Bachelor Matt James Sets the Record Straight on Dating Black Women: 'I've Dated Across the Board'

Matt James on Dating Black Women

Matt James Sets the Record Straight on Dating Black Women

Matt James is opening up about his dating history.

During an appearance on Monday's episode of the Talking It Out with Mike & Bryan podcast, the Bachelor star, 29, told hosts and Bachelorette alums Mike Johnson and Bryan Abasolo that he wanted to "set the record straight" about his past relationships.

"People for some reason think I don't like Black women," he said. "The last women I've dated have all been Black women. I don't understand why that's so hard for people to understand. People should want you to be happy, regardless of if they're white, they're Black, they're Asian, whatever."

"I've dated all across the board," the real estate broker continued, adding that he was happy to see a diverse group of women as contestants on his season of The Bachelor.

"My dating life looks like what we saw on night one [of the show]," James said. "Spanish women, white women, Asian women, Black women. Everything that I've ever dated and what I'm into isn't race-specific, and when you're looking for things that aren't race-specific, you have to have a broad cast of characters to fill all those things, and thank goodness they had it, because it allowed me to enjoy the process the way that I did."

Craig Sjodin/ABC Matt James and Kristin Hopkins

Craig Sjodi/ ABC Sarah and Matt

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James, who is the ABC franchise's first Black Bachelor, went on to lay out the characteristics he is looking for in the woman he hopes to one day marry.

"A down-to-earth, genuine person," he said. "And that is ambiguous of what you look like. Because I've dated beautiful women — well, I would say I've dated people who I thought were beautiful, and then I've dated people who other people would be like, 'You're dating her?' The people who they were kind of skeptical about were the best relationships I had because they were caring, they were compassionate, we respected each other."

He added, "What I'm looking for is someone who I can spend my life with and the qualities I'm looking for have so little do with what you look like and so much more about where your heart is, and what type of person you are."

ABC Matt James in The Bachelor

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James previously opened up about his perspective on love during the season 25 premiere, admitting that being the child of divorced parents made him "feel like I missed out on a lot of what it takes to be in a good relationship."

"I know what I want and I know what I'm looking for," he said during the episode. "Someone who's weathered storms, who's resilient and strong. It's a partnership. I've got so much hope in this process because I've seen it work. When I meet these women, I'm going to be 10 toes on the ground and ready to give them everything. I'm ready to start that next chapter in my life."

The Bachelor airs Mondays (8 p.m. ET) on ABC.