Bachelor Matt James Will Need To Overcome This To Fall In Love

Matt James made history when he was named the first Black Bachelor in the franchise's 18-year history. "It's an honor," he told Good Morning America following the official announcement. "I'm just going to lean into myself and how my mom raised me, and hopefully when people invite me into their homes on Monday night, they're going to see that I'm not much different from them and they see that diverse love stories are beautiful."

While Bachelors are typically picked from the pool of contestants from prior Bachelorette seasons, Matt made his way into the reality television world a bit differently. He is best friends with Bachelorette season 15 alumni Tyler Cameron, who famously competed for Hannah Brown's heart and then dated supermodel Gigi Hadid. Matt was originally slated to appear on Clare Crawley's season of the hit reality show, but when the coronavirus pandemic delayed production, Bachelorette producers thought the handsome North Carolina native would fare better as the Bachelor, per E! News.

Matt's season premieres on Jan. 4, 2021, and it's already looking to be a dramatic experience. A new sneak peek of his journey to love (via Entertainment Tonight) shows Matt getting extremely emotional and telling host Chris Harrison he's not doing well. Harrison previously spoke about Matt's soul-stirring season, admitting that Matt had some things to come face-to-face with before being completely vulnerable. Keep scrolling to learn what Harrison said Bachelor Matt James will need to overcome to fall in love.

Bachelor Matt James confirmed in his season's first promo that he was ready to fall in love, but as shown in a new sneak peek, it wasn't so easy to get there. Chris Harrison spoke about Matt's experience as the Bachelor, and he didn't sugarcoat the reality of it all.

"You all see a certain side of him on social media. There is so much more," Chris told Entertainment Tonight, referring to Matt's reputation on the internet. "You're seeing the 5 percent of the iceberg. There is so much depth, there is so many layers to this man that you're going to get to know, good and bad."

So, what is the "bad" Harrison is referring to? Apparently, it encompasses the "baggage" that Matt needed to accept and move on from before being completely vulnerable and open to finding love. "There's just stuff in his past, in his family. We all have baggage that has made us who we are. There is baggage that has made Matt the man he is," he indicated. "He's a great man, but there are things that he's going to have to get past, some hurdles he will have to clear, before he can find that happily ever after," Harrison teased about his season.

As fans prepare for Matt to be "stripped naked emotionally," Matt himself has been quiet about his new gig, instead focusing his energy on promoting his charity ABC Food Tours via Instagram.