Matt James on How ‘First Impressions’ Book Expands on ‘Bachelor’ Experience for Fans (Exclusive)

Matt James is opening up like never before in his new book, First Impressions, which is out on May 3. In his book, he not only discussed his experience on The Bachelor, but he also gives some insight into his journey prior to achieving fame on the ABC series. During a chat with PopCulture.com, James explained how First Impressions will allow The Bachelor viewers to have a more accurate picture of who he truly is. 

James said that many of the anecdotes that he shares in the book are ones that viewers heard when he starred as The Bachelor on Season 25. Since he was the lead, James felt as though he was put on a “pedestal” of sorts while on the show. Now that he has his own book, he is able to “peel away” those layers so that fans can actually see the real him. He explained, “I wanted to humanize myself and be like, ‘That’s who I am. But I’m also the son of this person. I’m also the brother of this person.’ I’ve been through X, Y, Z.”

The Dancing With the Stars alum is very much excited for fans to get to see him in a more complete light. He even noted that it’s something that viewers didn’t necessarily get to experience on The Bachelor because the real story may have been “too raw.” James shared, “That’s the only conclusion I can come to is that they don’t want to hear about the first black Bachelor talking about his dad being in jail or in prison. But, that’s my experience and that’s my truth.” He continued to say that after revealing his story in First Impressions, fans everywhere and from all different backgrounds will likely find something that they can relate to. 

“I think that you’d be surprised to hear about people who look like every type of person that have had that experience. And when you share that and when you allow yourself to be vulnerable and people to share in that experience with you, that’s where you see growth,” he added. While he doesn’t have any regrets about his time on The Bachelor, James is glad that fans will be able to read First Impressions to further understand his story, as he feels as though the show did “drop the ball” and focused too much on other topics instead of the “real stuff.” That won’t be the case with First Impressions, as when it comes to his debut book, you can count on James to be “as real as it gets. I was just trying to keep it as real as possible.”