The Bachelor’s lead man Matt James and his lover from the show Rachael Kirkconnell has reportedly broken up after James shared a bold statement touching upon Chris Harrison’s controversial interview with Rachel Lindsay to defend Kirkconnell’s racist actions.

The news of the split was confirmed by the long-time Bachelor Nation spoiler source, Reality Steve, on February 23, 2021, via Twitter. 

Steve also added in his next tweet that:

watching these last few episodes is just gonna be...weird. Nothing about any of these storylines are relevant anymore, knowing what we know now.

In his statement, the television personality stated that the past few weeks had been some of the “most challenging” moments of his life because of the “troubling information” that came to light since wrapping up filming for The Bachelor.

Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell. (Photo: Eonline)

He mentioned the photos of Kirkconnell attending an antebellum-themed party in 2018 to be one of those troubling things. The 2018’s party celebrated the old South, which means racism, slavery, and widespread mistreatment of Black people.

In addition to that, Matt also talked about the interview between Rachel Lindsay and The Bachelor’s host, Harrison. In the interview, the host defended Kirkconnell amid a racism controversy, adding some puzzling statements.

It’s first on Rachael. I don’t think it is incumbent upon ‘The Bachelor’ franchise to speak out on everything that everyone wants to hear about on social media. We’re not in the business of dealing with every problem that you have.

Presently, Harrison has stepped aside as the show’s host after his statements lead many upset fans to create a petition demanding his removal.

Matt James’ full statement on Chris Harrison’s controversial interview with Rachel Lindsay and Rachael Kirkconnell’s racist actions. (Photo: James’ Instagram)

Matt also stressed in his Instagram statement that learning about the on-going matters in real-time has been “devastating and heartbreaking.” He said:

Chris’s failure to receive and understand the emotional labor that my friend Rachel Lindsay was taking on by graciously and patiently explaining the racist history of the Antebellum South, a painful history that every American should understand intimately, was troubling and painful to watch. As Black people and allies immediately knew and understood, it was a clear reflection of a much larger issue that The Bachelor franchise has fallen short on addressing adequately for years.

In an interview with Good Morning America, James said that Rachael is a good person and is hopeful about her journey of educating herself. He says he has no plans to get back together with Rachael any time soon as he wants her to give her the space to become a better person.