Fans of ABC’s The Bachelor called out series lead Matt James for wasting their time after he decided he was “not ready” to get engaged on the season finale.
After two months of watching Matt whittle down a series of contestants to two women who appeared to fall deeply in love with the handsome businessman, viewers were let down.
Matt admitted at the start of the episode he was “all in” and ready to commit to either Rachael Kirkconnell or Michelle Young but by the episode’s end, he appeared to have changed his mind.
Fans questioned why Matt appeared on the show if he was not ready for a serious relationship.
“So this whole time Matt has been dangling commitment & a possible marriage to these girls but turns out he’s not ready for marriage?!” wrote a viewer.
“All he had to do was tell them he’s not ready for an engagement, he can still choose someone, right? Sometimes engagements fall apart, this is the bachelor, just play the game omg,” penned another Bachelor fan.
Matt had difficulty with the process of finding a lasting love
This decision came on the heels of a meeting with his mom Patty, who felt either woman would have made a good mate for her son. She spoke to Matt and asked him if his idea of love meant an engagement or seeing a future with someone.
“There’s nothing like being in love. It makes life wonderful,” she said. “But you know, people fall in and out of love. And love is not the end-all, be-all.”
Matt began to reconsider his feelings and told show host, Chris Harrison, he might have changed his mind about proposing to either woman.
In the end he sent Michelle home after admitting that he wasn’t in love with her.
Matt commits to Rachael without a proposal
Matt met Rachael for one final time. Although he loved her he said he was not ready to become engaged.
“I want to be everything to you, I want to be everything for you that my dad wasn’t to my mom,” he continued.
“And as I’m wrestling with what I’m going to do today, the easy thing for me to do would be to brush those feelings and emotions off and make you happy. That’s to propose to you today. But I couldn’t live with myself if I put you through what my mom has been through. I’ve seen what rushing into a proposal, a marriage can do in my family and it’s ugly and it’s not something I want for you or for us. And that’s why I can’t propose to you today.”
The Bachelor is currently on hiatus.