‘The Bachelor’ Winner Rachael Kirkconnell Addresses Racial Controversy on ‘After the Final Rose’: ‘There Is No Excuse’

Matt James is starting fresh. The "Bachelor" star, 29, who split from season 25 contestant Rachael Kirkconnell, removed all traces of the 24-year-old Georgia native -- and all other social media posts -- from his Instagram profile on Friday.

Matt James discussed seeing Rachael Kirkconnell for the first time on the After the Final Rose episode while chatting with Michael Strahan on Good Morning America Tuesday.The Bachelor admitted he was emotional and seeing Rachael 'hit me like a ton of bricks' as he addressed a number of topics on the ABC show which was hosted byEmmanuel Acho as Chris Harrison stepped aside after defending Rachael's attendance at the 2018 college party on a plantation where she also dressed up in a heated debate with Rachel Lindsay.'I felt the weight of everything that I was carrying throughout the season, with what we were dealing with as a country and having to explain that why it was problematic to me and our relationship, which was extremely difficult,'

breakup with Rachael Kirkconnell. His Instagram Story, however, featured a screenshot of a tweet that simply read, "3/21/21."03/21/21While it's not exactly known what the meaning of the date is, several of Matt's 76,000 followers believe it refers to the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which is observed on March 21 of every year. The reality TV star seems to be having a hard time as he deals with his breakup.

Spilling the Bachelor tea! Matt James is opening up about his journey as the Bachelor following the end of season 25, which left him single after a public breakup with winner Rachael Kirkconnell.

Calling it like she sees it. Rachel Lindsay spoke out about Bachelor fans’ behavior surrounding Matt James’ season and warned the end of the franchise could be imminent if something does not change.

Matt James is opening up about his breakup with Rachael Kirkconnell. On Friday's episode of, the former Bachelor spoke about his reasons for going on the show and when he knew things had taken a turn for the worse, as well as his decision to split from Rachael and his reaction to host Chris Harrison's defense of his former flame.For Matt, becoming the Bachelor was a way for him to be «intentional» with his time, by opting to fully focus on his personal life over his professional one.«Before I got on the show, I'm putting my life into commercial real estate, I'm putting my life into everything I'm doing with my non-profit.

Clean slate. Matt James deleted all the photos from his Instagram on Friday, March 19.

The course of Matt James’ Bachelor journey seemingly changed after his family visited the season 25 lead and now his brother, John The Scorpio, is giving more insight into their thoughts about the ABC series.

Matt James' brother is giving an update on the former Bachelor's state of mind following the conclusion of his season of the show. On Friday's episode of Rachel Lindsay and Van Lathan's podcast, John James, a rapper who goes by John the Scorpio, said Matt is «doing good» after his split from Rachael Kirkconnell.On Monday's finale, Matt professed his love for Rachael and the pair decided to leave the show in a committed relationship, though not engaged.

Rachel Lindsay is speaking out following Matt James' finale. The former Bachelorette, who's been outspoken on this season's controversies, shared her thoughts on her and Van Lathan's podcast, ,on Friday. «This is tough for Matt,» Lindsay said. «Matt's in a bad situation.»On Monday's finale, James professed his love for Rachael Kirkconnell and the pair decided to leave the show in a committed relationship, though not engaged.

"Bachelor" star Rachael Kirkconnell defended Matt James from racist insults after he revealed they split up after the show. James ended up picking Kirkconnell above all the other women on this season of "The Bachelor." However, he revealed during the "After the Final Rose" special that he had broken up with her following a racism scandal that unfolded off-screen that ultimately resulted in longtime host Chris Harrison stepping down from his role on the show.   Some viewers didn’t take kindly to James’ decision and attacked the first Black Bachelor with racial slurs on social media.

Rachael Kirkconnell is coming to Matt James’ defense.

Rachael Kirkconnell is telling off a certain nasty group of Bachelor Nation fans — and deservedly so.

Rachael Kirkconnell is urging Bachelor Nation to stop directing hate at Matt James after their messy split played out on the season 25 finale of The Bachelor.

Rachael Kirkconnell is speaking out against racist comments being sent to Matt James. The former contestant took to her Instagram Story on Wednesday to stand up for her ex.During this season's finale, Matt professed his love for Rachael and the pair left the show in a committed relationship.

Emmanuel Acho, host of this season’s “The Bachelor: After the Final Rose” special is revealing that what he feels was the most memorable moment never made it on the air because it needed to be cut for time.

Not buying it. Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, who cocreated the show UnREAL based on her alleged experiences as a former Bachelor producer, addressed Chris Harrison’s controversial remarks about season 25 contestant Rachael Kirkconnell.

The best conversation that will never see the light of day. The Bachelor winner Rachael Kirkconnell and runner-up Michelle Young sat down together on the After the Final Rose special, but the scene never aired. Now, host Emmanuel Acho is revealing what that conversation was all about.

The final rose that blew away in the wind. Matt James’ relationship with Rachael Kirkconnell was so short that his best friend Tyler Cameron did not even have a chance to see the former couple together.

Emmanuel Acho had more uncomfortable conversations on that viewers didn't get to see.

Matt James is in the market…for a therapist, not someone to give a rose to. One day after the 29-year-old real estate professional’s season of The Bachelor ended, he appeared to reference the drama that played out on our television screens. “Google…Therapist…Near me,” Matt jokingly tweeted on March 16 (replace the dots with emojis of a hand writing, though).