ABC’s ‘Bachelor’ is from Raleigh, so these old yearbook photos were bound to surface
Matt James made headlines across the country last week as he began his televised tenure as ABC’s newest “Bachelor.”
In last Monday’s premiere of the long-running dating reality show, 32 women met James and swooned over his good looks (Durham contestant Khaylah Epps described him as “delicious”), his athletic 6-foot-5 frame and his impeccable manners.
But many locals have known the handsome “Bachelor” star, a Raleigh native who graduated from Sanderson High School and played football at Wake Forest University, from his earliest days.
What was he like as a kid? Was he funny? Was he adorable?
Through an exhaustive bit of investigative reporting (OK, a friend texted us some photos) we can at least answer that last question: YES HE WAS ADORABLE.
And so we present to our loyal readers Mr. Matthew James as a student at Durant Road Middle School, as seen in yearbook photos for 2004, 2005 and 2006. We also have his high school football photo courtesy of MaxPreps.
UPDATE: We’ve received kindergarten and 2nd grade photos from readers who saw the original story, and we’ve added those.
More about ‘Bachelor’ Matt James
James, who made news this past summer when he was named ABC’s first Black “Bachelor,” is 28 years old and works with a real estate investment firm in New York City. He is also involved in a program in New York that helps children affected by homelessness.
We will recap the show each week.
Catch up on our previous Matt James coverage:
▪ Matt James named ABC’s first Black “Bachelor”
▪ Durham woman is a contestant on “The Bachelor”
▪ Episode 1 recap: Meet, pray, love with Matt James
▪ See Matt James in middle school yearbook photos
▪ Episode 2 recap: Matt James is a prince, but there’s an evil queen, too
How to watch ‘The Bachelor’
New episodes of “The Bachelor” air at 8 p.m. Mondays on ABC.
You can also stream “The Bachelor” the next day at abc.com/shows/the-bachelor or on Hulu.
This story was originally published January 11, 2021 at 11:48 AM.
