The Matt James era of The Bachelor vibrated into our lives last night, and when we weren’t swooning about Abigail, we were rationing out our Xanax to deal with the inevitable four-episode arc of Victoria, a self-proclaimed queen from Los Angeles who needed to invest in some blotting papers. James, in a move that shocked absolutely nobody, gave Victoria his last rose during the show’s premiere, a decision that he insisted on Monday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! was done on his own volition and not because the producers forced him to keep the drama alive.
“No, that wasn’t the case. She’s great. I really enjoyed Victoria,†he explained. (Kudos to Kimmel, who prodded James with “was it difficult not to throw up on her?†when she wouldn’t drop the queen cosplay.) “I appreciated everything about Victoria’s entrance and who she was, because whatever you need to do to stand out, she did it. I remembered her name, and it was lighthearted and it broke the ice. It’s such a tense situation, and I was nervous. And then when she came out with everything that she is, it put a smile on my face.†James added that he “knows†she was “popular with the other girls.†Was it because she righteously ruled the British Empire as a widow for over half of her life?