MATT James remains “upset” with how The Bachelor handled his season, particularly the controversial racism scandal, sources exclusively told The Celeb Report.
This comes as the reality star completely scrubbed everything he posted during his time as the ABC leading man off his Instagram page following an tense After The Final Rose special.
After months of both on-and-off-screen drama, an insider alleged that Matt, 28, is “still taking it hard.”
“He had no idea the show would have such a hard impact on him since he obviously didn’t plan on it turning out the way that it did.
“He’s trying to enjoy himself now and hang out with his buddies,” an insider told The Celeb Report.
The source explained that mentally, the experience took such a toll it seems Matt “wants to just block the show and experience out completely like a long bad memory.”
“He deleted his Instagram posts from the show because he genuinely doesn’t want to be reminded of it right now,” they added.
According to the informant, Matt is “upset” and even feels “played” by some staffers on the show.
The source explained: “He’s been upset with producers over how he was handled by producers, being new to TV, as a whole.
“And of course the racism drama has been hard for him to process and he doesn’t fully agree with how it was handled.
“[Execs] were very strict with what he could and could not say and when he could say it.”
The insider claimed the “final straw” for Matt was watching the episode that aired just before the finale that brought in his dad.
“He was not happy with how that episode turned out or that they put him in that situation in the first place,” the source said.
Matt was raised by his mother, Patty, after his parents divorced when he was young following Manny‘s infidelity.
The star has been open all season about how the issues with his father has had a lingering effect on his inability to form romantic relationships.
During The Bachelor two-part finale, Matt broke down in tears after a heated confrontation with his estranged father, Manny.
The father-son duo met up after years of not seeing each other face-to-face at the Pennsylvania resort the season was filmed at.
“When I needed you, you weren’t there!” a hurt-looking Matt told his father.
Manny shot back: “Do you know what I went through with your mom?”
Matt countered, “I don’t want you to make excuses,” to which Manny said: “Nobody’s perfect, son.”
He later told the cameras how his parents’ volatile dynamic has affected his relationships today.
“There’s still a lot of fear based on what I’ve seen with my family in the past,” he said,
“I don’t want to make those same mistakes that caused my family to be torn apart.”
Matt then spoke to his beloved mom, Patty, who said: “Feelings come and go. People fall in and out of love and love is not the be all, end all.”
The ABC star started sobbing on camera as he told producers: “I feel like everything I was working towards is starting to crumble. I don’t know how to go on.”
Ultimately, Matt did not end up meeting his match on the show as he picked Rachael Kirkconnell, 24, to give his final rose to but broke up weeks later.
Rachael has been facing backlash after resurfaced photos from 2018 that show her attending an Antebellum-themed party.
After being labeled “racist” by fans, she apologized for her “offensive” actions in a lengthy Instagram statement.
However, the apology was not enough for Matt who confirmed their split on After The Final Rose.
