Former lead of The Bachelor Matt James recently opened up about his thoughts on marrying his final rose recipient and girlfriend Rachael Kirkconnell. Rachael was the clear frontrunner during Matt's season of The Bachelor. Matt was awestruck by her southern charm and endearing personality. In fact, for most of the season, Rachael was a fan favorite, that is until fans started digging a little deeper into her past. In 2018, just two years before the show was filmed, Rachael went to an Antebellum party, an event that essentially glorified the times before slavery ended. At the time the scandal was unearthed, the season had yet to finish. But once it did, fans were horrified to see an unknowing Matt give his final rose to Rachael—though the couple did not get engaged.
At the live taping of the finale, the former Bachelor lead announced the pair were no longer together, though it was obvious there was still a lot of love between the two. They remained broken up for several months, before, in 2021, getting back together. They've been in a relationship for a little over a year now, and things seem to be going better than ever. In wake of Matt's tell-all book First Impressions being released, the former Bachelor opened up about how he and Rachael were able to heal and continue on in their relationship. Now they're inseparable, and both of their social media feeds are filled with images and stories with one another.
While promoting his new book, Matt revealed in an interview with E! News just where his relationship with Rachael is headed, "I think marriage is always the endgame at my stage of the game. I'm not in the business of wasting anybody's time." The one thing that drew Bachelor Nation to Matt's season was that he was always clear on who he liked and what he wanted. It was clear throughout Matt's season that she was always his frontrunner, so it's not too surprising that the couple is still together. They've come a long way since their initial post-show breakup, and despite still getting criticism from many fans, Rachael and Matt have a true connection.
The other thing that's noteworthy about Matt and Rachael's relationship is how they've always taken things at their own pace, "You've seen with other couples—they force the engagement and they're not together anymore. So, I think what we got is a working recipe and we're gonna get there." In many ways, the early struggles benefitted Matt and Rachael in the long term. It allowed them to take a step back from the excitement and pressure of the show, and really evaluate their relationship. By the time the pair got together there was no external pressure, and considering many fans were disapproving of them initially, they had to care immensely for each other in order for it to pay off.
And pay off it has. There's often the notion that if couples have to go through a lot in the beginning, it's a huge red flag. But while that's understandable for most relationships, any relationship that began on The Bachelor has already dealt with its fair share of traumas. What's more important isn't the struggles Matt and Rachael went through, it's where that's gotten them today. Going through all that highlighted their differences, and the fact that they're still happily together today proves how much of a good match they are. It also speaks to how a season of The Bachelor can result in something other than disaster if the lead actually knows what he's looking for. Thankfully for Rachael, Matt did.
Source: E! News