Matt Rossi Says New Zealand Bachelorette Trip Was ‘Heavily Subsidized’

Jenn Tran’s ex boyfriend Matt Rossi is opening up about what he claims went down behind-the-scenes of his surprise cameo on season 21 of The Bachelorette.

Rossi, 28 made his bombshell appearance on season 21 of The Bachelorette in an attempt to win Tran, 27, back after dating off-and-on since 2020. At the time, host Jesse Palmer had shared during the episode, “I’m told that [Rossi] has flown himself halfway around the world to New Zealand on his own dime just to have a conversation with Jenn.”

However, Rossi told a different story on a Tuesday, February 4, episode of the “BachMakers” podcast when asked if he had actually fronted his own money for the trip to New Zealand, where Tran’s season of The Bachelorette was filmed.

“Let’s say it was partially subsidized,” Rossi said, before adding, “Heavily subsidized. They tried to put me in coach but I upgraded it.”

During the episode, Rossi further spoke about his cameo on the show, saying “it was” so much more dramatic than it seemed on television. While Tran ultimately sent Rossi home, she initially invited him to a cocktail party with the rest of the contestants. As a result, several of her suitors, including Devin Strader, threatened to quit the show if she let her ex stay.

“I think that was honestly one of the scariest things I’ve ever done in my life,” Rossi explained. “There was a lot more going on too behind-the-scenes that I was like, is this safe to do? I remember asking the producers, I was like, ‘Is this a safe call?’ There was a lot of alcohol flowing. You know, a lot of emotions.”

Rossi added, “Jenn had talked about her toxic ex and then you hear of an ex showing up without any context, so immediately you think that’s me.”

He continued, “She’s talked about having a toxic ex for a while. It was really important to Jenn, I knew that when we talked, she had some panic about it. She was like, ‘I don’t want people to think that this was you.’ I know who the ex is too and like, yeah, it was really important to her for it to be clarified.”

Tran, for her part, has stated that she was truly surprised by Rossi’s appearance on her season of The Bachelorette. “It’s not like we were in Kansas or Connecticut. He flew to New Zealand,” she said on an August 2024 episode of “The Viall Files” podcast. “And at first, when I saw him, I thought to myself, ‘Wow, a friendly face. I’m so excited. He must be here to give me some advice or something.’ And very, very quickly, I was like, ‘This man is not here to give me advice.’”

After Tran sent him packing, Rossi took a moment to tell her suitors that he had “come here completely on my own volition, but she let me know her future’s in this room.”

Bachelor Nation veteran Ashley Iaconetti, for her part, exclusively told Us Weekly in August 2024 that she was “shocked” to hear Rossi had paid for his own plane ticket from the U.S. to New Zealand. “That is not a cheap ticket,” she quipped.

“I think that when your ex becomes the Bachelorette, you have a whole new glow and fascination about them, right? ‘How did you let the Bachelorette go?’” she told Us at the time. “So, I can understand his feeling of desperation and being like, ‘Wow, I’m such an idiot. Why didn’t I lock this girl down when I could’ve?’”