The Bachelor’s Matt James pulled the ultimate April Fool’s prank by posting that he had shaved his infamous beard.
Bachelor Nation has practically begged James to shave his facial hair ever since its appearance at the After the Final Rose special in March.
So when Matt fibbed that he had finally shaved, fans were over the moon. Alas, it was all a light-hearted joke to the beard haters.
Matt James’s Instagram April Fool’s trick
James took to his Instagram story to fool his followers into thinking he decided to rock just some stubble.
The selfie even had text on it reading, “It was time. ✌🏾 Beard.”
Matt’s facial hair look has been unofficially dubbed his “single guy” beard by Bachelor Nation.
While the whiskers have been a hit for some, most audiences are not a big fan of it. Many have called for James to pick up a razor and go back to the classic heartthrob stubble that he had during his season.
A few hours later, James revealed it was a prank and confirmed that the beard was in fact here to stay.
Timeline of the beard; from The Bachelor to now
James recently reactivated his Instagram account after deleting the photos he had posted during his time on The Bachelor, but he certainly has numerous photos of the beard.
When Season 25 of The Bachelor first premiered in January 2021, James’s beard was present during various press interviews. At that point, it was just beginning to get past stubble-length.
Since then, the “single guy” beard has continued to grow longer and longer. Most fans became acquainted with it at the After the Final Rose special where he broke things off with his season’s winner, Rachael Kirkconnell.
James has confirmed that he is taking a break from all dating for a while. So, to the disappointment of some, the scraggly whiskers may be around for good.
Most recently, Matt was spotted at a blackjack table in Las Vegas with the beard full and cleanly trimmed.
While he seems to be getting back out into the world after the craziness of The Bachelor, he has shown no intention of rocking a clean shave.
After this April Fool’s prank, fans are anticipating the day when Matt will stop joking around and pick up some shears.
The Bachelor is currently on hiatus on ABC.