Matt James & Rachael Kirkconnell met on season 25 of ‘The Bachelor’ in 2020. Matt fell fast and hard for Rachael, and she was his final pick at the end of the show. Although they decided not to get engaged, they left the show as a couple and continued their relationship away from the cameras.
However, as the show was airing, Rachael was the center of controversy when photos surfaced of her in 2018, where she was attending an Old South, antebellum-themed party. Due to the racist nature of the events that Rachael attended, she faced extreme backlash from ‘The Bachelor’ viewers. Naturally, the situation took a major toll on Rachael and Matt’s relationship. When they appeared on ‘After the Final Rose’ in March 2021, it was revealed that they had broken up weeks earlier. At the time, Matt explained that he wanted to give Rachael the space to work on educating herself, which she vowed to do.
By the beginning of April, Matt and Rachael were spotted hanging out in New York City. However, at the same time, another woman came forward and claimed that SHE was also seeing Matt. Rachael was reportedly blindsided by the news, but she and Matt eventually continued to pursue their relationship, and were seen together again in California at the end of April. Shortly after that, Matt confirmed that they had been seeing each other and that they were not pursuing relationships with anyone else.
Keep scrolling through the gallery to see more photos of Matt and Rachael together.
