Kit Keenan Reveals Why She’s ‘Mad’ About Her Socialite Label and More ‘Bachelor Happy Hour’ Takeaways

Credit: Courtesy Kit Keenan/Instagram

Kit Keenan Reveals Why She's 'Mad' About Her Socialite Label and More ‘Bachelor Happy Hour’ Takeaways

The real Kit Keenan? The Bachelor season 25 contestant showed Matt James another side of her during the Monday, February 1, episode of the ABC series — and she continued to open up about her life on the “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast. The 21-year-old fashionista scored a one-on-one date with the 29-year-old former football player on Monday’s episode. "Growing up, my mom being such a success story, I think that I was protecting myself and getting in touch with my emotions is something I've never practiced before,” Kit told Matt on their cooking date, referring to her fashion designer mom, Cynthia Rowley. “Being here and letting those walls down is the first time I've ever really had to be vulnerable. So, I think that's the hardest part, is knowing once one wall is down, you get to see all of me." Kit added, "With my partner, I just want the simple pleasures, and I feel like that's what tonight was all about." At the end of the date, the New York University student told Matt that she was “falling in love” with him. “In previous relationships, I get the ick real quick,” Kit told Rachel Lindsay and Becca Kufrin on the Tuesday, February 2, episode of their podcast about her L-bomb. “Once the relationship goes into, like, ’OK, this could be something very serious,’ usually I run for the hills.” When it came to Matt, however, Kit felt differently. [jwplayer YFCJvqGp-l3ahXupL] “Matt’s a pretty cringey guy, he does a lot of goofy stuff,” she said. “At the point where I saw him wipeout skateboarding, I was like, ‘Wow, you are still so hot to me.’” Kit also spoke to the former Bachelorettes about her portrayal on the series, including her job title as a “socialite.” “[The viewers are] only getting a one-dimensional character of who we all really are,” Kit told Rachel and Becca. “I definitely came in strong night one with the whole Gossip Girl vibe and all of that.” Why did Colton Underwood have to stay 100 yards away from Cassie Randolph? Hear the alleged crazy texts he sent her that earned him a restraining order. In under 2 minutes! The New York native has also faced backlash from fans after she sided with Victoria Larson amid the Sarah Trott drama. Kit took to Instagram to apologize after the January 18 episode, in which Sarah quit the show. “I believe what unfolded last night was an outcome of a lack of communication. I had no idea what was going on with Sarah’s family or in her personal life,” Kit wrote via Instagram Stories, referring to Sarah’s dad’s battle with ALS. “Rather than hearing her out, I spoke quickly out of frustration and that was unacceptable. I know that the time for compassion was in the moment and not in hindsight, but I want to apologize to Sarah & anyone whose feelings were hurt by my words.” The Bachelor airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET. Scroll through for the biggest takeaways from Kit’s interview:

Credit: Courtesy Kit Keenan/Instagram

Kit Keenan Reveals Why She's 'Mad' About Her Socialite Label and More ‘Bachelor Happy Hour’ Takeaways

The real Kit Keenan? The Bachelor season 25 contestant showed Matt James another side of her during the Monday, February 1, episode of the ABC series — and she continued to open up about her life on the “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast. The 21-year-old fashionista scored a one-on-one date with the 29-year-old former football player on Monday’s episode. "Growing up, my mom being such a success story, I think that I was protecting myself and getting in touch with my emotions is something I've never practiced before,” Kit told Matt on their cooking date, referring to her fashion designer mom, Cynthia Rowley. “Being here and letting those walls down is the first time I've ever really had to be vulnerable. So, I think that's the hardest part, is knowing once one wall is down, you get to see all of me." Kit added, "With my partner, I just want the simple pleasures, and I feel like that's what tonight was all about." At the end of the date, the New York University student told Matt that she was “falling in love” with him. “In previous relationships, I get the ick real quick,” Kit told Rachel Lindsay and Becca Kufrin on the Tuesday, February 2, episode of their podcast about her L-bomb. “Once the relationship goes into, like, ’OK, this could be something very serious,’ usually I run for the hills.” When it came to Matt, however, Kit felt differently. [jwplayer YFCJvqGp-l3ahXupL] “Matt’s a pretty cringey guy, he does a lot of goofy stuff,” she said. “At the point where I saw him wipeout skateboarding, I was like, ‘Wow, you are still so hot to me.’” Kit also spoke to the former Bachelorettes about her portrayal on the series, including her job title as a “socialite.” “[The viewers are] only getting a one-dimensional character of who we all really are,” Kit told Rachel and Becca. “I definitely came in strong night one with the whole Gossip Girl vibe and all of that.” Why did Colton Underwood have to stay 100 yards away from Cassie Randolph? Hear the alleged crazy texts he sent her that earned him a restraining order. In under 2 minutes! The New York native has also faced backlash from fans after she sided with Victoria Larson amid the Sarah Trott drama. Kit took to Instagram to apologize after the January 18 episode, in which Sarah quit the show. “I believe what unfolded last night was an outcome of a lack of communication. I had no idea what was going on with Sarah’s family or in her personal life,” Kit wrote via Instagram Stories, referring to Sarah’s dad’s battle with ALS. “Rather than hearing her out, I spoke quickly out of frustration and that was unacceptable. I know that the time for compassion was in the moment and not in hindsight, but I want to apologize to Sarah & anyone whose feelings were hurt by my words.” The Bachelor airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET. Scroll through for the biggest takeaways from Kit’s interview:

Credit: Gregory Pace/Shutterstock

Socialite Title

“I was so mad about [my original title on the show]. I felt that it completely diminished my accomplishments,” she said. “I’m a senior at NYU right now. I’m studying fashion and business. I have been a small business owner since my freshman year of college. I host a podcast biweekly with my mom. I host and edit it myself.”

Credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin

How She Got on the Show

Kit revealed that she was contacted by producers through social media to join the show. “It was a few months into quarantine, school was going to be online for the next semester,” she explained. “I thought to myself, ’This is probably the only time in my life that I’ll be able to do something like this’ because it was pretty easy for me to take a semester off of school.”

Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Her Famous Mother

“There’s a lot more to me than nice cars and having a public figure as a mother,” Kit declared. She added, however, that Rowley is her “No. 1 supporter" and “lifeline,” noting it was “really tough” not to speak to her family while shooting the show.

“I have been given so much in my life and I have so many amazing opportunities and experiences that, you know, with all of that comes some explaining and some rightful people saying, ‘You are so privileged,’” Kit added about her upbringing. “I know that. I try all the time to be comfortable with that. At the end of the day, it’s not like I’m going to fashion shows every day. That’s part of my life.”

Credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin

Being a ‘Mean Girl’

“It’s one harsh line here or there when it’s been several people speaking their frustrations and their feelings,” she said. “After seeing how I react to frustrating situations, I reflected and I thought to myself, ‘Wow, I should have more compassion right off the bat.’ … I also think a lot of the criticism I have gotten is very gendered. If a man had said some of the more aggressive things I had said onscreen, he would be applauded for standing up for himself.”

Kit added that seeing the escort rumors about Brittany Galvin play out on the show was the most horrifying for her. “If she is an escort, sex workers' rights have become a way more transparent topic in our culture,” she said. “On the other hand, I still recognize that there is a stigma around that work, so saying somebody is something or does that job is incredibly not OK. If it happened to me, I would be so upset. Watching Brittany and how she reacted to that, I applaud her.”

Credit: Courtesy Kit Keenan/Instagram; Courtesy Victoria Larson/Instagram

Defending Victoria

Rachel and Becca didn’t hold back while asking Kit about Victoria, who has been accused of bullying several women on the show. While Kit insisted that the self-proclaimed queen is “a talented comedian,” Rachel noted “it’s not coming through the television screen” for viewers.

“It’s a side of her that’s not very seen on the show,” Kit said of Victoria’s comedy. “Also, she opened up to me and a few other girls about traumas that she has dealt with in her life. … I wish that side of her was shown because I think it would illustrate why she acts certain ways toward other people.”

Kit went on to say that she wouldn’t defend Victoria’s “derogatory” comments.

Credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin

Being in Love With Matt

“You’re asking me to explain what falling in love is like and there are only metaphors to explain that,” she told Rachel and Becca. “I think for me it’s, like, you love every part of that person. The cringey parts, the amazing parts that make Matt a one-of-a-kind human being. It’s so hard to explain, but it’s a feeling like you’re at the top of a roller-coaster.”

Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Heather’s Arrival

In the promo for the February 8 episode of The Bachelor, fans learn Colton Underwood’s former contestant Heather Martin arrives to try to get a shot with Matt.

“At that point, I was just like, ‘Give me a break, come on,’” Kit recalled. “There’s a little bit of drama still, but I would say it definitely starts to get serious and get to the point where we’re all really examining our relationships and focusing in on ourselves and not talking about the drama in the house anymore.”