No one gets the tea like Andy Cohen! Matt James’ answers to questions about Clare Crawley — and Tyler Cameron and Rachael Kirkconnell’s friendship — from his appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen are raising eyebrows in Bachelor Nation.
During his Sunday, May 15, appearance on the Bravo talk show, the 30-year-old First Impressions author was asked about the 41-year-old former Bachelorette’s rumored relationship with former contestant Blake Monar. (Crawley was spotted spending time with Monar earlier this year, with a source telling Us Weekly that “their friendship has blossomed into something really special, and she’s letting it roll organically.“)
“I think that, you know, as someone whose struck out a couple times — I’m hoping … happiness. I hope that something comes from that,” James said. “It doesn’t matter where she’s getting it at this point. Hopefully, someone will bring it to her.”
Fellow guest and Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kenya Moore then declared, “That’s a read! … We need him on our show. That was a read, baby!”
James and Crawley have had a complicated dynamic since he was cast to appear on season 16 of the series. After the show was forced to postpone production due to the coronavirus pandemic, the hairstylist threw shade at the former football player for joining Cameo, tweeting in April 2020, “If you are doing interviews and creating Cameo accounts before you are even on my season… you are in it for the wrong reasons… #dontwasteyourtime.”
While he didn’t respond at the time, James, who never competed for Crawley’s affections because ABC opted to make him the season 25 Bachelor, broke his silence on the drama in his book.
“I’ve never spoken to [Clare] in my entire life,” James said on Us Weekly’s “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast ahead of the memoir’s May 3 release. “I had nothing to say [when I first saw her tweet]. I was just like, ‘Dang, that’s crazy!’ I was in shock. I was at a loss for words when I saw that.”
James added: “I couldn’t tell my story without including that because it was very pivotal in my journey. If that wouldn’t have happened, then who knows if I would have become the Bachelor. It was just giving the full context of how I ended up where I did.”
The Wake Forest alum also spoke out about how he intended to keep an open mind with Crawley when he was cast on her season despite her past four appearances in the franchise.
“I just think it would be unfair, especially for someone in her situation with her track record on the show, for me to come in with a preconceived notion of everything,” James told Us. “So I didn’t look into any of it. I knew she had gone on other [seasons of the shows], but, like, I didn’t do any research into it because it didn’t matter — who she was in this moment wasn’t who she was back then and I didn’t, frankly, care because we’re here in this moment. So to be judged by her or anybody to judge somebody on what they think about someone without meeting them, I don’t think is the right way to go about getting to know somebody.”
Elsewhere during his appearance on WWHL, James told Cohen that his girlfriend, who he met on season 25 of The Bachelor, has a “love-hate relationship” with his best friend Cameron. He didn’t give more details on the remark, but Kirkconnell laughed from the audience.
Back in June 2021, Cameron had only nice things to say about the Georgia native.
“She was awesome. She’s a beam of light. I really enjoyed hanging out with her, spending time with her. We had a good time,” the Bachelorette season 15 runner-up told Us. “I think they’re great for each other. They seem like they’re spending a lot of time together, getting comfortable with each other and they’ve come a long way. So if they’re happy, I’m happy.”
