On his Viall Files podcast, Bachelor star Nick Viall claimed that Matt James is most physically attracted to Rachael Kirkconnell out of his remaining three contestants. He believes this is why Rachael is the front-runner. So far, his assumptions appear to be true.
Despite the controversy surrounding Rachael outside of the show, Matt is very interested in her. She is the only woman who he has told that he's falling in love with her, although his other two remaining women, Michelle Young and Bri Springs, told him that they were falling in love with him in this week's episode. On his hometown date with Rachael, the two went skydiving, and Matt said that Rachael's rough landing and possible injury put everything into perspective, further hinting at his strong feelings for her.
On the Viall Files podcast, Nick discussed Matt's physical attraction to Rachael with his guest, Dave Holmes. "I understand because I've been there," Nick began, "Matt's the most physically attracted to [Rachael]. And in that world, looks matter a ton, because you have very little to go on." Nick explained that the lead only gets a certain amount of time with each contestant, so it's easy to be swayed by looks. "He's very sure how he feels about these women physically, because he has eyes," Nick continued, "In conversation, he's like, I think we have a lot in common." Nick thinks that Matt's gut feelings about who to give roses to could be coming from physical attraction since he doesn't really know the women very well. "It seems like for Rachael, that's the driving factor," he concluded, citing their surface-level conversations. Dave agreed with Nick, adding, "There's an ease and a comfort and an obvious attraction. She is gorgeous, and they look great together. But I can't say, like I don't have a read on her personality." He also noted that while he liked Serena P., Michelle and Bri, he couldn't say that Rachael was his "favorite."
Matt and Rachael's connection has been strong from the beginning, but their dates and conversations on the show haven't been as deep as some of the other women's. Matt took Rachael on a shopping date for their first one-on-one, which doesn't require much deep conversation, and they opted for an activity-based date for their second one-on-one. Neither had many specific details to share with Rachael's family about why they liked one another either.
In light of the recent controversy and rumors about a breakup, Nick's opinion of Matt and Rachael's relationship seems even more relevant. Matt clearly didn't find out about Rachael's right-wing beliefs or past behavior until after the show, which could have swayed his opinion of her. It's another unfortunate example of Bachelor couples not getting to know each other on a deep enough level while on the show to be a couple in the real world.
Source: Viall Files