Rachael Kirkconnell subtly reacted to speculation surrounding her recent split from Matt James.
In the comments of her last December 2024 Instagram post, one social media user theorized Kirkconnell’s reaction to James’ faith-driven breakup statement.
“The more I’m thinking about it, the more I think he completely blindsided her with this,” the fan wrote on Thursday, January 16. “Give her some grace and let her respond in her own time.”
Kirkconnell, 28, subtly dropped a “like” on the message but has not offered further comment. A source now tells Us Weekly that Kirkconnell wasn’t blindsided by the split itself but rather James’ statement and post.
Several hours earlier, James, 33, confirmed the pair ended their relationship.
“Father God, give Rachael and I strength to mend our broken hearts,” James captioned an Instagram pic from their time on The Bachelor. “Give us a peace [sic] about this decision to end our relationship that transcends worldly understanding. Shower our friends and family with kindness and love to comfort us. And remind us that our Joy comes from you, Lord 💔.”
James did not elaborate on what led to the breakup but turned off his social media comments on the upload. Days earlier, he and Kirkconnell were on a joint trip to London and uploaded content from their culinary adventures.
Kirkconnell was James’ final pick on The Bachelor season 25, which was filmed in 2020. They briefly broke up after the finale when Kirkconnell’s past racially insensitive social media posts resurfaced online only to reconcile one month after taping the live After the Final Rose special.
James and Kirkconnell continued to go the distance for three more years, often getting candid about their hesitancy to get engaged.
“I feel like when you feel pressure, it’s when you don’t wanna do something,” James exclusively told Us Weekly in June 2024. “So I’ve never really felt pressure [to get engaged] because it’s something that I’ve always wanted to do. It’s something that we’re gonna do at some point. That’s why we’re together and what we’re working toward. I’m excited about our future.”
Four months later, James hinted that a proposal was “the next step” once Kirkconnell picked out an engagement ring she liked best.
“I feel that’s definitely something we want. I’m on his time,” Kirkconnell said during a joint appearance on the “De-Influenced” podcast in October 2024. “My problem is I definitely need to go find a ring I like and everything, but that’s on him at that point. … That’s a problem, I don’t even know what I want.”
