Bachelor's Matt James explains why he broke up with Rachael Kirkconnell

The season finale of The Bachelor ended with Matt James giving his final rose to Rachael Kirkconnell but decided not to propose to her. During the After the Final Rose episode, Matt revealed that he and Rachael broke up post the filming of The Bachelor and after Rachael's racism controversy. Matt James opened up in the episode and explained why it had to end the way it did. 

Matt James opens up about his breakup

In the episode, Matt told the host Emmanuel Acho that initially the couple was happy and enjoying their new relationship bliss for a short time after the wrapping up of The Bachelor. However, after a while, photos of Rachael surfaced on the Internet in which she was spotted attending an Antebellum party in 2018 dressed in a Native American costume which led to people calling her racist and started facing backlash from the internet. Matt initially did not believe them and dismissed them as rumours and defended his girlfriend but things took a turn when Rachael publicly apologised for her past racist actions.

Post her public apology, Matt told Acho that he had to step back and take a check on himself as he realised that he has to take a step back for both of their sake. He further explained that it was then he realised that Rachael might not understand what it is like to be Black in America. He continued that he and Rachael are no longer together and he is giving his ex-girlfriend space to learn and grow. He revealed to the host that even though his feeling for Rachael is still there but stated, "If you don’t understand that something like that is problematic in 2018, there’s a lot of me that you won’t understand, and it’s as simple as that.” He confessed that the breakup was tough and heartbreaking.

Matt James explains to Rachael Kirkconnell Why They Can't Be in a Relationship

After Matt James solo interview in the episode, Rachael came up joined him on stage. This was the first time Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell saw each other face to face since their breakup. Rachael apologised to James and told him that she understood things from his perspective. She broke down and said that she feels very bad for hurting him and losing him. When Acho asked Matt James what is the one thing he would like to tell Rachael, Matt took a long pause and said, "The most disappointing thing for me was having to explain to you why what I saw was problematic and why I was so upset and that's why it was problematic, because when I'm in a relationship, it means that I'm committed to that person — and commitment for me when I'm dating someone is on track to get married."

He went on to say that it was heartbreaking as he never expected to have a conversation like this with his girlfriend. He said he knew that he had to step back and let Rachael figure out the implication of what she did on her own and ended his explanation by tearfully saying, "and that's why we cannot be in a relationship." Rachael respected his decision and said that she will probably always love Matt but the latter made it clear that it's unlikely that they will get back together again.