Matt James' New Look Has Fans Divided

Matt James' social media activity has all of our attention. Following the end of his season of The Bachelor, the former lead of the show wiped all of the content on his Instagram, per People. The comments under Matt's formerly removed posts are mostly negative, with most referring to his controversial relationship and split from his ex-girlfriend Rachael Kirkconnell. Their relationship ultimately ended after Matt found out she attended an Old South plantation-themed party in college. During The Bachelor: After the Final Rose, Rachael realized that Matt had been affected by the racism allegations. "So for him to end things, like, he must have been very, very hurt by everything," she stated, per Us Weekly.

Matt has since returned back to social media after a brief hiatus. In addition to removing any association with The Bachelor off of his Instagram, he has debuted a new look that has everybody talking. Here's why.

When we first were introduced to Matt James on The Bachelor, he sported a clean cut look with a shaved head and stubble facial hair. Although he hasn't opted to grow out his hair, Matt shocked his fans with a full beard during The Bachelor: After the Final Rose. Fans took to social media to sound off on the look, with one user tweeting, "By the look of Matt James' beard right now there is absolutely no way he ends his season engaged."

Unfortunately for fans of Matt's beard, the look was seemingly short-lived. In early April 2021, the former reality star tweeted a selfie showing off his signature stubble beard with the caption, "It was time. [peace sign emoji] beard."

Twitter users reacted to Matt's not-so-new look with mixed feelings. One user tweeted, "I hope this is an April fools joke lol." Another commented, "Grow it back right now." On the other hand, some people were happy to see the facial hair go. One of his fans remarked, "It was way overdue. Thank you! That thing looked a mess!" Beard or no beard, we love to see Matt giving us our daily dose of eye candy!