The Truth About The Bachelor's Catalina Morales

The 25th season of The Bachelor is promising to be an emotional, heart-wrenching journey. In an official sneak peek of Matt James' season, viewers see women letting their claws out as Matt wallows in anxiety, telling host Chris Harrison he is not doing well.

The drama is of course a staple to the hit reality series. However, there are elements that set Matt's time as the Bachelor apart from previous seasons of the show. First, Matt is the franchise's first Black Bachelor, which follows heavy criticism that the franchise does not "reflect and honor the racial diversity of our country," per an online petition started to address the issue. Secondly, the show was shot at a resort in Pennsylvania rather than the Los Angeles mansion normally seen in the franchise, per Glamour. 

Adding to The Bachelor's increased diversity is the diversity in its cast of women competing for Matt's heart, which Entertainment Weekly is calling the franchise's "most diverse cast ever." Prior to the official cast release, there was chatter about who would be on the show, which included a pageant queen from Puerto Rico, Catalina Morales. However, now that the official cast has been announced, she is missing from the group, but that doesn't mean she won't appear on the show. According to blogger Reality Steve, there are several women who could show up at any given time to attempt to steal Matt's heart. So, who is this beauty queen? Here's the truth about The Bachelor's Catalina Morales.

Catalina Morales was rumored to appear on Matt James' season of The Bachelor as early as October 2020. She stands out from the group of Matt's possible girlfriends because she represented her home, Puerto Rico, in the 2015 Miss Universe pageant and won the entire competition. However, it's not just her natural beauty and elegance that make Catalina so appealing. The pageant queen is also a registered attorney, earning her degree from The University of Puerto Rico in 2017, according to her LinkedIn. She has also worked as a television presenter and penned her own book.

While Catalina is missing from the official list of women competing for Matt James' heart, Reality Steve assured fans that there will be some surprises thrown into the season, including the arrival of additional women. Viewers will have to tune in to The Bachelor on Mondays starting Jan. 4, 2021 to see what surprises are in store for Matt and his pursuers. 

Meanwhile, as fans scrambled to uncover who would be fighting for Matt's heart, Matt had to fight with his own, according to Chris Harrison. "I think he had a bit of a rude awakening of the man he is, the way he loves [and] what love means to him," Harrison told US Weekly in November 2020 about Matt's journey to finding love. "It really is an amazing journey you're going to take with Matt."