BACHELOR Matt James and ex Rachael Kirkconnell reunited for the first time since their emotional breakup to “work on their relationship,” The Celeb Report can reveal.
The ABC leading man gave Rachael, 24, his final rose on this season’s finale but the pair split soon after as she was accused of “racist” behavior by attending an Antebellum party in 2018.
Weeks after the season ended, a source revealed to The Celeb Report that the pair have come face-to-face for the first time since the After The Final Rose special.
“Rachael is in New York City with Matt right now, they’re working on their relationship and seeing if it’s salvageable.
“They still have a lot of work to do, but they are figuring out things together instead of apart over text,” an insider alleged.
The informant said the New Yorker and Georgia native have been in communication for “a few weeks” now.
While the source claimed the decision is “ultimately up to Matt” as he “needed time” while Rachael “has been trying to win him over again,” he does recognize she’s taken action to implement change.
The insider added: “Now, he has seen Rachael has done the work to educate herself and right her wrongs and he does believe she’s changed.
“Though he did not believe she was a bad person, she did have ignorance.
“He’s open to rekindling their romance but is trying to take things slowly as he got really burned by the breakup.
“She still needs to earn his trust but he’s now finally ready to give her the chance to do that for the first time in months.”
In the months since their breakup, Rachael has gone on to apologize multiple times and has continuously shared resources that help the Black community.
Some eagle-eyed fans allegedly spotted Rachael over the weekend in NYC – which Bachelor blogger Reality Steve later confirmed.
Matt told Rachael he cannot “imagine his life without” her and even said he knew she was his “future wife and mother of his children” on the finale – which was filmed in November.
Though the couple initially made their relationship work, they broke up off-camera sometime in February, The Celeb Report first revealed.
The aftermath of their breakup was aired in a tension-filled segment on After The Final Rose last night with host Emmanuel Acho orchestrating the strained relationship.
While the season was airing, photos of Rachael resurfaced that showed her attending an “Antebellum” plantation party with deep ties to the Confederacy in 2018.
The controversial snaps have been at the center of the franchises’ racism scandal this season – which also resulted in ex-host Chris Harrison losing his job.
As they were seated next to each other on ATFR, Matt appeared furious and hardly said a word or looked at his ex.
According to an insider at the time, Rachael was “devastated” at the results of the emotional finale.
A source exclusively told The Celeb Report: “With how cold Matt was to her, it’s heartbreaking because she really still loves him. She feels abandoned by Matt.
“Not only does she feel abandoned, but the whole family feels abandoned. He didn’t just have an impact on her, he got close with the whole family.”
Despite the conflict, the source claimed “Rachael would take Matt back in a heartbeat.”
“The sad reality is she genuinely loved him even if he didn’t love her in the way we all thought,” the insider concluded.
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