Matthew James (born December 5, 1991) is an American television personality, businessman, and former

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

football player. James is best known for being the first Black male lead for '' The Bachelor'' in season 25.

Early life and education

James was raised in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

, the son of Manny and Patty James. Growing up, James was raised by his mother. He is

biracial The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mul ...

, having a Black Nigerian father and White American mother. James identifies as black. He graduated from Sanderson High School in 2010 before going to

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

. James obtained his Bachelor's degree in Economics from

in 2015 where he was also a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for

Wake Forest Demon Deacons The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Wake Forest University, located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...

football team from 2011 to 2014.

Professional football

He had

mini-camp A mini-camp, also spelled minicamp, is a short camp held by National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL) teams usually in spring of each year. The camp usually only lasts 3 days, but the length varies by a day or two depending ...

tryouts with the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

and

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

in May and June 2015, but was not signed by either team.

Career

Before moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, James worked at

PNC Bank The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. is an American bank holding company and financial services corporation based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its banking subsidiary, PNC Bank, operates in 27 U.S. state, states and the District of Columbia, ...

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. He works for CBRE Group, Inc., a commercial real estate company in New York City. James is also the founder of ABC Food Tours, a non-profit organization that educates children in underserved communities about food and exercise in New York City.

''The Bachelor''

James and ''The Bachelorette'' contestant Tyler Cameron, his friend and work colleague, played football at Wake Forest University together. Cameron's mother nominated James to be a contestant on ''

The Bachelorette A bachelorette is an unmarried woman. Bachelorette may also refer to: Film, television, and related * ''The Bachelorette'', a reality television dating show part of ''The Bachelor'' franchise with numerous versions: ** ''The Bachelorette'' (Am ...

'' before she died. James was originally cast to be a contestant for season 16 of ''The Bachelorette'', starring Clare Crawley, but after filming was delayed due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, he was instead selected to be the next Bachelor for season 25 of '' The Bachelor'', becoming the first male African American lead in the franchise's history. He is the first Black Bachelor lead in the show's history. The season concluded with James choosing to pursue a relationship with 24-year-old graphic designer Rachael Kirkconnell.

''Dancing with the Stars''

In September 2021, James was announced as one of the celebrities competing on season 30 of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

''. He was partnered with

Lindsay Arnold Lindsay Arnold Cusick (; born January 11, 1994) is an American professional dancer, choreographer, and businesswoman. Specialized in Latin and ballroom dance styles, she was the seventh female contestant to be eliminated during the ninth season ...

. They were eliminated on week 4, finishing in 12th place.

Personal life

James was in a relationship with Rachael Kirkconnell, the woman he chose on ''The Bachelor'' for 4 years, before they ended their relationship in January 2025. James is also a marathon runner and participated in the

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

and 2023 New York City Marathon. Shalane Flanagan and Matt James at Mile 24 of the 2023 New York City Marathon

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Matt 1991 births Living people Jesse O. Sanderson High School alumni People from Raleigh, North Carolina Players of American football from North Carolina American football wide receivers Wake Forest Demon Deacons football players Bachelor Nation contestants 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century African-American businesspeople American nonprofit businesspeople American people of Nigerian descent