'The Bachelor's Matt James Shaves 'Polarizing' Beard: 'Took Like 3 Hours' (Exclusive)
Matt James has ditched the beard. The former Bachelor revealed to PopCulture Wednesday that he had gone through with shaving the "polarizing" facial hair after making a promise on social media, turning it into a "huge production" that "took like three hours." Having gone through his season of the ABC dating show clean-shaven, The Bachelor fans were shook to see him debut a full beard at the After the Final Rose special, and needless to say, they had opinions.
Monday, James promised on social media that he would shave it off if people got BlockFi to 50,000 followers, although he teased he might change his mind. Wednesday, James revealed to PopCulture, "The beard is gone. I shaved it last night." Calling the whole process "pretty dope," James revealed he and his friend made it into a "huge production," shooting the whole process, which "took like three hours."
Turning the footage into an NFT for a project he'll reveal further down the line, James teased there was more than meets the eye when it came to getting rid of his beard. "I've never had something so polarizing on me even when I had dreads," he noted. While the reality personality has yet to debut his new look on social media, he's not going too far to hide the big change. "It's not that deep," he laughed, adding that people will probably see him on the street soon enough.
Getting back to his normal, active life with girlfriend Rachael Kirkconnell post-Bachelor has been just what James needed. "I think a lot of people in my position tend to get distracted just with opportunities and this and that popping up. That can be a time suck and you can lose yourself in that," he told PopCulture, explaining he's been "doubling down" on activities that ground him.
"My best friend [Bachelorette alum Tyler Cameron] was on the show before me, and the way he handled adversity in his life — who he was dating and having his mom suddenly pass away — he's handled it with such grace," James said, noting he's "taking a page from" his friend's book and focusing on who he is deep down.
For the ABC Food Tours co-founder, that's embracing fresh foods and introducing the students and families he works with to a different, healthier way of eating. After getting into hydroponic farming during COVID quarantine, James is now partnering with Lettuce Grow to share how "easy" and "fun" growing your own food can be with kids in classrooms across the country.
"Before these programs were set up, I don't think many of our students could have identified an eggplant, besides the emoji," James said of his work with New York City students facing food insecurity. "Once you educate these students, they want to do better. The more they know, the better they want to do." He continued that while he can't rightfully tell his students' families to go purchase more expensive produce when they can feed their whole family dinner for $10 at a fast-food restaurant, it's a window to a new world for them to learn to grow that same produce in their own classroom or home with something like the Lettuce Grow Farmstand.
"A lot of the time our students act out not because they're a menace, but because they're hungry," he explained. To mark the beginning of the fall semester for many kids across the country, James is partnering with Lettuce Grow to give away 50 Farmstands in classrooms. To enter the giveaway, first follow @LettuceGrow on Instagram, then either make a post or send them a DM explaining why you want your school to win and how you would use the Farmstand. Make sure to tag @MattJames919 and @LettuceGrow on your post. For five weeks, 10 winners will be chosen.
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