Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell’s Relationship Timeline From ‘The Bachelor’ to Their 2025 Split

January 4, 2021

The couple had an immediate spark when Rachael stepped out of the limo during The Bachelor‘s season 25 premiere, but the first impression rose actually went to Abigail Heringer, who was eliminated during week 7.

February 1, 2021

Rachael received a coveted date with Matt where she got to go on a shopping spree. The alone time definitely secured their connection.

February 11, 2021

Although Matt fell hard and fast for Rachael, her social media controversy overshadowed much of their love story. The scandal started after the season premiere on January 4, 2021, when a TikTok user accused the Georgia native of mistreating her during high school for “liking Black guys.” Another video on the platform alleged Rachael “liked” a slew of racist Instagram posts, including one that featured the Confederate flag and another that showed a group of white women dressed as Mexican men. Then, photos started circulating of the contestant attending an “Old South” antebellum-themed fraternity party in 2018.

Weeks after the scandal broke, Rachael released an apology via Instagram on February 11, 2021. “While there have been rumors circulating, there have also been truths that have come to light that I need to address. I hear you, and I’m here to say I was wrong,” the contestant wrote. “At one point, I didn’t recognize how offensive and racist my actions were, but that doesn’t excuse them. My age or when it happened does not excuse anything. They are not acceptable or OK in any sense. I was ignorant, but my ignorance was racist.”

“I am sorry to the communities and individuals that my actions harmed and offended,” her statement continued. “I am ashamed about my lack of education, but it is no one’s responsibility to educate me. I am learning and will continue to learn how to be antiracist, because it’s important to speak up in the moment and not after you’re called out. If you are a person who doesn’t understand the offense in question, I urge you to learn from my mistakes and encourage you to use them as a teachable moment.”

Matt and Rachael weren’t the only ones affected by her social media scandal. Host Chris Harrison announced on February 13, 2021, he was stepping back from the franchise after making insensitive remarks about the situation during an interview on Extra with former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay.

“This historic season of The Bachelor should not be marred or overshadowed by my mistakes or diminished by my actions,” the host wrote at the time via Instagram.

February 22, 2021

The real estate analyst broke his silence about Rachael’s controversy on February 22, 2021. “The past few weeks have been some of the most challenging of my life, and while there are several episodes left of the season, it is important that I take the time to address troubling information that has come to light since we wrapped filming, including the incredibly disappointing photos of Rachael Kirkconnell and the interview between Rachel Lindsay and Chris Harrison,” he wrote. 

“The reality is that I’m learning about these situations in real-time, and it has been devastating and heartbreaking, to put it bluntly,” Matt continued. “Chris’ failure to receive and understand the emotional labor that my friend Rachel Lindsay was taking on by graciously and patiently explaining the racist history of the Antebellum South, a painful history that every American should understand immediately, was troubling and painful to watch. As Black people and allies immediately knew and understood, it was a clear reflection of a much larger issue that the Bachelor franchise has fallen short on addressing adequately for years.”

March 8, 2021

Meanwhile, on season 25, fans watched Matt and Rachael become even closer. The NYC resident even dropped the L-bomb during their fantasy suite date.

“Where I’m at with you is I’ve fallen in love with you,” Matt told Rachael, to which she replied, “I’m head over heels for you. I’m completely in love with you.”

March 15, 2021

Matt ended things with runner-up Michelle Young during the finale. He and Rachael left the show as a couple but did not get engaged.

March 15, 2021

Emmanuel Acho hosted season 25’s After the Final Rose, where Matt and Rachael sat down together for the first time after their split. The former leading man said at the time that he stood by his decision to end things.

“As someone who grew up in the South, it takes me to a place that I don’t often like to think about. I wasn’t OK,” the real estate analyst explained about the controversy. “It was in that moment and the conversation that I had, that Rachael might not understand what it means to be Black in America. 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. It’s as simple as that.”

March 16, 2021

“Matt and Rachael Kirkconnell are no longer together,” an insider told Life & Style one day after he spoke out about her past racist behavior.

“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,” explained the insider. “Rachael can’t wait until she can finally share her side of the story once the finale airs.”

March 16, 2021

Matt tweeted that he was looking for a “good therapist” following his drama on The Bachelor.

April 6, 2021

Matt and Rachael sparked reconciliation rumors after a photo began circulating on April 6, 2021 that reportedly showed the two walking around New York City together.

April 9, 2021

Us Weekly reported during the pair’s NYC hangout that Rachael found out Matt was “talking to another girl” while she was in the Big Apple. “He flew her to NYC. They’ve been working on their relationship privately over the past few months and taking the next steps to get back together,” a source told the outlet. “She’s very emotional right now because she was very hopeful that things were going to work out. She’s still trying to process this.”

April 23, 2021

On April 23, 2021, show spoiler Reality Steve reported that Matt and Rachael were photographed together at Bear Flag Fish Co in Newport Beach, California. He also shared a candid picture of the on-again, off-again duo on his Twitter and claimed, “Rachael has been with Matt all week in CA.”

May 2021

Following Matt’s WSJ Magazine profile published on May 5, Rachael confirmed to the outlet via email that she and Matt were together once again. She also added that it has been “helpful to have privacy” to work on their bond.

July 2021

Matt and Rachael made their red carpet debut as a couple at the 2021 ESPY Awards in New York City.

August 2021

“It was a bit of a journey,” Rachael told Extra about her romance with Matt. “But I think we’re in a really good place. We’ve had a lot of love come our way, but I like to think that even though people have been super, super nice, we just like to focus on each other and put all of that aside and let that outside noise stay a little more quiet these days. So it’s been good though, we’ve been good.”

February 2022

Rachael shared a loved-up selfie of the couple for Valentine’s Day with the caption, “The butterflies haven’t stopped since the first night I met you.”

March 2022

Matt opened up about how Rachael’s racism scandal affected the early days of their relationship in his book, First Impressions: Off-Screen Conversations With a Bachelor on Race, Family, and Forgiveness.

“She and I spent two days together, and then on the third day, we had the hard conversation,” he wrote. “I shared how it felt seeing her, a woman I loved, embody a role that had once so antagonized me. My emotions welled up, and she met me at their peak.”

Matt said that while he initially forgave Rachael, he found it necessary for the pair to take a break. “I am many things — a son, a brother, a man of God — and my race is just as formative a force as all those other traits. I am Black,” he wrote. “My partner would need to understand that — not just the fact of my race but also its many implications.”

July 2023

Matt reflected on how he and Rachael weren’t in a rush to get married.

“We do things in our relationship for each other. We like to share that with people because they’ve come along on our long journey together,” he told People in a July 18, 2023, interview. “There’s no pressure. Everything that we do is for one another, and that, I think, is what makes our relationship work so well.”

December 2024

“The happiest of birthdays to my best friend, my teammate, my sous chef, the man that has my whole heart,” Rachael wrote in the caption of a 33rd birthday tribute to Matt including an Instagram video showing their adorable moments together.

“You fill it (and my tummy) with so much love and laughter and I’m so thankful I get to dance through this life with you. Thank you for your never-ending love and support and smooches and snuggles. To many more adventures, Happy Birthday my pumpkin,” she added.

January 16, 2025

Matt revealed to fans that he and Rachael had split in an Instagram post featuring a photo from when they first met on The Bachelor

“Father God, give Rachael and I strength to mend our broken hearts. Give us a peace about this decision to end our relationship that transcends worldly understanding,” Matt wrote in the caption while also tagging Rachael in the post. “Shower our friends and family with kindness and love to comfort us. And remind us that our Joy comes from you, Lord.”

January 27, 2025

Rachael spoke out for the first time since Matt announced their breakup. While arriving at LAX she was asked if infidelity played a role in their split. “No, not at all,” Rachael responded in footage obtained by TMZ.

“It’s nothing that you can prepare for, so yeah. You just take it one day at a time,” the former reality star continued when asked how she was navigating the breakup while in the public eye. “I think things will start to come out and I’ll speak about it whenever I’m ready, but for now I’m just protecting my peace.”

January 28, 2025

Rachael went in-depth into her breakup with Matt during an appearance on Alex Cooper‘s “Call Her Daddy” podcast, revealing she was “blindsided” by his split announcement.

Rachael revealed that she found out about Matt’s breakup post while aboard a plane out of Tokyo, Japan, as it was about to take off on a 12-hour flight back to Atlanta. She said she was shocked that he decided to announce their split to the world a few hours after their discussion and without having another conversation about what their future could hold.

Insiders echoed these claims to Life & Style, adding, “His communication skills need some fine-tuning. Matt should’ve checked with Rachael before posting anything online. She wasn’t ready for it.”

The Georgia native explained how everything went down, starting with how Matt became upset when Rachael got emotional about how she felt like she let him down when picking an unsatisfactory dinner spot during their recent trip to Tokyo.

“He was concerned about me getting so upset. He was trying to tell me, ‘There was no reason for you to get upset like that.’ He found it concerning that I got that emotional, I guess. He was just trying to express to me, ‘If you get emotional about little things like this, what is going to happen in life when something really terrible happens? How are you going to be able to react to things that are actually really scary or disappointing or sad?’” Rachael told Alex.

She thought they sorted things out and said Matt had a change of heart about their relationship the following day.

“He said that at the end of the day, there were just qualities about me that he worries about having in a wife. At the end of the day, [he said] there are things that we aren’t compatible with,” Rachael recalled.

“It was just one of those things where [I] was like, ‘Do you want to make this work?’” she said. “‘Do you think that it’s me or is it something with you? Are you scared or is it really me? Is your perfect person somewhere out there? Is it not me?’ And he came to the conclusion that he didn’t think it was me, and he said he just didn’t want me to end up resenting him by wasting more of my time if it wouldn’t happen.”

“He just said, ‘You’re beautiful, smart and funny and you’ll find someone, you’ll find a guy that will love you for you.’ He just didn’t think that it was him. But it was just a lot to hear at once because a few days before I’m hearing the opposite,” Rachael said of Matt’s determination.