The Bachelor alum Rachael Kirkconnell has revealed where she currently stands with ex-boyfriend Matt James after he dumped her and broke her heart.
Rachael, 28, "liked" Matt's Monday, February 17 Instagram post about how one should spend 24 hours in Nairobi, Kenya.
Social media personality Zachary Reality pointed out of Rachael's "like" in a TikTok video that same day, "To me, this says, 'We are on friendlier terms. We've probably talked a little bit behind the scenes. Now I'm liking your post to let the fans know that things have smoothed over a little bit.'"
Rachael agreed with Zachary's perspective but clarified how she "never hated" Matt and "never will" in a comment on his post.
"I will always be rooting for him and wish him the best," Rachael explained. "At the end of the day a like is just a like. We're all good over here."
Zachary subsequently shared a screenshot of Rachael's comment via his Instagram Stories.
"Queen Rachael Kirkconnell with a message in my tiktok comment section after speculation over her liking Instagram reel," Zachary gushed.
Rachael went on to address more speculation about her breakup with Matt by replying to fans' comments.
"I want her to want better for herself," one person commented on Zachary's post, to which Rachael replied, "I do alexis!! We're good over here."
Rachael also denied that she "liked" Matt's Kenya post to get back on his "good graces" after dishing about their breakup on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast last month.
Rachael also clarified that she never unfollowed the Season 25 The Bachelor star on social media.
"Maybe it's her way of telling fans to lay off the hate on him. Even on CHD she didn't want him to be pinned the villain," one TikTok user wrote.
Rachael responded by writing, "Yes Dana."
Matt has not publicly discussed the demise of his relationship with Rachael since posting his eyebrow-raising statement announcing their breakup after four years of dating.
The January 16 breakup post read, "Father God, give Rachael and I strength to mend our broken hearts. 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."
Alongside the post, Matt had uploaded a photo from his The Bachelor season, when he and Rachael had met for the first time on Night 1 of filming at a resort in Pennsylvania.
Although Matt eventually deleted his odd breakup post, he chose to keep many videos featuring Rachael from their travels together pre-split on his Instagram account.
Matt's The Bachelor season filmed in late 2020, and he was shown giving Rachael his final rose on the Season 25 finale that aired in early 2021.
Matt broke up with Rachael during a recent trip to Tokyo and then publicly announced their split via Instagram on January 16 without giving Rachael any warning.
Based on Rachael's side of the story, Matt dumped and blindsided Rachel because he didn't view her as his perfect person.
"He basically said that I have a hard time taking accountability and apologizing," Rachael claimed during the January 28 episode of the "Call Her Daddy" podcast.
Rachael also said Matt was concerned about how emotional she got during challenging times.
"He said that, at the end of the day, there were qualities about me that he worries about having in a wife, like, at the end of the day, there are things we are not compatible with," Rachael alleged.
She continued, "[He said], 'I should want to propose to you. At this point in our relationship... I should be ready for that, but I'm not still. I still don't feel like I'm ready. I don't know if I ever see myself proposing to you. I can't actually see myself married to you.'"
Rachael admitted she felt "pure shock" and "so much confusion" about Matt's decision considering he had been so vocal in the media about his desire to propose marriage to her and start a family in the near future.
Rachael cried on and off during her chat with Alex Cooper and confessed, "I'm so mad at him, but I'm also still like so sad and of course like I still love him. So yeah, just a lot of emotions to work through."
Rachael claimed that Matt called her about four or five days after he broke up with her and they talked for about an hour.
"He is a good guy at the end of the day, but obviously he made a mistake [with that breakup post]," Rachael said, noting how Matt had apologized for his Instagram announcement.
"I think he regrets it... I probably wouldn't even be sitting here [single] if he didn't do that."
Rachael admitted at the time it's going to be difficult to completely move on in her life without Matt.
"I wish we could somehow be friends because he was my best friend... He has called me every few days to make sure I'm okay, but I told him, 'You don't need to do that... I'll be okay,'" she said.
When asked if she'd consider reconciling with Matt in the future, Rachael said, "I don't think I can, which is sad. I don't think I can because when somebody says those things that he said... I think you have to call it quits."
Rachael also explained that while she forgave Matt for how he had handled their breakup, she doesn't think she can be with someone like that down the road.
"I felt like he disrespected me at the end of the day, doing that," Rachael shared.
"So it's one of those things where you have to stand up for yourself, even if you don't want to. Of course there's part of me that wishes we can get back together and pretend none of this ever happened, but that's not the case."
Rachael pointed out how "the right decision" for herself is to be on her own, especially because she thought she gad given 110 percent in the relationship and Matt didn't reciprocate.
"I do have an attachment to him and I do love him so much, but it's just one of those things where maybe in another universe we work out and things are okay, but it just really sucks to sit back and look at how things ended up for us. It's heartbreaking," Rachael concluded.
"What he did wasn't okay, and I just need to try to move on."
