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Now that her time on The Bachelor is in her rear view, Serena Pitt has a chance to reflect on her relationship with Matt James, the other women, and how surreal the experience was. As a long-time Bachelor Nation fan, Serena thought she knew what she was getting into, but the reality was far more exciting. Serena spoke to Screen Rant about what it was like being on the show, the friendships viewers didn’t get to see, and Serena’s “what ifs” about her relationship with Matt.
The fun and bubbly publicist from Canada made an early impact on Matt and went out with him on one of the first one-on-one date of the season. Though their date was crashed by a herd of donkeys, their connection started to bloom. The pair shared a lot of the same values and positive energy, and it was no surprise that Serena made it to hometowns. However, doubts began to creep in after Serena spoke to her family and after a dramatic and teary breakup, Serena said goodbye to Matt and sent herself home.
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You started The Bachelor when COVID was going on. How did you get to the U.S. for filming, and what was it like traveling during that time?
Serena Pitt: It was a little bizarre traveling at that time, because airport in Toronto—which would typically be super busy—was completely dead. There was basically no one in the airport. I remember going up to the border security guards, and they were like, “Why do you have all this paperwork? Why are you crossing the border? What’s happening?”
It was definitely a unique experience, different than any other time I traveled in my life. But I took all the precautions and felt very safe.
Are you more attracted to Canadian men or American men?
Serena Pitt: I’ve never really thought about it as there being a really big difference. Matt is obviously the first American man I’ve ever dated. I can’t say I have a preference. I think my parents would definitely love it if I ended up staying in Canada, but it’ll just take a little work convincing an American guy to cross the border, I guess.
Do you have any favorite American accents?
Serena Pitt: I don’t know, let me think. I don’t know all of your American accents; I know you have a Southern accent, I really like the Boston accent—I think it just sounds very cool, very casual. I don’t know, what else is there? Southern accents, Boston accents. What else?
I think you got it with the Boston accent. I’m with you on that one. Do you have a favorite state here in America?
Serena Pitt: I’ve been to a few different cities. I’m not going to try to do a lot of geography right now, because I know I’m gonna mess it up. But I really love Chicago, I really love New York, I really love San Francisco. I know those are cities, not states. I love the West Coast. Seattle reminds a lot of Vancouver, so that’s been a cool city to visit. I’ve been lucky to travel to a variety of different places all over America.
On the show, there’s so much that doesn’t make it to the final cut. What do you wish viewers could have seen from you or anyone else on the show?
Serena Pitt: I think it’s so hard because there’s so much I would have liked viewers to see. But obviously, they only are privileged to two hours a week, so a lot has to get cut out. I think there was some really beautiful, special moments that Matt and I shared that unfortunately weren’t able to be shown just due to time, I’m assuming.
We sound like a broken record, but all the girls really just wish the friendships and the laughs and the funny moments got shown a little bit more. You saw a little bit in the bloopers throughout the season, and then also the women tell all, but just getting to see those organic friendships and our favorite memories shared together.
There’s a lot of drama by the show this season, so I think that was shown a lot. And there was a lot of happy moments and fun moments and romantic moments that it would have been nice if people got to see, just to learn more about who we are as people, and the relationships we share both with Matt and with each other on the show.
If you were to go on Bachelor in Paradise, who would you be most excited to meet?
Serena Pitt: If I was going to Bachelor in Paradise, I think I would go in with a very open mind. I think it’s easy to look at someone and think they’re really attractive, but I’m definitely someone who bases a lot on chemistry and interaction, and if we have good banter and a connection.
I wouldn’t want to write off anyone going in because I had my eyes set on someone specific. I’m definitely gonna try to go in with an open mind and be able to give everyone a fair shot.
I think that’s a healthy attitude. In this hypothetical, what do you think would be your strongest quality that would attract people to you?
Serena Pitt: Oh, that’s a good question. I think I just have a very bubbly, outgoing personality. In a group of people, I’m definitely an extrovert. I’m not necessarily always the loudest in the room, but I’m very social and like talking to people. I like getting to know new people, and in that kind of environment, I feel like that’s definitely a strength.
I mean, there’s gonna be a lot of amazing guys to meet on the beach this summer, and then there’ll be a lot of great girls to potentially make friendships with. I think anyone that goes can relate to the excitement of getting to meet people who have shared this experience that you have, being in the Bachelor franchise.
When you were watching back The Bachelor, what did you learn about yourself and what you want from a relationship in the future?
Serena Pitt: I think I learned a lot more living the experience than I did watching it back. It was definitely interesting to watch it back, and there was a lot of clarity and reflection that went on in that process as well. But being in that relationship with Matt taught me so much, because he did and does have so many qualities that I am looking for; things that I didn’t even realize how important they were to me.
I think that we shared an ability to have very serious conversations and talk about things that were important to us and things that we wanted in life; we were able to be very open and honest with where we were at, what our expectations were in a relationship, what our hopes were for a future and family, and then also be able to just have so much fun together. We truly got along so well, and we had such a playful, energetic, fun relationship. We would tease each other constantly. I really loved that we had that dynamic of being able to have the best of both worlds, and I would definitely want that moving forward into my next relationship.
There’s a lot of upheaval going on in the franchise right now. Who would you like to see host in the future?
Serena Pitt: That’s a tricky question. Definitely a loaded question. I think people are all waiting to see what direction the franchise takes with hosting, in regards to everything that’s happening on that end, and really excited to watch Katie’s season and to see Tayshia and Kaitlyn host.
I was really excited to watch Emmanuel do After the Final Rose. So far, I’ve been really happy and excited about the franchise’s choices on who they’re having host seasons. I’m excited to see, moving forward, who’s going to host Bachelor in Paradise and future Bachelorette and Bachelor seasons.
In terms of everything that’s going on with the franchise right now—with the racism, online harassment and toxic behavior—do you think the franchise is salvageable at this point?
Serena Pitt: I do think this franchise is salvageable, definitely. I don’t believe that it should be written off by any means. I think, if anything, that this year and this season was a huge learning opportunity for the franchise and for the viewers. We see a lot of people from the franchise speaking out and using their platforms to educate on racism and use their voice to support Rachel Lindsay.
I think that it was definitely hard, especially being a woman of color in this season, with everything that was happening in the franchise in connection to racism. But I definitely have hope that there’s going to be education and change, and I think that’s all we can hope for at this point moving forward.
Which women on your season did you bond with the most?
Serena Pitt: I had great relationships with so many of the women. I talked to Bree and Michelle and Ryan, who was one of the girls who came in late as well, very frequently; almost every day. I talk to Rachael quite often as well. She was my roommate on the show. Chelsea, Abigail, Piper… I mean, I have been so grateful to come out of this franchise with so many incredible friendships and so many strong, admirable women in my life.
I definitely have built some really great friendships from the season.
Do you guys have a group chat?
Serena Pitt: Yeah. Me, Michelle, Ryan and Bri definitely jump on a FaceTime at least once a week all together. Yeah, there’s a couple of chats.
When you were breaking up with Matt, you said that he wasn’t your person. But do you think that things could have worked out with him if you had met under normal circumstances outside of the show?
Serena Pitt: You know, it’s so hard to say. It’s obviously something I’ve thought about, but I really don’t know. I mean, there’s a lot of ‘what ifs’ with that relationship, in regards to, ‘What if I stayed one more week? What if we met outside the show? What if I did this or that, or said this or that?’
I think it’s really hard to know, and it’ll drive me crazy going through all the ‘what ifs’ and always wondering that. But I think with him, what it came down to was he just wasn’t my person, and that wasn’t the right relationship for us at this time. It was a really hard breakup, and it still makes me sad to think about, but I think it was the best decision for both of us.
What surprised you the most about the process of the show?
Serena Pitt: There’s so much that I could probably say. I’ve watched the show, I’ve been a viewer of the show, but living it and experiencing it is a whole different thing. You just don’t know what you don’t know. Going into it, you feel like you know what you signed up for. And then there’s just so much that happens behind the scenes, you only see two hours of what was days of filming.
I think what surprised me was how fast and easily you can get close with the women, and how we were really able to navigate to the best of our ability the awkwardness of dating the same guy. I felt like it would be super awkward, and there would be a lot more resentment and frustration. There was definitely those emotions at times, like when you’re watching him go on one-on-ones and stuff like that, but we really did a good job of being able to navigate it and maintaining strong friendships. We could be honest while also not divulging everything while dating. the same guy.
I mean, it’s not normal. I hope I never do it again. But we made it work, which I was surprised about. I thought it would be a lot more difficult.
You said you’ve been watching the franchise for a while. Whose season did you start with?
Serena Pitt: I’ve been watching for a long time. I started watching it with my mom and my sister. I think Ashley was the Bachelorette? Ashley and J.P.’s season.
I grew up watching it with my mom and my sister. And then when I went off to university, my roommates were fans too. We would watch it and some of our girlfriends that were on the dance team with us would come over, or just other friends would come and watch it, or we’d like throw it on in the background if people were hanging out. It was kind of one of those things that just followed with me through high school and then university, and then afterwards.
It was never something that I thought I would apply for, to be clear. I did not see myself ever being on the show. But we enjoyed watching.
That must have been so surreal for you to be on it.
Serena Pitt: Yeah, it was just weird. I remember pulling up Day One, and I was like, “‘I’m so excited. But also what am I doing?’
Is there anyone from Bachelor nation as a whole that you’re really excited to meet? Not even romantically, but who are you fangirling over?
Serena Pitt: I think a lot of women from our season would give you this answer, but it’s gonna have to be Rachel Lindsay. I actually really loved Tayshia, too. I did an interview with Rachel in Extra, and then I interviewed with Tayshia on [Bachelor] Happy Hour. They’re just two women that I really look up to and I was really excited to meet. But I’m sure there’s people that I’m forgetting that I’ll meet, and I’ll completely fangirl when I meet you.
If you could have gone on anyone else’s season of The Bachelor, whose would it be?
Serena Pitt: I would have never thought about that. I don’t know, because I’ve never thought about going on until Matt was announced. I think one of the earlier seasons I watched was Ben Higgins’ season. I was probably like 15 or 16. I thought he was so cute, but he was like 15 years older than me.
I know a lot of contestants, when they’ve watched the show back, they say that they finally get a really good understanding of the connection that the lead had with their final person. Did you feel that watching it back about Rachael?
Serena Pitt: I think it’s different for the women who experience blindside and heartbreak, because they watch it back and then say, ‘I have this closure.’ Or I hope for them that they feel that way, because they can see how strong someone else’s relationship was.
I think I came at it for a little bit of a different perspective, because I did send myself home. I always felt like Matt and I had an incredibly strong relationship and incredibly strong section. I was very confident in it through the entire season. So, I think for me watching it back kind of reassured me of my connection. But then, seeing him with Rachael, I was definitely like, ‘Yes, I see it. I know why that worked out. I can see it.’
Even being in the house, we were roommates, we would talk and we both were very confident in our connections. But especially in the last few episodes, like fantasy suites and hometowns, I was definitely like, ‘Hmm, okay.’ But now I’m looking at it from a different perspective, because I’m not comparing it to my relationship anymore.
My answer would be yes. On their one-on-one date when he said he was falling for her, and then proceeding into hometown fantasy suites and meeting his family, I 100% saw their connection. I think it was very evident, and if I was just a viewer watching, I would have been like, ‘Oh, he’s very into this girl.’ I definitely got that vibe, watching it that.
There must be a lot of revelations you have about the whole season, because you’re only seeing a small part of it from your point of view. Was there anything that really shocked you when you’re watching?
Serena Pitt: Oh, yeah, 100%. Because we don’t get to see any of the diary rooms, and we’re not privy to every single conversation or every single moment. There’s so many girls in the house, but I definitely remember seeing Victoria’s interviews, I had an idea of what they might be like, just knowing the genre. But she is a shocking person, and she does very shocking things, a lot of things I don’t support or condone.
I’m grateful that she came to the Women Tell All and apologized and owned up to those comments, as they were completely unacceptable. But yeah, it is just interesting, getting to see everyone’s interviews and the chats and all of that stuff. Nothing that I was completely shocked by but yeah, there was a lot of stuff that I was seeing for the first time just like everyone else.
How bad was Matt at hockey, at ice skating? Because it didn’t look good.
Serena Pitt: That’s super funny. Okay, so he’s very fit person. He’s very athletic. But he was not meant for the ice. Him and the ice do not get along.
I’m not a great skater by any means; I’ve never played hockey. But I think we were both kind of just getting through it together, but we had a lot of laughs with a lot fun.
Do you think that there was any hope for him, or was he completely hopeless? Could he have practiced and got better?
Serena Pitt: I mean, probably. I believe in his ability to practice and get better, but he’s just so tall. He’s just so lanky on the ice.
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