‘The Bachelor’ Matt James Gave Rachael A Promise Ring: Inside Their Breakup

Matt James’ journey on “The Bachelor” is still playing out on ABC, but behind-the-scenes, his love story has already come to an end.

Ahead of the season premiere, it was revealed that Matt ended his stint on the show by picking contestant Rachael Kirkconnell, a 24-year-old from Georgia. Weeks later, controversial photos of Rachael emerged on social media. Now, the couple is said to have broken up, likely as a result.

On Monday night, ahead of episode 8 of Season 25 airing, Matt released a telling statement on Instagram. In his post, he said he was pushed to “reevaluate and process" his experience on the show after seeing Rachael's "incredibly disappointing" photos.

In response, show spoiler blogger Reality Steve, who was the first to reveal Rachael’s win, announced the pair had officially parted ways.

In a Tuesday update, he shared the two split up within the past week. While he said exact “details as to why” they broke up were not yet available, he did provide a little insight.

“I get the sense that the guy was put in a no-win situation, so basically no matter what he did, he was going to take some heat,” he explained, adding, “If he sticks this out and shows up with Rachael on the ATFR [“After the Final Rose”] as a couple, it’ll be ‘how is [he] not affected by what she did?’ Now they’ve broken it off, it’ll be ‘why couldn’t he stand by her?’”

While Rachael and Matt may no longer be an item, fans will still watch their relationship play out on “The Bachelor.” The 2021 finale is said to show Matt end things with his runner-up Michelle Young before selecting Rachael as his winner. Though, as Reality Steve has previously reported, fans shouldn’t expect a proposal.

On Tuesday, he shared that Matt will, however, give Rachael a “promise ring” at the end of the show.