Matt James is finally opening up about all the rumors surrounding him and his ex, Rachael Kirkconnell. By now, everyone knows their story inside and out. It’s been the talk of Bachelor Nation over the last few months and even transpired in Chris Harrison stepping away from the franchise for a bit.
Despite all that drama, James has been recently spotted with Kirkconnell out in public. They were first seen together in New York City which sparked its own share of drama. Soon after that and most recently, they were seen together in California, leaving Bachelor Nation to wonder–what the heck is going on?
James finally opened up while speaking with People about whether or not he’s with Kirkconnell, and where life has taken him since his days on The Bachelor. I know we’ve all been dying to find out what has been going on between the two of them (anyone pick up on the sarcasm there?)
So with that said, let’s see what Matt James has to say about all the recent rumors and whether or not he is back with Rachael.
Matt James spills the deets
When asked what the deal is between him and Rachael, James opted to say the following:
"I’ve seen Rachael a handful of times. I’m not pursuing any relationships right now outside of that. I said I was going to focus on my relationship with her and that means focusing on it."
That’s good news, right?
Things had certainly ended on a rocky note for them, but it’s nice to see that they’re trying to figure it out nonetheless. After all, their breakup brought up many social issues, ones that need to be discussed more openly. And if you recall, Rachael did promise to educate herself more about race and racism, and perhaps one of the ways she is choosing to do that is by learning through Matt himself.
James also spoke to E! about the rumors and stated he understands why so many are interested in his love life. After all, he did go on The Bachelor and attempt to find love on a reality television show, so it came with the territory.
"It is what it is. You’re on a TV show and that’s the reality of it. It was a great life experience and I’m really excited about what’s next and a lot of impactful things that I’m working [on] in the community."
Apart from all that, James is really focused on his community work, for which he is is well known. Most recently, he’s joined up with DICK’s Sporting Goods for their annual National Runners Month campaign. He hopes that it will inspire others to go running outdoors. And to that, I say, bravo!
Despite everything that has happened, James harbors no regrets about his time as the Bachelor.
"It was a great experience and I learned a lot about myself. A lot of things I wouldn’t have learned if I wouldn’t have gone through something like that.You’ve got to take the good with the bad. The bad just being people speculating on the type of person that you are or things that they might not know about, and you’ve just got to take it in stride and hope that the good things that you do outshine the negative things that are created through just being out and about.You know, anything and everything can be spun into a story now…Fundamentally, I’m the same person as I was before the show."
As for what’s next? Matt James is going to continue to live his best life and figure out things along the way. And, maybe, just maybe, he may get his happily ever after with Rachael.
Only time will tell what will happen, but until then, we wish Matt James the best of luck!
How do you feel about Matt and Rachael figuring things out? Tell us in the comments below!