“Bachelor” alum Rachael Kirkconnell shut down speculation that she was recently spotted with Matt James after their breakup.
Instagram gossip account DeuxMoi posted a message from a fan Sunday that read, “just left my apartment in kips bay and walked past matt james and rachael kirkconnell.”
“hmm wasn’t me lol,” Kirkconnell commented under the post shortly after it was shared.
The 28-year-old has stayed off of social media ever since James, 33, announced their split, so it’s unclear if Kirkconnell was in the Big Apple this weekend.
Kirkconnell has yet to speak out about the breakup, but she previously insinuated that she was “blindsided” by “liking” a comment from a fan on her Instagram page.
“The more I’m thinking about it the more I think he completely blindsided her with this. Give her some grace and let her respond in her own time,” the social media user commented last week.
James both stunned and confused Bachelor Nation after he cryptically revealed that he and Kirkconnell had broken up after four years of dating.
“Father God, give Rachael and I strength to mend our broken hearts,” he captioned a photo of them from the “Bachelor” on Jan. 16. “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 .”
Fans quickly began to question the timeline of their breakup –– or if it was even real –– because James had been posting pictures with Kirkconnell and expressing his love for her in social media comments less than one day before he posted the announcement.
Shortly afterwards, Rachael’s sister Trinity Kirkconnell claimed under a TikTok video that her sister and James “were still together” when he was replying to fans’ comments just hours before sharing the breakup post.
When another fan commented on a second TikTok video asking if they were broken up “for less than 15 hours before he announced” the breakup, Trinity claimed that it had only been “3 hours.”
James further confused fans when he posted content from their trips to London and Aspen just days before his breakup post.
Meanwhile, Kirkconnell’s most recent post was a video montage she made for James –– whom she called her “best friend” and “teammate” –– celebrating his birthday on Dec. 5, 2024.
The former couple met while filming his season of “The Bachelor,” which aired in 2021. James chose Kirkconnell as his winner, but they opted to continue dating and forgo the “Bachelor” tradition of getting engaged at the end.
They initially split while the season was airing because of backlash she received from resurfaced photos of her at an Antebellum-themed party in college. However, by the summer of 2021, they had gotten back together.
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