THE REASON behind Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell’s breakup has been revealed after she ‘pulled the plug’ on their four-year relationship.
The Bachelor star shared that the couple called it quits in a bizarre early-morning Instagram post that left Rachael “blindsided” and “humiliated,” The U.S. Sun exclusively revealed.
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Now, more is coming to light about what led to the breakdown of the four-year romance that left Bachelor Nation stunned as many were expecting the couple to get engaged any day.
“Rachael is the one who pulled the plug, full stop. Matt knows what he did but that’s Rachael’s story to tell.
“I will say this, he wouldn’t commit. She basically gave him an ultimatum to propose by the end of 2024 and that didn’t happen.
“Years of dragging her along. She tried and tried. It’s been really hard on her, she really cared and thought this was going to work.
READ MORE ON RACHAEL AND MATT
“I really don’t think she thought he’d still be dragging his feet all these years later,” a source told The U.S. Sun.
Fans were left baffled on Thursday when, just hours after sharing future plans to propose, Matt, 33, announced the end of their relationship.
He posted a photo with Rachael, 28, on the set of The Bachelor when he was the lead in 2021 and added an eyebrow-raising caption: “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.
“Shower our friends and family with kindness and love to comfort us. And remind us that our Joy comes from you, Lord.”
Fans were baffled by the breakup post and they’re not the only ones – as a source close to the couple exclusively told The U.S. Sun that Rachael and her family are also still trying to figure out what is going on.
“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.
“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.
Just a few hours before Matt’s breakup post, he commented on multiple TikTok videos discussing how “gorgeous” Rachael is.
PLANS TO PROPOSE?
He even talked about what kind of ring he wanted to propose with and what food they should serve at their wedding.
Simultaneously, Matt shared videos with Rachael during a couple’s trip to London – adding extra layers to the levels of confusion as it appeared the duo were physically together when he shared the breakup post.
However, the source said that the pair were “not together” as they’ve been back in the States and Matt often shares videos after leaving a location for safety and privacy reasons.
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)
“It seems like he’s talking with people 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.
“That’s his business, that’s his livelihood. And the reality is, his content without Rachael doesn’t do as well with views and engagement so he is continuing to post as much as he can with what he has,” they added.
Rachael has not yet commented on the split however, she did share some telling social media activity that gave fans insight into how she’s feeling about the breakup.
The Georgia native seemingly co-signed a statement by ‘liking’ a comment which read: “The more I’m thinking about it the more I think he completely blindsided her with this. Give her some grace and let her respond in her own time.”
She liked another which said: “I’m so sorry. Praying for you, babe, for your peace and healing,” along with a heartbreak emoji.
The post comes just weeks after Rachael gushed about her “best friend” on a December 5th birthday post that paid tribute to the “long life” they were hoping to share together.
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