‘Bachelor’ Matt James And Rachael Kirkconnell Were Spotted Together In The Hamptons

‘Bachelor’ Matt James And Rachael Kirkconnell Were Spotted Together In The Hamptons
  • Matt James gave his final rose to Rachael Kirkconnell on The Bachelor finale, but he didn't propose.

  • The couple dealt with backlash due to racist behavior from Rachael's past resurfacing after filming ended, and their relationship appeared to be over.

  • Matt and Rachael were spotted together in New York City, Los Angeles, and elsewhere before becoming Instagram official again.


Matt James' season of The Bachelor was drama-filled from the very first episode to the very last. The finale and "After the Final Rose" special were especially intense as fans saw Rachael Kirkconnell and Matt's romantic journey come to a close... or not.

Rachael has become a controversial contestant off-screen as her past racist actions resurfaced on social media, which she subsequently apologized for. As many in Bachelor Nation suspected, it was simply too much for the new 'ship to endure, at least initially. Reality Steve has been all over the latest romantic reunion intel, and it's some piping hot tea.

Here's everything Matt and Rachael have shared about their IRL romance after filming.

Soooo, are Matt and Rachael back together?

Are you sitting down? Good. Here's the deal: Matt and Rachael were spotted together in New York City on April 6. Reality Steve tweeted: "It’s been a while but here’s some news: Matt and Rachael? Yeah, they’re not over. They’re currently in New York together. FYI."

Yes, he realized it "sounded so Gossip Girl-ish. Should’ve signed it XOXO." Meanwhile, Matt and Rachael have yet to comment publicly on the status of their relationship.

Naturally, fans had so many thoughts about their apparent reunion. The memes truly speak for themselves.

And, Matt confirmed their status later in April. "I've seen Rachael a handful of times," he told People. "I'm not pursuing any relationships right now outside of that. I said I was going to focus on my relationship with her and that means focusing on it."

They're Instagram official, too.

Throughout April, rumors flew that Matt and Rachael were on again. It wasn't until May that the pair put their 'ship on the 'gram.

Matt shared a photo with Rachael working on ABC Food Tours, an organization he cofounded with Tyler Cameron to "empower students by providing experiences across diverse cultures and career opportunities."

Rachael has yet to reciprocate with a pic in the feed. She and Matt spent Memorial Day Weekend exploring the Hamptons with Tyler Cameron and his girlfriend Camila Kendra, per People.

And, Steve spilled on the tea on their rekindled romance.

Reality Steve hopped on Instagram Live on April 9 to give fans a rundown of what was really going on and what he's learned from his sources.

You can watch his whole explanation here:

It turns out Matt has been reportedly calling Rachael every day since the finale and trying to get back together. Steve says, "Matt was "love bombing her the last three weeks." But, Matt has also been connecting with another woman in NYC named Grace Dixon.

Then, Steve went live again with Grace, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Kit Keenan. She's a brand new name to Bachelor Nation, but she was also seeing Matt not so long ago. Check out their whole conversation to understand her involvement.

Before their NYC reunion, Matt and Rachael broke up in February.

The last time they were together was at the "After the Final Rose" special, but they were most definitely not a couple at the time. They broke up after Rachel's previous actions—attending an Antebellum-themed party, liking pictures with Confederate flags, and wearing a culturally appropriative costume—came to light on social media.

Reality Steve confirmed their breakup happened in February. "A couple weeks ago, after spending Valentine’s Day weekend together, Matt broke it off with Rachael," Reality Steve wrote in his latest blog post. "There’s a lot stuff out there in the media as to why, and I haven’t gotten a clear answer as to what he told her."

Reality Steve previously said this: "Not that Matt’s statement wasn’t pretty clear itself, but I can confirm that Matt and Rachael have broken up," he tweeted, shortly after Matt shared a statement denouncing racism in The Bachelor franchise on social media.


On Feb. 22, Matt took to his Instagram to release a statement about Rachael's past racist actions, as well as the controversial interview between Rachel Lindsey and Chris Harrison.

A source from Life & Style also confirmed the split in February, saying, "Matt broke up with Rachael mainly due to the backlash. At the end of the day, he cared more about protecting himself, supporting his friend [former Bachelorette] Rachel Lindsay and speaking out against the franchise."

Why did Matt and Rachael break up?

The fill-in Bachelor host, Emmanuel Acho, former NFL pro football player and author of Uncomfortable Conversations With A Black Man, asked Matt and Rachael the tough questions about the breakup.

Photo credit: Craig Sjodin - Getty Images
Photo credit: Craig Sjodin - Getty Images

For a while, Matt dismissed the accusations and photos as rumors and untrue. Once Rachael took responsibility for the photos and her actions, Matt checked in on himself. "And I wasn't okay, because it was in that moment and the conversation that I had that Rachael might not understand what it means to be Black in America," he told Emmanuel.

Matt continued: "As Rachael acknowledged in her apology, there's a lot of work that needs to be done. I have to take a step back and allow her to put in that work. And I'm looking forward to seeing her put in that work... And so when I questioned our relationship, it was on the context of you not fully understanding my Blackness and what it means to be a Black man in America. And what it would mean for our kids when I saw those things that were floating around the internet."

The breakup was one-sided, and Rachael repeatedly shared how much she loved Matt and wanted to be with him. She told Emmanuel she was "blindsided" and "confused" by the split. It wasn't easy for Matt, though. He described the recent weeks as "as tough as you could imagine. And it's heartbreaking. If you don't understand that something like that is problematic in 2018, there's a lot of me that you won't understand. And it's as simple as that."

Only time will tell if Matt and Rachael's rekindled love will last.

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