Straight from the source! Maggie Hardy Knox, the owner and president of Nemacolin, joined Us Weekly’s “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast to reveal everything she witnessed after Matt James’ season of The Bachelor took over the resort.
“There was no other place in the world that you could be protected in a bubble with COVID that you can make out with 40 girls,” Knox told Us ahead of the Monday, March 15, finale party at the Pennsylvania hot spot. “We were able to really establish a bubble. And it was so wonderful, including for myself, to be in the bubble because the rest of the world, you know, was scared. … Everyone else is hiding in their apartments. And we’re the only place that the action is actually happening live. You don’t have to Zoom and have sex. You can have sex right here! It was wonderful.”
While production on Matt’s season began in late September 2020, the 29-year-old reality TV personality arrived early (and unannounced), giving Knox time to show him the ropes.
“Matt was up here two weeks before he should have been. No one called us, nothing, he just showed up. That is a nice man to just show up,” she told Us. “We quickly showed him the house where he was going to stay. And then before any of the Bachelor people [got here], I showed him the shortcut through the golf course to get to the Falling Rock [where the contestants were staying]. … I got him a little motorbike because he’s so damn tall.”
Knox told Us that the show “nailed it” when it came to showcasing the property, which includes five-star dining and indoor and outdoor activities, during the season.
“They did a phenomenal job. It’s a lot to cover here,” she said, pointing out how many dates featured Nemacolin activities, including the skydiving outing that left Rachael Kirkconnell shaken up. “When I heard that ‘thump thump’ — and we were here that day — it was not funny. I give her credit. She’s a good little sport, just bounced right up. She wasn’t bitching about it.”
Season 25 being filmed at Nemacolin also allowed Knox to get a behind-the-scenes look at production on the show.
“A couple of times I sat behind, you know, the booth [while the cameras were rolling]. … They’re anticipating what’s gonna air, right? It’s like they’re watching a football game. What they really should do is a behind-the-scenes of The Bachelor,” she told Us, referring to producers watching the limo entrances. “This is right at the beginning and they didn’t know who the Queen was yet really, they didn’t know who the villain was going to be here. So, they’re waiting and they’re like, ‘Oh, we got the Queen!’”
The Bachelor franchise previously visited Nemacolin during JoJo Fletcher’s season of The Bachelorette in 2016. After the January premiere, the resort made headlines when Knox told Page Six that staff found a condom in a tree during Matt’s season.
“The rumors are true. That [was] after the horseback riding,” she quipped to Us. “I would have liked to see them running around nude in the hallways … and I wanted them to be able to run out on the golf course naked. That’s what I was hoping for.”