‘Never Say Never’: Rachael Kirkconnell Teases Possibility Of Becoming The Bachelorette

In January, Bachelor Nation fans were in complete shock when The Bachelor Season 25 lead Matt James announced his split from Rachael Kirkconnell after four years together via Instagram. It was a bizarre break-up post that came just a day after he shared a photo of them together in London.

Rachael has revealed that she was blindsided by the split and, because of this, fans have rallied around the reality TV star. Now that it's been a few months since their surprise breakup, there is talk that Rachael would make the perfect Bachelorette. Would she try and find love again as the lead this time around?

Would Rachael Kirkconnell Consider Being The Next Bachelorette After Her Breakup With Matt James?

Rachael Kirkconnell is certainly in her redemption era after her shocking breakup with The Bachelor's Matt James. While their breakup happened in January, there is already talk that Rachael would make the perfect Bachelorette. But, how does she feel about finding love again on a reality TV show?

In an interview with the New York Post in April, Rachael didn't exactly say no to the opportunity to be the franchise's next lead.

"Never say never."

Rachael continued, "But I think right now, when I think about that, I would really have to consider if that would be the right move for me. Because I am looking for my person, and I am excited to date whenever that day comes — when I’m ready for it."

There is a big reason why Rachael wouldn't become the next Bachelorette. She'd be limited to "only a small group of men" that she would have to choose from. Additionally, the franchise doesn't necessarily have a reputation for finding everlasting love. To date, there are only 11 couples from The Bachelor and The Bachelorette that are still together. (The Bachelor Season 29's Grant Ellis and Juliana Pasquarosa are the latest Bachelor Nation couple to end with a successful love story).

"The idea of it being in that environment and having only a small group of men to date and to see if they’re my person and I’m theirs, it’s just a tough thing," she told The Post.

Matt James Blindsided Rachael With Their Split

Matt James and Rachael Kirckconnell met during Season 25 of The Bachelor. Matt decided not to propose to Rachael in the finale, but the two continued their relationship after the show. However, they briefly split after photos of Rachael at an antebellum party surfaced online. Despite the controversy, their separation was short-lived, and they soon reconciled and spent nearly four years together, traveling the world and sharing their food adventures with fans as influencers.

On January 16th, Matt announced his split from Rachael in a bizarre post. Sharing a photo of the two during their The Bachelor journey and tagging her in the post, he captioned it:

"Father God, give Rachael and I strength to mend our broken hearts,” he wrote. “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 💔.”

Rachael remained silent after the split, but she liked posts on Instagram that hinted she was blindsided over the breakup. On a January 28th episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast, she revealed that she saw Matt's breakup post right before she had to board a 12-hour flight from Japan with no Wi-Fi.

However, she did reveal on the podcast that while the pair where in Tokyo, they got into an emotional exchange after Rachael had trouble picking a restaurant for them to go to. After returning to their hotel, Matt began to question their relationship but she didn't think it would lead to a permanent split.

"He was trying to express to me, 'If you get emotional about little things like this, what is going to happen in life when something really terrible happens? How are you going to be able to react to things that are actually really scary or disappointing or sad?'" She added, "It felt like I was being punished for crying."

Rachael also shared in her interview that Matt questioned the couple taking the next step in their relationship, which was marriage. "After four years, you should know or you should feel ready, and if you don’t, then that’s not a good thing.”​​​​​​​

Bachelor Nation Fans Give Their Take On Rachael Being The Next Bachelorette

Rachael may be hesitant to become The Bachelorette, but she does believe that the reality TV show can help two strangers fall in love.

She told The Post, "Of course it works. I know so many couples right now that are so happy and they never would have met each other if they had not gone on the show. I think it would be just a very, very, very long discussion and a very long process of really thinking if that was good for me or not."

But Bachelor Nation fans aren't too keen on having Rachael back on the show. These fans believe that Rachael should have time to heal and find love and her forever partner in a more natural way, as they know the show isn't known for couples remaining together.

A Reddit thread that discussed Rachael being the lead had fans stating things like, "Please god no, they will intentionally throw in a bunch of emotionally detached avoidant men just to stir up drama and psychologically torture her. This show is the last thing she needs rn 😭😭."

"Considering the failure rate, I don't want this for her. What if they give her lackluster choices like Jenn had?" A fan shared while also showcasing that Season 21's The Bachelorette, Jenn Tran, wasn't given many solid choices in her season and her pick, Devin Strader, ultimately broke her heart after ending their engagement shortly after the show ended.

One person that is on board with Rachael becoming the next Bachelorette is Bachelor Nation host Jesse Palmer. The beloved TV show host even considered having Matt back, too.

"I think the last thing they wanted to think about is rushing back into the show. These decisions go way above my head. I absolutely think, though, that the show would consider having one or both back at some point down the road if they were open to it. Absolutely," he told Us Weekly.