Bachelor Nation, rejoice! After months of trickery, jokes and conversations, Matt James has finally shaved his very, very large beard — and girlfriend Rachael Kirkconnell may be the happiest lady in the land.
The 29-year-old real estate agent made a bet with cryptocurrency company BlockFi on Tuesday, August 31, stating that if the brand was able to rake up 50,000 followers in one day’s time, he would remove his facial hair.
Fast forward through the success of it all and James took to Twitter on Wednesday, September 1, to show off his fresh face. “A bets a bet @BlockFi,” he captioned his tweet. In the accompanying image, the reality star sat in the back of a trunk with nothing but a bit of stubble.
He also took to Instagram to share a very ~ serene ~ photo, pressing his beardless face against a flower bush. “Still adjusting @blockfi … 😂🪒👶🏾,” he captioned the post.
It didn’t take long for the comments section to blow up, as this transformation has been a long time coming. Kirkconnell, who officially got back together with James in May after breaking up in March, was one of the first to chime in.
The graphic designer, who found herself in a racism controversy earlier this year, wrote: “Do you got a girlfriend …😍😍” Bachelor in Paradise star Ashley Iaconetti, who is expecting her first child with Jared Haibon, dropped a string of praising hand emojis.
Fans were just as excited about the transformation. “Mans about to get HELLA skin care brand deals,” a follower joked. “Don’t grow that thing again,” another chimed in.
Shaving off his beard wasn’t an easy feat though. In a Thursday, September 2, interview with Pop Culture, James revealed that getting all the “polarizing” facial hair off “took like three hours.”
“I’ve never had something so polarizing on me even when I had dreads,” he told the outlet. His beard has been a hot topic of conversation since he debuted the look at his Women Tell All episode earlier this year.
Knowing that not everyone was a fan of his facial hair, James even pounced on the opportunity to play an April Fools joke on his fan base. “It was time. ✌🏾beard,” he captioned a selfie of a clean-shaven face on April 1.
Fast forward a few hours though and the reality star revealed that it was just a prank. “April FOOLS! #BeardGNG,” he captioned a selfie later that day.
James even rocked his facial hair to the ESPYs, where he made his red carpet debut with Kirkconnell.
