Can we talk about your sister? Are you comfortable with how hard she pushed Georgia on the kid front?
[Laughs] When she brought up kids, and watching that back on TV, I was like… oohhh, don’t do that. But you’ve only got a very short amount of time to make a judgment on someone. Ideally those kinds of questions come much later. Unfortunately, with that hometown visit, you have to rush through those hard-hitting questions straight up. I’m actually glad she asked those questions because it allowed her to make a fair call and judgment on Georgia. And she actually did like her, I should add.
Would you be the next Bachelor?
It’s a question a few people have asked, and the best analogy I can give is that I feel I’ve just crossed the finish line of a marathon. And I’m absolutely exhausted, and someone has walked up to me and asked if I want to do it again. And my initial reaction is: definitely not, no way. But that might change in a few months’ time once I’ve recovered and gotten over it all. So right now, no. In a few months’ time? Maybe.
Are you ready to date again?
Definitely not right now. No! I am not wanting to search for anything new. I’m just going to enjoy the company of friends and family for now.
And not telling half-truths to everybody. That has to take a bit of a toll.
Yeah, I can remember being in the office and the phone would go off, and everybody would be going, “Oh, that’s Georgia. That’s Georgia! It’s Georgia, isn’t it?” And you just want to be like: “It’s NOT GEORGIA! I didn’t end up with her, all right?!”
So many of the guys from this season had nothing but praise for you. But what was yours and Lee’s relationship like?
I got along with him really well. He’s a kind, considerate, fun guy to hang around with. Not once did we have any confrontation in the house—at all. We’d cook each other dinner every other night. I really enjoyed his company. But I was closest to Clancy and Jake. Lee was in the mix but he’s not someone I’ll speak to every day going forward.
Have you had a chance to talk to Georgia, or will you now that the series has finished and she’s coping with her mum’s illness?
I haven’t been sure how to tackle that. Of course I want to message her, to ask her how she’s doing and to let her know what an amazing job she did during the series, that everyone fell in love with her. I want to reassure her that I don’t have any hard feelings toward her. But I think to send that right now would maybe be inappropriate. I did send a message to Lee, letting him know he had my best wishes and that he deserved it, that I wish him nothing but happiness.
What did this experience teach you about yourself?
I didn’t realise how much I wear my heart on my sleeve. Even to the point where, I remember there were times I was waiting for that first single date and the guys would come back from theirs, saying things were great. They’d had kisses. And instantly, people would ask, “Matty, are you okay? What’s wrong?” And I thought I had a pretty good poker face! When I was happy or sad, everybody instantly knew. I didn’t realise it was that obvious.
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