Jenn Tran‘s journey for love just got a major curveball. On the July 29 episode of The single womanMatt Rossi, the protagonist’s ex-boyfriend, traveled to New Zealand with his own money to compete for Jenn’s heart once again.
After a quick check by the franchise host Jesse PalmerThe show’s producers brought Matt to Jenn for a chat.
“I feel a little nervous, a little excited. We were in love and I think a part of us will always be in love. For me, it’s never been stronger,” he told the cameras. “Me being here is, I hope, a step in the right direction, proving to her how much she means to me and how serious I am about this.”
Matt started the conversation by revealing that he canceled two weddings he was supposed to attend with Jenn because “it wasn’t the same” without her by his side.
“I couldn’t go to the weddings without you,” he said. “I’m not ready to let you go and get engaged without telling you that I still have very strong feelings for you, now more than ever.”
When Jenn pressed Matt about whether he was ready to get engaged, he quickly replied, “I’m ready for that.”
Jenn was left “confused” by the romantic gesture and wondered why Matt didn’t declare his feelings before she went on the show.
“I said it. I didn’t say it in such a grand way, I guess,” he said. “… I really love you… My intentions are to be with you. I want to continue this journey together… I would love to join you to prove how much you mean to me, to express how much I still care about you.”
With that, Jenn walked away to consider the situation and what it would mean for her other suitors if she let Matt stay.
“It confuses me and takes me out of my head a little bit. There are people here that I have very strong feelings for and I’m afraid of what this might shake up some of these guys and how some of them might feel about it,” she said in a confessional. “But I also know Matt a lot better than these guys I met a few weeks ago. He’s someone I care about. I have a tough decision to make and I don’t know where my heart is pulling me.”
In a preview for next week’s episode, Jenn’s men are none too pleased about Matt’s arrival, with one saying he’s “furious” and another complaining that it’s “not fair.”
Meanwhile, Jenn appears more uncertain than ever as she tells cameras, “As much as I can see a future at the end of this, I also see a future where I end up alone.”
So who is Matt Rossi? Read on to learn everything you need to know about the 27-year-old insurance executive.
He previously spoke about his relationship with Jenn
In a TikTok from February, Matt asked his dog, Kirkland, to narrate the story of his relationship with Jenn.
“When I was still a twinkle in my dad’s eye, he was a 24-year-old f**k boy living in Boston with his three best friends,” Kirkland’s voice actor said. “… He was painfully single, not unlike how he is now, so he decided to join an app called Hinge, which he had never done before because he was afraid of Craigslist killers.”
“Then he met this really cute, sweet girl named Jenn. Totally out of his league. Somehow, she gave him a chance, they hit it off, and started dating,” he continued. “Things started heating up, they got pretty serious, and Jenn was ready to settle down with her person, but my dad wasn’t there yet. He was still, like I said, a f**k kid. Years went by, they remained friends, and now my dad is using her for leverage.”
He is no Jenn’s toxic ex
Throughout Jenn’s season The single womanviewers heard about Jenn’s past toxic relationship that made her feel unworthy. After Matt’s arrival, Jenn was quick to confirm that he is no the ex she was referring to.
Instead, Jenn and Matt dated three years ago for several months. They later reconnected as friends. When Jenn left for The single womanMatt told Jesse, “I couldn’t just let her go.”
He has a lot of followers on social media
Matt boasts over 50,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok, largely thanks to his dachshund. During an appearance on Nickel up podcast in February, he talked about his journey as a content creator.
“I’m a guy who lives in Boston and has a dachshund,” he said. “My content is about lifestyle and entertainment. It’s there to give you a glimpse into the lifestyle, but also to have a few laughs along the way. That’s something that probably took me nine months to figure out and start executing.”
He is more than an insurance executive
During his podcast appearance, Matt revealed that despite being in corporate America, he has an entrepreneurial mindset. He credits this to his parents, both of whom moved to America from Italy and neither of whom had college educations.
“They both started their own businesses. My mom is a hairdresser, she has a salon in Newton that she’s run for over 30 years. My dad was helping support my grandparents, who opened an Italian restaurant in Hampshire, and then they were simultaneously building a career in real estate,” he said. “I’ve always had this entrepreneurial passion… (But) I went to college. I went to business school. I went into corporate America. I think I learned a lot, but I don’t think that entrepreneurial spirit has gone away.”
It will change Jenn’s entire journey.
When ET spoke to Jenn earlier this month, she provoked how Matt’s surprise arrival impacted your experience on the show.
“It’s a very pivotal moment in the journey,” Jenn said. “I think that’s all I’ll really say about it. It was a huge moment for me that shocked me and changed the trajectory of the rest of the season.”
As for the super provocative moment in which Jesse tells Jenn that “no Bachelorette has ever done this before” before her finale, she promised that her season would end in an unexpected way.
“The way the journey just unfolded, there are so many moments where I learned so much about myself and had this huge character development for myself essentially,” she said. “In the end, it’s definitely an outcome that will be a shock to my family, it will be a shock to the viewers. I’m excited to watch it unfold.”
While Jenn has neither confirmed nor denied whether she’s engaged, she told ET that she’s “really happy with how” her season turned out.
“I’ve learned a lot about myself. It’s really been a journey of self-growth. I would say I’ve found a fierce love within myself, for sure,” she said, before telling Bachelor Nation, “I’m really excited for them to see me grow and become a different person. I have some amazing moments, some moments of really putting myself out there. I think a lot of young women will relate to me and my story. That’s what I’m most excited about.”
The single woman airs Mondays on ABC.
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