‘The Bachelor: The Women Tell All’: Matt James Makes Amends With ‘Queen’ Victoria and More Revelations

Credit: Craig Sjodin/ABC

‘The Bachelor: The Women Tell All’: Matt James Makes Amends With ‘Queen’ Victoria and More Revelations

Matt James reunited with “Queen” Victoria and more of his exes during the Monday, March 1, special The Bachelor: The Women Tell All. The episode began with a disclaimer as host Chris Harrison took the stage, noting it was previously recorded on February 4. The 49-year-old incited controversy on February 9 when he downplayed racism allegations against contestant Rachael Kirkconnell during an Extra interview with Rachel Lindsay. Harrison announced on February 13 that he would be “stepping aside for a period of time and will not join for the After the Final Rose special.” Emmanuel Acho will fill in as host in his absence. “This really has been a wild season filled with more exhilarating romance, shocking surprises and explosive drama than any of us were prepared for,” Harrison said during the Women Tell All, adding that the season delivered more “controversy than ever before.” While the oft hyperbolic statements are commonplace in the franchise, they took on new weight after the scandal that has surrounded season 25 in recent weeks. [jwplayer CYrAsNEy-l3ahXupL] For his part, Matt, 29, spoke out about Harrison and Rachael, 24, ahead of The Women Tell All — which the graphic designer did not attend since she could still receive the real estate broker’s final rose — airing. Bri Springs and Michelle Young also made the final three. Matt wrote via Instagram on February 22 that Harrison and Rachael’s actions had been “devastating and heartbreaking” for him. The former Who Wants to Be a Millionaire host’s reaction to the Georgia native “liking” photos with a Confederate flag in the background and attending an antebellum-themed party was “a clear reflection of a much larger issue that The Bachelor franchise has fallen short on addressing adequately for years,” according to the lead. (Rachael has since apologized for her past behavior and urged fans not to defend her.) The North Carolina native promised that viewers will “hear more from me in the end,” adding: “My greatest prayer is that this is an inflection point that results in real and institutional change for the better.” While The Women Tell All focused more on Matt’s reason for growing a beard — he felt it reflected the wisdom he gained during the process — and unaired dates than the recent controversy, the episode still included several revelations. Scroll through the gallery below to find out what the Bachelor and his exes talked about, from bullying to kissing with his eyes open:

Credit: Craig Sjodin/ABC

‘The Bachelor: The Women Tell All’: Matt James Makes Amends With ‘Queen’ Victoria and More Revelations

Matt James reunited with “Queen” Victoria and more of his exes during the Monday, March 1, special The Bachelor: The Women Tell All. The episode began with a disclaimer as host Chris Harrison took the stage, noting it was previously recorded on February 4. The 49-year-old incited controversy on February 9 when he downplayed racism allegations against contestant Rachael Kirkconnell during an Extra interview with Rachel Lindsay. Harrison announced on February 13 that he would be “stepping aside for a period of time and will not join for the After the Final Rose special.” Emmanuel Acho will fill in as host in his absence. “This really has been a wild season filled with more exhilarating romance, shocking surprises and explosive drama than any of us were prepared for,” Harrison said during the Women Tell All, adding that the season delivered more “controversy than ever before.” While the oft hyperbolic statements are commonplace in the franchise, they took on new weight after the scandal that has surrounded season 25 in recent weeks. [jwplayer CYrAsNEy-l3ahXupL] For his part, Matt, 29, spoke out about Harrison and Rachael, 24, ahead of The Women Tell All — which the graphic designer did not attend since she could still receive the real estate broker’s final rose — airing. Bri Springs and Michelle Young also made the final three. Matt wrote via Instagram on February 22 that Harrison and Rachael’s actions had been “devastating and heartbreaking” for him. The former Who Wants to Be a Millionaire host’s reaction to the Georgia native “liking” photos with a Confederate flag in the background and attending an antebellum-themed party was “a clear reflection of a much larger issue that The Bachelor franchise has fallen short on addressing adequately for years,” according to the lead. (Rachael has since apologized for her past behavior and urged fans not to defend her.) The North Carolina native promised that viewers will “hear more from me in the end,” adding: “My greatest prayer is that this is an inflection point that results in real and institutional change for the better.” While The Women Tell All focused more on Matt’s reason for growing a beard — he felt it reflected the wisdom he gained during the process — and unaired dates than the recent controversy, the episode still included several revelations. Scroll through the gallery below to find out what the Bachelor and his exes talked about, from bullying to kissing with his eyes open:

Credit: Craig Sjodin/ABC

MJ Says She ‘Owned’ Her Part in the Drama

MJ claimed that she acknowledged and apologized for any offense she caused to other women in the house. She said she was simply interjecting humor when she felt uncomfortable, but her actions took it too far. Jessenia, meanwhile, had no regrets about sharing her concerns with Matt, who said he wished he had more time to explore his relationship with MJ.

Credit: Craig Sjodin/ABC

Victoria Accuses Ryan of Being Too Sensitive

Ryan mentioned how the insults she faced from her fellow contestants, specifically Victoria, upset her, leading the “Queen” to ask if Ryan was perhaps being too sensitive and overly emotional. Victoria mentioned that she received worse backlash on the internet while the show aired and she was able to brush it off. However, Victoria acknowledged that the name-calling was “unacceptable,” and Ryan accepted her apology.

Credit: Craig Sjodin/ABC

Katie Takes Heat for Making the House ‘Toxic’

Katie alleged that the backlash some women faced as the show aired was “karma.” This caused several to accuse her of making the house “toxic” by bringing up the drama to Matt. Katie noted that she learned about bullying the hard way by mistreating Sarah, but she felt she owed it to Matt to tell him what was going on when he was not around. Matt later told her she was “courageous” in the face of adversity.

Credit: Craig Sjodin/ABC

Anna Admits Who Messaged Her About Brittany

Brittany noted that she found it difficult to readjust to life at home after Anna spread a rumor about her being an escort, which Brittany denied. She revealed that Anna never reached out to check on her as the episodes played out and she discovered more allegations, which Anna passed along behind her back. Anna expressed remorse and, after some prodding, said that people who knew Brittany’s exes and went to school with her were the ones who messaged her about the rumor in the first place. 

Brittany concluded: “I also wanna address people that are in the sex working industry — it’s just like, don’t let somebody tear you down for that. I believe that everyone deserves love and nobody’s life is worth more or means less based on an occupation.”

Credit: Craig Sjodin/ABC

Pieper Was in Love With Matt — But Never Told Him

Pieper knew she was in love with Matt but instead told him she was merely falling in love with him to protect herself. She wondered if Matt was completely honest about his feelings for her because she thought they were on different pages for a while before he sent her home.

Credit: Craig Sjodin/ABC

Matt Didn’t Know Kissing With His Eyes Open Was Bad

Matt joked about needing eye contact in a relationship and wanting to see the women up close, but ultimately, he did not realize kissing with his eyes open was a “no-no.” He confessed his habit was “kind of weird,” while Pieper revealed that she confronted him about it during filming.

Credit: Craig Sjodin/ABC

Serena P. Did Not Make a Mistake Leaving Early

Serena believed she would have done Matt a “disservice” by staying in the competition when she was not 100 percent sure about him. She knew she had to leave but hated hurting him.

Credit: Craig Sjodin/ABC

Matt Makes Amends With Victoria and Talks Bullying

Matt noted that he was “surprised” by some of the things that went on without his knowledge, but he thought all the women were good people. Victoria, in particular, got choked up while talking about how “grateful” she was for how Matt treated her as fans called her out. 

“With my exit, it kind of just hurt my feelings how I saw you said I need to self-reflect and ‘I have no words for her’ because I felt like I had done my best to open up and I just have [a] tremendous fear of rejection. So that was why my exit was just a little dramatic,” she said. “I was going through just levels of pain at that time.” 

Matt countered that he had “nothing but good things to say about” Victoria and apologized if he offended her the night he sent her home. After she mentioned that he “helped [her] through so much,” he added: “I feel like I dropped the ball on our relationship because there was a lot more there that I felt like I could’ve done for you that I didn’t get the chance to.” 

The Bachelor airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.