Matt James, Rachael Kirkconnell Address Racism Controversy in ‘After the Final Rose’ Bachelor Special

The women of The Bachelor’s 25th season reunited on Monday for the much anticipated After the Final Rose special, with both Rachael Kirkconnell and Michelle Young sitting face-to-face with Bachelor Matt James. 

This year’s special was hosted by Emmanuel Acho, who replaced Chris Harrison following his controversial interview with the first Black Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay. 

All viewers have been waiting to watch James reunite with Kirkconnell, who was also involved in the franchise’s racism controversy, especially as promos for the special showed Kirkconnell acknowledging that she hurt James.

To recap, in mid-February a viral TikTok accused Kirkconnell of sharing posts pushing QAnon conspiracy theories and liking other posts containing the Confederate flag. Pictures showing The Bachelor contestant at a 2018 “Old South” plantation-themed college party also appeared on Reddit.

Harrison later sat down with Lindsay to address the controversy — defending Kirkconnell from “the woke police.” Lindsay additionally labeled Kirkconnell’s resurfaced posts as “not a good look,” prompting Harrison to question if it’s not “a good look in 2018, or is it not a good look in 2021?”

Harrison stepped away as host shortly following the interview, later appearing on Good Morning America to speak out about the controversy and announce his plans to return to the franchise.

“His apology is his apology but it felt like it got nothing more than a surface response on any of this and obviously he is a man who wants to clearly stay on the show,” GMA’s Michael Strahan said following the interview. “But only time will tell if there is any meaning behind his words.”

Kirkconnell also addressed her racist past in a seven-and-a-half minute video, apologizing and asking her fans to “please stop saying that I did nothing wrong.”

Young, the season’s runner up and Acho’s first guest on the Monday special, addressed the controversy, revealing how hurt she was both by the break-up and by ensuing scandal. James later joined Young and the host, and the exes exchanged some light -hearted jabs before Acho interviewed this season’s star one-on-one.

James, who had already spoken out about the controversy, addressed the scandal again, now with viewers knowing that he ultimately fell for Kirkconnell before he knew about her past posts.

James admitted to dismissing the rumors at first, praying that they weren’t true, revealing just how heartbroken he was once he accepted that accusations about Kirkconnell’s past were true. The star also revealed he and Kirkconnell are no longer together, as he needs to step back and “allow her to put in that work” needed to grow and learn from her past.

Later in the special, Kirkconnell also addressed her past posts, labeling the backlash “a lot.”

Acho grilled the contestant on her ignorance, noting that while history is meant to be remembered, not all history is meant to be celebrated. “What you did was racial insensitive, was racially ignorant, and it plays itself as racism,” he said, adding despite all that, she might not be a racist person.

Kirkconnell pledged to do better in the future, adding that she is not only educating herself, but also planning to use that knowledge to form her actions.

“When he first called me to end things, my initial reaction was that I was very confused. I was very blindsided. But once that initial reaction went away, I thought about how strong I thought our relationship was, so for him to end things, he must have been very, very hurt by everything,” Kirkconnell said of her break up with James, revealing that she will always love him and that she now knows what real life feels like.

The former couple then sat down together, Kirkconnell apologizing for hurting James, while James revealed he is still heartbroken before turning completely quiet — leading to a lengthy, awkward pause.

James eventually told Kirkconnell that he ended things with her because he realized she did not understand his identity as a Black man, adding that she needs to grow on her own, apart from their relationship.

“At this point I don’t see how I can have these same feelings for someone else,” Kirkconnell responded, with James agreeing that he still has a strong emotional attachment to her as well.

“I don’t want to be emotionally responsible for those tears, because the work and the reconciliation that needs to be done, I can’t do that for you,” he added, reiterating that she needs to educate herself on her own.

In a telling, final moment, James also rejected an embrace with Kirkconnell following the interview, truly showing how devastated he was by her past, bigoted posts.

Watch above, via ABC.