Bachelor Nation was blindsided when “The Bachelor” star Matt James took his breakup with his long-term girlfriend Rachael Kirkconnell to Instagram.
James and Kirkconnell were among the most iconic couples to come out of the “The Bachelor” franchise. Kirkconnell won the final rose of their season 25 in 2021 and have been together since, beating the odds of most reality TV show couples.
Although Kirkconnell won the final rose, James did not propose to her on their season because James did not feel ready to commit to marriage at that time.
The couple is known for doing food reviews from restaurants all around the world and posting them on social media.
James posted a TikTok food review in London with Kirkconnell just one day before he brought the breakup to Instagram.
At first, fans speculated their breakup was fake because of the dramatic caption and photo he chose for the announcement.
As more time went on, fans noticed that Kirkconnell did not shut down any rumors of the sudden split. This led people to realize his statement was true, not just an overdramatic and sarcastic Instagram caption.
In the now deleted post, James captioned his post, “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. Shower our friends and family with kindness and love to comfort us. And remind us that our Joy comes from you, Lord 💔.”
Alex Cooper, host of the podcast Call Her Daddy, had Kirkconnell on for an episode called “I Was Blindsided,” where she spills all of the ups and downs of their relationship over the four years they were together.
Cooper asked Kirkconnell about the cryptic Instagram post James made about their breakup.
“People thought it was weird that it was a ‘Bachelor’ photo because we definitely tried to remove ourselves from the show,” Kirkconnell said.
Kirkconnell revealed that she did not analyze the photo as much as other people did, but knew that it was still out of character especially since the couple was trying to isolate themselves from the reality show.
The breakup happened in Tokyo, Kirkconnell’s favorite city. Apparently, things there escalated quickly.
Kirkconnell disclosed that they continued getting into arguments that finally resulted in a conversation that turned into James ending things.
“At the end of the day there were qualities about me that he worries about having in a wife,” Kirkconnell said. “He came to the conclusion that he didn’t think it was me.”
It was only a couple of hours later when Kirkconnell was about to take off from Tokyo to go back home to Atlanta when her best friend texted her about an Instagram post that James made.
Kirkconnell was taken aback to see the breakup announcement only a couple of hours after the split. She was then left with no other context for the next 12 hours of the flight with no Wi-Fi.
While this breakup is uncanny, I have no doubt Kirkconnell will flourish in this next chapter of her life and will find a partner who is ready for marriage.