Bachelor Nation
Would Rachael Kirkconnell Be ‘Bachelorette’ Lead After Matt James Split? She Says…
Bachelor Nation has rallied around Rachael Kirkconnell ever since Matt James ended their four-year relationship in January. Almost immediately, fans began calling for Kirkconnell to star on the next season of The Bachelorette for another shot at finding love.
The show is reportedly not returning in 2025, but would Kirkconnell be down to be the lead when it does? She weighed in on the buzz.
“Never say never,” Kirkconnell told The New York Post. “But I think right now, I would really have to consider if that would be the right move for me. Because I am looking for my person, and I am excited to date whenever that day comes, when I’m ready for it. The idea of it being in that environment and only having a small group of men to date to see if they’re my person and I’m theirs … it’s a tough thing.”
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Kirkconnell didn’t have the easiest time while her season of The Bachelor was airing in 2021, either. Before the finale episode aired and revealed that she was James’ final pick, photos surfaced of her attending an antebellum-themed party in college. Once the finale episode came out, she and James — who decided not to get engaged on the show, but did leave as a couple —had already broken up amid the controversy.
However, they got back together just weeks later and were going strong for years before he blindsided her with the breakup, which happened while they were in Japan. Kirkconnell revealed on the Call Her Daddy podcast that James was talking about proposing in the weeks leading up to the trip, which is why she was floored when he told her, amid a fight in Tokyo, that he couldn’t see them getting married.
“When someone says those things he said, like, ‘I don’t see us getting married. I don’t think you’re my person,’ I think that’s when you call it quits [for good],” she admitted, adding that she did not believe James ever cheated on her. “Just the way he handled all of this, his [breakup] post and everything … I forgive him, but I feel like he disrespected me at the end of the day.”
