ABC/Craig Sjodin
We’re Ready for Matt James! ‘The Bachelor’ Begins Filming at Pennsylvania Resort
It’s on! The Bachelor season 25 began filming with leading man Matt James at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Farmington, Pennsylvania, the leading man confirmed via social media on Tuesday, September 22.
“See y’all in a few months,” the former football player, 28, wrote with a peace sign emoji on his Instagram Story while tagging the east coast resort. It’s likely the cast and crew had to undergo a quarantining process, due to health and safety restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic, before the contestants arrive.
Historically, The Bachelor begins filming around October and airs in January. Beginning a few weeks early isn’t a total surprise given the current situation of the entire cast and crew needing to isolate and have multiple COVID-19 screenings.
Season 16 of The Bachelorette postponed filming for four months from March until July. When it became clear that traveling to unique destinations was out of the question, the entirety of the season was shot at the La Quinta Resort in Palm Springs, California. It looks like The Bachelor will be following suit with one location.
Bachelor Nation alum Jason Tartick first teased that production was heading to the east coast resort. When asked about his “favorite vacation spot” during an Instagram Q&A in August, the former Bachelorette contestant wrote, “I think @nemacolin is up there and I’m hearing rumblings this resort may be on our [TV] soon.” He also added a rose emoji.
Now that the show has one quarantine-fueled season under its belt, hopefully, filming The Bachelor goes a bit smoother. An insider exclusively told Life & Style in August that filming for season 16 of The Bachelorette was one big “s—t show.” Of course, Tayshia Adams stepping in as the leading lady mid-season after Clare Crawley fell “in love” with a contestant also contributed, but you can read those spoilers here.
As for the safety restrictions, it definitely kept the guys more isolated than usual. “[The contestants] spent their time working out, journaling, taking baths, whatever they could to pass time. Luckily, they were allowed to have their phones while they did all the prep work, photo shoots and preliminary interviews,” explained the insider.
Filming is simply taking more time. “Interactions with producers were all over Zoom until everyone was cleared, and once production started, they were testing the guys again every four days. There [are] no rules put in place in terms of physical contact/kissing since the thought is they’d all be in a bubble healthy,” said the insider.
We can’t wait to watch Matt’s journey to find love unfold!
