The Bachelor star Matt James left his girlfriend Rachael Kirkconnell ‘blindsided’ and ‘humiliated’ after he announced their split on Instagram.
The reality TV star, 33, shared his breakup with Kirkconnell, 28, after dating on and off since 2020, on Thursday, along with a picture of him and Rachael the first moment they met on The Bachelor.
‘Father God, give Rachael and I strength to mend our broken hearts. Give us a peace about this decision to end our relationship that transcends worldly understanding,’ he wrote in the caption.
Adding: ‘Shower our friends and family with kindness and love to comfort us. And remind us that our Joy comes from you, Lord,’ with a broken heart emoji.
The post reportedly ‘blindsided’ Rachael and her family, with a source telling The U.S. Sun, ‘she’s humiliated that’s how the news came out.’
‘She didn’t know he was going to do that and definitely wouldn’t have approved of it if she did,’ the insider stated, adding, ‘she thinks it’s just as weird as everyone else does.’
The Bachelor star Matt James, 33, left his girlfriend Rachael Kirkconnell, 28, ‘blindsided’ and ‘humiliated’ after he announced their split on Instagram; she is seen in 2021
The reality TV star shared his breakup from Kirkconnell, after dating on and off since 2020, on Thursday; they are seen in 2022
Those close to the star are reportedly ‘confused and still trying to get to the bottom of what happened’ while also focusing on ‘supporting Rachael and making sure she’s okay.’
‘They didn’t know they were fully broken up,’ the insider added, saying, ‘Rachael is being pretty quiet right now but I know she was blindsided by Matt’s post.’
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The source also said Rachael was the one ‘who pulled the plug, full stop’ and that Matt ‘knows what he did.’
Matt’s post left fans confused, as just hours earlier he commented under a number of TikTok videos writing how ‘gorgeous’ Rachael is and discussing what ring he wants to propose with as well as the type of food they should have at their wedding.
He also shared videos of Rachel during their trip to London, making it appear as though they were together when he shared the breakup post.
However, the insider stated the pair are ‘not together’ and suggested Matt was posting ‘for the social media engagement and for the attention.’
‘But being, essentially, a social media couple, Matt has to continue posting all their pre-filmed content,’ the source said, adding his content without Rachel ‘doesn’t do as well with views and engagement so he is continuing to post as much as he can with what he has.’
Matt and Rachael met on the 2020 season of The Bachelor, where Matt opted not to propose to Rachael but end the show in a relationship with her.
A source told The U.S. Sun , ‘she’s humiliated that’s how the news came out’ and that ‘She didn’t know he was going to do that and definitely wouldn’t have approved of it if she did’
The source also said Rachael was the one ‘who pulled the plug, full stop’ and that Matt ‘knows what he did’
He announced his split from Kirkconnell along with a picture of him and Rachael the first moment they met on The Bachelor, tagging her in it
‘Father God, give Rachael and I strength to mend our broken hearts. Give us a peace about this decision to end our relationship that transcends worldly understanding,’ he wrote
The star, who was the first Black Bachelor in the show’s 19-year history, split from Rachael in 2021 after photos of her attending a plantation themed party in 2018 surfaced – but they reconciled soon after.
Matt turned off the comments for the post, which has since garnered over 66K likes.
He also tagged Rachael in the pictures.
Rachael has not posted anything since she wished Matt a happy birthday on December 5, 2024 – along with a gushy caption and sweet video.
Her fans have shared a number of supportive messages on the post following the split news.
‘Girl-you deserve so much better than this! Move on & know the best person whom will love you & truly make you his…. I pray for strength in this phase your going through,’ one wrote.
‘I have a feeling this girl got completely blindsided,’ another added.
‘You deserve better Rachel ! This non committal man took 4 years of your life! He never deserved you!’
Just hours earlier he posted videos of Rachel during their trip to London, making it appear as though they were together when he shared the breakup post. However, the insider said the pair are ‘not together’ and suggested Matt was posting ‘for the attention’
Fans shared their confusion beneath the post, asking him how they could enjoy pizza together and then suddenly they split up
‘So you are eating 36″ total pizza together and 12 hours later you are doing break up press release?’ one asked
Rachael has not posted anything since she wished Matt a happy birthday on December 5, 2024 – along with a gushy caption and sweet video
‘He wasted so much of your time,’ someone else chimed in.
‘I’m sorry but what just happened,’ another asked.
Hours before his break up post, Matt shared a video of him and Rachael trying out pizzas together in London.
Fans shared their confusion beneath the post, asking him how they could enjoy pizza together and then suddenly split up just hours later.
‘So you are eating 36″ total pizza together and 12 hours later you are doing break up press release?’ one asked.
‘Breaking News: Pizza dispute leads to falling out merely hours later,’ another joked.
Matt met Rachael on The Bachelor during season 25, which was filmed in September 2020 and aired on television January 2021.
The couple quickly fell in love on the season, with Matt giving her the final rose – but choosing not to propose to her.
However, the couple soon split after racially insensitive images of Rachael from an antebellum plantation themed party she attended surfaced online.
She apologized publicly and during the After the Final Rose episode in March 2021, Matt told the audience they took a step back from their relationship.
Though they did not end the show in an engagement, the couple left in a relationship.They then split after racially insensitive images of Rachael from an antebellum plantation themed party she attended surfaced online
She apologized publicly and during the After the Final Rose episode in March 2021, Matt told the audience they took a step back from their relationship. They then reconciled
They sparked reconciliation rumors the following month and became official again in May 2021.
Explaining how they reunited, Matt told WSJ Magazine: ‘I think the best way to put it is that we can have critical conversations about being in this relationship and what I need in a partner—especially if that woman isn’t Black— to understand what comes with me and my life and being Black.’
He added: ‘It’s on people who care about being allies to do the work to be truly antiracist. And I think it’s unfair to leave people without the ability to unlearn and be better.’
After their reconciliation, the lovebirds’ relationship went from strength to strength – with the duo traveling and trying foods together.
