pleasing everyone. Peter received a lot of backlash when he was the Bachelor for proposing to Hannah Ann Sluss when he still had feelings for Madison Prewett. He tried to make a relationship work with Hannah Ann, but they ultimately decided to go their separate ways. A couple of weeks after Peter’s After The Final Rose special, where he rekindled his relationship with Madison, he was spotted with Kelley Flanagan, who he went on to date for eight months.
Matt seemed to follows Peter’s advice, as he opted out of proposing to Rachael Kirkconnell and instead wanted to continue a relationship outside of the show. Their relationship ended soon after they filmed the finale, as racially insensitive photos resurfaced of Rachael attending an Antebellum-themed college party. Matt tried to brush this off at first. But once Rachael admitted the truth to him, Matt felt he could no longer continue the relationship. Following his heart, he decided to call things off and end his season a single man.
In a recent interview with Page Six, Peter admitted to offering Matt some words of advice before he went on his journey to find love. “The main advice I told him was — I learned it, you know, trial by fire—that you’re not going to make everybody happy,” the 29-year-old told the publication, adding, “Me, being a people-pleaser, and that’s just kind of in my nature, I’ve definitely grown from that and learned from it.” In addition, Peter told Matt to follow his heart and not to worry about making anyone else happy but himself. “As long as you follow your heart and treat everyone with the respect that they deserve, that’s all you can do,” Peter added. He continued, “And it’s OK if you’re going to have people disagree with you.”
The publication then asked Peter about his thoughts regarding Emmanuel Acho replacing Chris Harrison for the After The Final Rose special. “I have all the faith that he can be a great host for ‘AFR,’ and hopefully, help bridge a gap between so many hurt feelings right now that are out there,” said the 29-year-old said. “There are changes that need to be made in regards to just equality, and racial equality, and, obviously, I totally support that.” Peter believes Emmanuel’s presence on AFR is the franchise’s step in the right direction.
It seems Matt did follow Peter’s advice, as he did not fall into the pressures of the show to get engaged at the end. Matt loved Rachael, but knew he wasn’t ready for the commitment of marriage. Instead, he decided to express his feelings for her and continue to date off-screen. Even though the relationship didn’t work out, Matt certainly stayed true to who he was and did his best to avoid being a people pleaser like Peter.
Sources: Page Six
