ABC Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell.
Former star of “The Bachelor” Matt James is speaking out about what made him settle down with Rachael Kirkconnell weeks after his season of the popular reality dating show ended.
During an appearance on Anthony Pompliano’s podcast called “The Pomp,” Matt opened up about his time on “The Bachelor” — and his relationship after “The Bachelor.” Matt gave the interview with Rachael in the same room as him, though she didn’t appear on the podcast.
To kick things off, Matt was asked why he decided to do “The Bachelor.” “I’d never given myself a chance to explore what a relationship looked like, so when the opportunity presented itself, it was something that I entertained initially and then my roommate’s [Tyler Cameron] mom really pushed me,” Matt said.
He went on to talk about how his relationship with Rachael has progressed, confirming that the two are giving things another go — and that things are good between them.
Here’s what you need to know:
Matt Revealed That Rachael Gave Him an Ultimatum
Matt and Rachael have had some major ups and downs since meeting on “The Bachelor.” In fact, the two actually broke up for a period of time after the show wrapped. They revealed their decision to split on the “After the Final Rose” special. At the time, Matt shared that the photos of Rachael at an Old South ball from 2018 really affected his ability to be with her.
A couple of weeks later, the two were spotted together in New York. And, shortly after that, Reality Steve dropped a bombshell story that suggested Matt had been seeing another woman — Grace — at the same time as Rachael.
However, Matt says that it was an ultimatum that really made him decide to be exclusive with Rachael, thus giving their relationship another try.
“It was honestly a commitment that we had made to each other that we were going to work on the relationship. And there came a point in time where it was evident that my working on the relationship looked different than Rachael’s because I wasn’t really honoring that commitment that I made to working on our relationship,” Matt shared. “It was just a come to Jesus meeting that I had with Rachael where she’s like, ‘If you’re gonna make this work, then let’s do it, but if you’re not gonna make it work then I’m gonna let you do your own thing.’ And that’s really all I needed.”
“It was an ultimatum that I needed,” Matt added.
Matt Knew That Rachael Was the One for Him Pretty Early on in the Season
ABC/Craig SjodinMatt James and Rachael Kirkconnell on ‘The Bachelor’
Although Matt had two-and-a-half months to get to know the women on his season of “The Bachelor,” he said that he knew that Rachael was the one for him early on.
“You have your eye on a few that first night,” Matt said. “I would say that I know… I had an idea pretty early,” he said adding, “but then it’s hard because they add people to the mix.” This suggests that Matt had already developed some feelings for Rachael before ABC decided to bring in five additional ladies.
Matt also talked about the time that he and Rachael spent together after they stopped filming, saying they spent a lot of time together watching movies until they could take their relationship public — officially.
He also told Pomp that the thing he loves most about Rachael is her heart. The thing that annoys him the most? The way she does laundry!
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