When The Bachelor season 25 began airing, fans were quick to recognize the new star, Matt James, and his partner Rachael Kirkconnell has a complicated history with Tyler Cameron, which it's time to unpack. Matt is the best friend of former The Bachelorette contestant Tyler, and was slated to compete on Clare Crawley's season of the show. That was before Matt was named the first person of color to be announced as a The Bachelor lead. While Matt did end up finding love with 24-year-old Rachael, despite a brief split, it doesn't seem like everything is peaceful between Rachael and 29-year old Tyler.
When The Bachelor 25 first aired, it was revealed that during the season, some racially insensitive social media posts from the past surfaced, which involved Rachael. These posts made many people question the decision that Matt made. However, it was revealed during the After the Final Rose special that Matt had called it quits with Rachael, although not for long. The pair got back together in April of 2021, just a month after the special aired. He later revealed that his best friend and his girlfriend have a love-hate relationship, but was unclear about why their relationship is turbulent.
According to Yahoo Entertainment, while appearing on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Matt said that the revelation came during a quick game. However, he didn't go into detail about why the relationship between his partner and best friend is hot and cold. It's possible that it could be due to something that happened between the two. Another scenario is that the racially insensitive posts linked to Rachael offended Tyler. However, there is still some confusion about why the pair have an up and down relationship.
Despite Tyler and Rachael having a complicated relationship, Matt and Rachael are still going strong since their reconciliation. They've even taken a lot of trips together since their time on The Bachelor. Meanwhile, Tyler and Matt are still enjoying their close friendship, and both of them are spotted together frequently on social media. Even though it doesn't seem like his best friend and girlfriend have the best relationship, that doesn't stop either of them from rising above it all, because both of them are known for supporting Matt in everything that he does.
With his The Bachelor days now behind him, Matt released a book titled, First Impressions: Off Screen Conversations with a Bachelor on Race, Family, and Forgiveness. In his book, he details his thoughts about being the lead on the ABC series. It is unclear whether he talks about Rachael or Tyler, so viewers will have to read the book to find out if he does. With everything going on between the couple right now, it seems like Tyler is going to have to get used to Rachael being around, because it doesn't seem like the couple will be breaking up anytime soon.