RACHAEL Kirkconnell was in tears while speaking out for the first time about her split from Matt James.
Matt announced that he had split from Rachael, whom he met while filming season 25 of The Bachelor in 2020, earlier this month in a bombshell Instagram post, which left her feeling “blindsided”.
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And now Rachael, 28, has publicly spoken out about splitting from Matt – confirming she felt blindsided and detailing how she still loves him but feels torn because of how much he hurt her.
Speaking on the Call Her Daddy podcast, Rachael chatted with host Alexandra Cooper about meeting Matt, falling for him and how their relationship progressed.
They then got to the point that they split, which saw Rachael totally overcome with emotion as she broke down in tears and spoke about the unexpected announcement Matt made.
“I don’t even think you should post a breakup announcement the same day you break up,” Rachael said while choking back tears, “But let alone you know not even give me a warning that you’re doing it.”
She also revealed how she saw Matt’s Instagram post as she was about to take off on a 12 hour flight.
“We’re literally getting ready to take off and my phone blows up it’s one of my best friends,” Rachael recalls, explaining how her pal had sent her a “bunch of question marks”.
“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 went on.
“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.”
She later detailed the pain and the hurt she is currently experiencing, saying: “I’m laying 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.
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.”
Reacting to Rachael’s interview on the hit podcast, fans and listeners flocked to the comment section of the YouTube video that was shared of the full interview.
One person wrote: “Can’t wait for her to realize she was always the most interesting thing about him. We were literally only following him to see her!!! We’ll keep following her regardless of whatever man is by her side.”
Another added: “Her seeing his post during takeoff has me absolutely shaking. God bless this woman.”
And a third penned: “She is waaaay too kind to him and gentle. I hope she gets every amount of love she deserves and validation.“
Past Bachelor leads
The hit ABC reality dating series began in the early 2000s.
- 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
At the time of Matt revealing the couple’s break up, he wrote on Instagram: “Father God, give Rachael and I strength to mend our broken hearts.
“Give us peace about this decision to end our relationship that transcends worldly understanding.”
He added: “Shower our friends and family with kindness and love to comfort us.
“And remind us that our Joy comes from you, Lord,” complete with a broken heart emoji.”
Soon after, a source close to the former couple exclusively told The U.S. Sun that Rachael was not consulted about the announcement Matt shared, and felt totally “blindsided” by the post.
“Everyone is confused and still trying to get to the bottom of what happened but first and foremost, they’re supporting Rachael and making sure she’s okay,” the source spilled to us in the wake of the couple’s split last week.
“They didn’t know they were fully broken up. Rachael is being pretty quiet right now but I know she was blindsided by Matt’s post.
“She didn’t know he was going to do that and definitely wouldn’t have approved of it if she did.
“And she thinks it’s just as weird as everyone else does, she’s humiliated that’s how the news came out,” the insider said.
Rachael was asked about cheating rumors while in the airport, and denied this played a part saying: “No. No, not at all”
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