Rachael Kirkconnell is speaking out against racist comments being sent to Matt James. The former Bachelor contestant took to her Instagram Story on Wednesday to stand up for her ex.
During this season’s Bachelor finale, Matt professed his love for Rachael and the pair left the show in a committed relationship. On the After the Final Rose Special, however, the Bachelor revealed that he’d broken up with the graphic designer amid her racism scandal.
“I am taken aback by what I’ve seen tonight. If you think that attacking a person I care about with racist insults is what I would ever want, you haven’t been listening,” she wrote. “Some of the things I’ve seen being said to and about Matt are repulsive.”
“I respect the decisions that Matt has had to make during this experience,” Rachael continued. “If you are directing hate towards him, please stop. Recognize someone’s humanity and think about the impact your words have.”
Rachael’s past actions came to light in January. First, a TikTok user accused the graphic designer of previously bullying her for dating Black men. Then, another user accused Rachael of liking racist photos. Pics have also surfaced of her at an Old South plantation-themed party while in college. Rachael has since apologized for her past actions and asked people to stop defending them.
During After the Final Rose, Rachael, who said she was “living in ignorance” at the time the photos were taken, admitted to initially being “very confused” when Matt called her to breakup in light of the controversy.
“I was very blindsided, but once that initial reaction went away, I thought about how strong I thought our relationship was. So for him to end things, he must have been very, very hurt by everything,” she said. “It was hard, because I lost the love of my life, but in the process of that, I hurt him while doing so.”
Though Rachael referred to Matt as “the love of my life” multiple times throughout the show, the former Bachelor explained why they can’t be together.
“When I questioned our relationship, it was in the context of you not fully understanding my Blackness, and what it means to be a Black man in America, and what it would mean for our kids when I saw those things that were floating around the internet,” he said. “… I knew that I had to take a step back for you to put in that work that you outlined that you needed to do. That’s something that you gotta do on your own, and that’s why we can’t be in a relationship.”
