Rachael Kirkconnell Reveals Why Matt James Ended Their Post-'Bachelor' Relationship
"I don't know if I ever see myself proposing to you. I can't actually see myself married to you."
Published Jan. 29 2025, 10:58 a.m. ET
Not all Bachelor relationships are meant to last forever. In fact, many don't last beyond a year or so after filming ends. But for Season 25's Matt James and his winner, Rachael Kirkconnell, things seemed solid for a while after filming was over and after they got through the controversy surrounding Rachael's alleged high school bullying and liking racist comments. Then, they broke up.
Now, Rachael has broken her silence about her split from Matt, and a lot of fans are here for it. They want to know what The Bachelor winner has to say after Matt apparently decided it was time to split up and after he made his own feelings known publicly.
Matt shared the news on social media along with a prayer to God to "Give [them] a peace about this decision to end [their] relationship that transcends worldly understanding." Now, Rachael has her own side of things to share.
Rachael Kirckconnell breaks her silence about her split from Matt James.
Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper spoke to Rachael on her Jan. 28 episode about going on The Bachelor, dating Matt, and the aftermath of the breakup that apparently "blindsided" Rachael.
Rachael explained on the podcast that she still has a hard time accepting everything that happened. But she also dove a little deeper into the why of it all, which is what Bachelor fans really want to know.
"He said that at the end of the day, there were just qualities about me that he worries about having in a wife," Rachael revealed. "At the end of the day, there are things that we aren't compatible with."
She added that the Season 25 Bachelor lead told her, "I don't know if I ever see myself proposing to you. I can't actually see myself married to you."
Rachael also shared that she and Matt had spoken extensively about their future together and even the idea of having kids and starting a family. Because she was so shocked by the decision to end things, she told Alex that she was left trying to figure out what happens for her now when it comes to all of that.
"I think we talked about family and kids more than anything," Rachael said. "That sucks more than anything I think, because when you picture your life or you have an idea of what it's gonna look like, and now I'm like, I have no idea what life looks like from here on out."