Rachael Kirkconnell tearfully shares truth behind breakup with Matt James and speaks out on cheating rumors
When Rachel Kirkconnell initially spoke out about her breakup with Matt James, she was crying.
Rachael felt “blindsided” when Matt revealed earlier this month in a shocking Instagram post that he had broken up with Rachel, whom he had met while filming season 25 of The Bachelor in 2020.
Rachael, 28, has now openly discussed her breakup with Matt, admitting that she was caught off guard and describing how she still loves him but is conflicted over how much he wounded her.
Rachael talked with host Alexandra Cooper on the Call Her Daddy podcast about how she met Matt, fell in love with him, and the development of their relationship.
When they finally parted ways, Rachael was so overtaken with emotion that she started crying and talked about Matt’s shocking statement.
“I don’t even think you should post a breakup announcement the same day you break up,” Rachael remarked as she choked back tears. “But let alone you know not even give me a warning that you’re doing it.”
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She also described how, just before boarding a 12-hour flight, she came across Matt’s Instagram post.
“We’re literally getting ready to take off and my phone blows up it’s one of my best friends,” Rachael remembers, describing the “bunch of question marks” her buddy had sent her.
“As soon as I saw that I’m like ‘oh my gosh how does she know’ and then she text me again and said ‘I saw Matt’s post is this real life’ and that’s how I found out that he posted,” Rachael continued.
“So then literally the plane is taking off and I see his post and that’s it, I don’t have any service or anything for like the next 12 hours so I’m freaking out.”
“I’m lying in bed and I want him to comfort me but I’m but he’s the one that hurt me and I’m so mad at him,” she said later, describing the anguish and hurt she is currently going through.
A LOT OF EMOTIONS TO WORK THROUGH
“But I’m also still like so sad and of course, I still love him, so yeah, just a lot of emotions to work through.”
In response to Rachael’s interview on the popular podcast, fans and listeners poured into the YouTube video’s comment section, which featured the entire interview.
“I can’t wait for her to realize that she was always the most interesting thing about him,” one user remarked. The sole reason we were following him was to see her! Regardless of the man she is with, we will continue to follow her.”
Another said: “I’m in complete shock after seeing his message during takeoff. May God provide this woman blessings.
A third wrote: “She is way too gentle and kind to him. I hope she receives all the love and approval she is due.
Past Bachelor leads
In the early 2000s, the popular ABC reality dating show got its start.
- Alex Michel (2002)
- Aaron Buerge (2002)
- Andrew Firestone (2003)
- Bob Guiney (2003)
- Jesse Palmer (2004) (Current Bachelor franchise host)
- Byron Velvick (2004)
- Charlie O’Connell (2005)
- Travis Lane Stork (2006)
- Lorenzo Borghese (2006)
- Andy Baldwin (2007)
- Brad Womack (2007 and 2011)
- Matt Grant (2008)
- Jason Mesnick (2009)
- Jake Pavelka (2010)
- Ben Flajnik (2012)
- Sean Lowe (2013)
- Juan Pablo Galavis (2014)
- Chris Soules (2015)
- Ben Higgins (2016)
- Nick Viall (2017)
- Arie Luyendyk Jr. (2018)
- Colton Underwood (2019)
- Peter Weber (2020)
- Matt James (2021)
- Clayton Echard (2022)
- Zach Shallcross (2023)
- Joey Graziadei (2024)
- Grant Ellis (2025)
BLINDSIDED BY BREAK UP POST
“Father God, give Rachael and I strength to mend our broken hearts,” Matt said on Instagram after he announced the couple’s split.
“Give us peace about this decision to end our relationship that transcends worldly understanding.”
“To console us, show our friends and family love and kindness,” he continued.
“And remind us that our Joy comes from you, Lord,” accompanied by an emoji of a shattered heart.
Soon after, a source close to the ex-couple told The U.S. Sun in an exclusive interview that Rachel felt completely “blindsided” by the post and was not informed about the statement Matt posted.
Following the couple’s breakup last week, the source told us, “Everyone is perplexed and still trying to figure out what happened, but first and foremost, they’re supporting Rachael and making sure she’s okay.”
They were unaware that they were completely split up. Although Rachael is now keeping quiet, I know that Matt’s post caught her off guard.
She was unaware that he would do it, and if she had, she most certainly would not have approved of it.
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According to the insider, she is embarrassed by the way the news was revealed and finds it as strange as everyone else.
When questioned about cheating rumors at the airport, Rachael said, “No,” denying that this was a factor. No, absolutely not.