Bachelor Nation fans have a bouquet of questions for Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell.
Because after four years of dating, the former Bachelor announced he and his final rose pick split.
“Father God, give Rachael and I strength to mend our broken hearts,” Matt wrote on Instagram Jan. 16 alongside a throwback photo from the former couple’s time on the ABC dating show. “Give us a peace about this decision to end our relationship that transcends worldly understanding. Shower our friends and family with kindness and love to comfort us. And remind us that our Joy comes from you, Lord.”
But it wasn’t just any breakup post. Social media users were quick to note Matt was the only one to share the news (versus him and Rachael doing a joint post) and that he turned off the comments. What’s more, he had posted videos from their trip to London together just hours before.
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Bachelor & Bachelorette Status Check: Find Out Who's Still Together
And while Rachael has yet to directly address the subject, fans speculated she let her Instagram likes do the talking. Revisiting a birthday tribute she posted to Matt on Dec. 5, the Georgia contestant hearted a comment that read, “The more I’m thinking about it the more I think he completely blindsided her with this. Give her some grace and her let respond in her own time.”
The journey continued after Rachael’s sister Trinity Kirkconnell entered the chat. In response to a comment about the London post Matt shared hours before the breakup news, she wrote underneath a TikTok, “They were still together when he was posting all that just to give some perspective on the timeline of things."
Craig Sjodin via Getty ImagesMatt and Rachael met on his 2021 season of The Bachelor, where he made history as the show’s first Black male lead. While the entrepreneur and the graphic designer did not get engaged on the dating series, he still gave her his final rose. But during the airing of the show, racially insensitive photos of Rachael attending an antebellum plantation themed party in 2018 resurfaced online. She apologized on After the Final Rose, where Matt confirmed their breakup.
Though months later, Matt revealed he and Rachael were back together.
“It was honestly a commitment that we had made to each other that we were gonna work on the relationship,” he said on a May 2021 episode of The Pomp Podcast. “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. It was just a come-to-Jesus meeting 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, I’m gonna let you do your own thing. That’s really all I needed.”
Fast-forward more than three years later, and it seemed the duo were still on a rosy path. After finishing the New York City Marathon Nov. 3—just months before the breakup news—Matt shared what he was looking forward to in the future with Rachael.“Today eating,” the reality star replied, “but like in the actual future just having a family together.”
While the drama continues to steal Bachelor fans for more than just a sec, keep reading to read the reasons other pairs from the franchise gave for their breakups.
Craig Sjodin via Getty ImagesMatt James and Rachael Kirkconnell, The Bachelor Season 25
Length of Relationship: Four years
He Said: Hours after Matt posted a video from his trip to London with Rachael, the former Bachelor shocked fans by revealing he and his final rose pick split.
"Father God, give Rachael and I strength to mend our broken hearts," he wrote on Instagram Jan. 16, 2025 alongside a photo of the former couple from their time on the show. "Give us a peace about this decision to end our relationship that transcends worldly understanding. Shower our friends and family with kindness and love to comfort us. And remind us that our Joy comes from you, Lord."
She Said: While Rachael has yet to speak out about Matt’s post, she did catch followers' attention when she revisited her Dec. 5, 2024 birthday tribute to him and hearted a comment that read, “The more I’m thinking about it the more I think he completely blindsided her with this. Give her some grace and her let respond in her own time.”
Her sister Trinity Kirkconnell also weighed in on the drama. In response to a TikTok video about the London post Matt shared prior to the breakup news, she commented, "They were still together when he was posting all that just to give some perspective on the timeline of things."
Disney/John FleenorJenn Tran and Devin Strader, The Bachelorette Season 21
Length of Engagement: Less than three months
She Said: While Jenn proposed to Devin on the season finale of The Bachelorette, viewers learned on After the Final Rose that they'd already split.
While the physician assistant student called the moment she popped the question to the freight company owner in May 2024 the “happiest day” of her life, things soon changed. Jenn said Devin started pulling away from the relationship—such as by not returning her texts or calls, not visiting often and showing other red flags. She shared he then broke off their engagement over the phone in August of that year.
“He had basically said that he didn’t love me anymore, and didn’t feel the same way, and felt like something had been off since the second that he proposed,” the Dancing With the Stars contestant said on the September episode of AFR. “He regretted getting engaged. I didn’t know. I knew all along it was just different, but I just didn’t know.”
He Said: While Devin admitted on AFR that he “had a lot of doubts” about his relationship with Jenn and that he was “regretfully late” in speaking up, he said he tried having the breakup talk in-person and denied pulling away prior.
"I actually only ever pulled away and started becoming distant post-breakup," he said in a since-deleted Instagram video showing their private texts (which he later apologized for). "And not just right after our breakup, we’re talking about almost the end of the month breakup."
Disney/John & Joseph PhotographyTheresa Nist and Gerry Turner, The Golden Bachelor
Length of Marriage: Three months before divorce filing
He and She Said: Turns out the Journey-loving pair weren't willing to take the midnight train going anywhere. After previously sharing plans to move to South Carolina, Jersey girl Theresa and Indiana-based Gerry revealed in April 2024 that they simply couldn't agree on a home base and were divorcing three months post-TV wedding.
"The thing that strikes me the most in our conversations, it's been how dedicated both of us are to our families," Gerry explained on Good Morning America. "So we look at these situations and I think we just feel like it's best for the happiness of each of us to, to live apart."
Agreed Theresa, "We looked at homes in South Carolina, we considered New Jersey, and we just looked at home after home, but we never got to the point where we made that decision."
However, she later confessed this wasn't the only factor.
“It’s not just the location thing,” she noted on a November 2024 episode of the Almost Famous podcast. “You really can’t know someone in four weeks. I’ll just say that."
In December 2024, Gerry shared he was diagnosed with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia, a form of cancer, ahead of his split from Theresa, telling People "that had a huge bearing on my decisions and I think probably Theresa's as well." However, she told the outlet this "wasn't a factor in the ending of the relationship" for her.
