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Rachael Kirkconnell Reveals Why She and Matt James Never Lived Together Before Their Split
Rachael Kirkconnell revealed why she and ex-boyfriend Matt James never lived together during their four-year relationship.
“He said that he didn’t want to live together until we were married and he’s a very religious man, so I was like, ‘That’s OK, I can do that,’” Rachael, 28, said of Matt, 33, during the Tuesday, January 28, episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast. “But at the same time, I’m a little confused because we’re still, you know, traveling together, staying in the same hotel and it was like we were living together.”
While Rachael and Matt never officially lived together, she explained that they spent a lot of time at her home in Georgia.
“Half of his stuff is still at my place in Georgia right now, but he always had an apartment in Miami or New York, so we were either in New York, Miami or Atlanta and I think at the time I just didn’t worry about it too much because it was fun,” she continued. “I feel like whenever we would talk about our life, we would say we want multiple homes anyways or a little space here and there — a home somewhere, but it’d be fun to keep the apartment in Miami or keep the apartment in New York.”
Rachael went on to admit that she “was making excuses” for them never officially living together because they “were saying that that was gonna be our life anyway.”
“I guess I just didn’t think too much on it, but I also think it was me trying to justify it just because I didn’t want to worry like, ‘Well, is this like fear of, you know, taking the next steps?’” she continued. “You know, of course you don’t want to admit that to yourself, so now, yeah. Looking back on it, maybe that is what it was.”
The former couple met on The Bachelor in 2021, where Rachael was one of the contestants vying for Matt’s heart. They ended the season together, though chose to not get engaged. Rachael and Matt briefly split in 2021 after she found herself in the middle of a racism scandal, though they rekindled their romance soon after.
Matt shocked the world when he announced that he and Rachael called it quits after four years of dating on January 16.
“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,” he wrote alongside a photo of them meeting for the first time on The Bachelor. “Shower our friends and family with kindness and love to comfort us. And remind us that our Joy comes from you, Lord.”
Also during the podcast, Rachael reflected on their split and recalled seeing Matt’s post about their breakup.
“I was so freaked out about the breakup itself … I wasn’t even analyzing the post like everyone else was, so I guess it was kind of funny just to see what people had to say,” she shared. “People thought it was weird that it was a Bachelor photo because we definitely tried to remove ourselves from the show.
After noting that his religious caption was “interesting,” Rachael continued, “I guess it almost seemed like saying it like a prayer was the easier way to say it than to say something real.”
“Not that it wasn’t real, but just something authentic to our actual relationship, but it’s very him,” she said. “I guess it didn’t surprise me that he said it like that. I guess I was just surprised that he said it at all, that he posted that.”
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