Rachael Kirkconnell and Matt James—two names that have become somewhat synonymous with drama and romance in Bachelor Nation—have officially hit the brakes on their relationship—or should I say, put it in reverse. After an abrupt breakup announcement from Matt in January, the rumor mill has been spinning faster than a blender at smoothie hour! So, what’s the real scoop? Have these two made yet another detour back to each other? Spoiler alert: Nope! Rachael is here to set the record straight and trust me, she’s not shying away from the raw emotions that come with it. From blindsides to social media clarifications, it’s been a wild ride, and Rachael’s finally ready to address the fan-fueled speculation. Let’s dive into the latest twist in this rollercoaster romance!
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Rachael Kirkconnell is not back together with Matt James.
In mid-January, Matt abruptly announced his split with Rachael. The breakup was clearly still very fresh.
So fresh, in fact, that Rachael seemed blindsided by things coming to an end. And, perhaps, from the announcement.
Rachael is, however, speaking out to clear up some rumors — and quash a wild reconciliation claim.
Over a week after Matt James’ unexpected breakup announcement, fans believed that they had spotted him and Rachael Kirkconnell.
If this had been a reconciliation, it would not have been their first. Matt and Rachael broke up in 2021 following her scandal after they fell in love on The Bachelor Season 25. However, they were back together not too long after.
That is not the case this time. Rachael confirmed as much on January 26. She took to the comments of a Deuxmoi Instagram post to write: “hmm wasn’t me lol.”
This casual comment actually marks her first official commentary on the breakup since Matt announced it back on January 16.
Prior to this, her only real communication came in the form of “liking” various comments from supportive fans.
That is to say that Rachael’s only social media comment on the matter has been to confirm that she was not the person whom a random DM claimed was with Matt James in Kips Bay. Truth be told, there’s no guarantee that Matt was there, either.
On Monday, January 27, TMZ caught up with Rachael at LAX. This photographer ambush (we mean that affectionately, mostly) yielded an important clarification.
First and foremost, Rachael emphasized that she is “protecting her peace” at the moment. She did seem to hint that, eventually, the Bachelor Nation will know the truth about why she and Matt are over.
She was also able to debunk an ugly rumor. Sometimes, these sudden splits happen because one partner is caught cheating. But she clarified that infidelity was not the culprit behind the breakup.
Does that mean that Rachael and Matt will get back together one day?
That’s a no.
Rachael closed the door on any chance of reconciling with Matt, saying: “Definitely not. Yeah, we’re out. We’re done.”
Inquisitive (that’s a nice word for nosy) fans may need to accept that we’ll never know the whole truth behind Rachael Kirkconnell and Matt James’ breakup. At the most, we’ll hear his side and her side and perhaps some third-party opinions.
However, many hope that her Tuesday, January 28 appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast will yield answers.
Or, at the very least, Rachael’s side. That’ll be a lot more than we know now.