Bachelor spoilers change! Who did 'The Bachelor' star Matt James pick as his winner and end up with? Did he pick Rachael Kirkconnell? What is the shocking new post-finale spoiler? (SPOILERS)

Bachelor spoilers continue to change as new details emerge about Matt James' post-show relationship and if The Bachelor star is still with the bachelorette he picked as his winner and ended up with, as well as spoilers revealing his Final 2 bachelorettes and whether Matt got engaged at the final Rose Ceremony of The Bachelor's 2021 season.

[Bachelor Spoilers Warning: This report contains spoilers revealing Matt James' Final 2 bachelorettes, who finished as The Bachelor star's runner-up, who Matt picked as his winner and ended up with, and if they are still together now.]

After Serena Pitt, a 22-year-old publicist from Markham, ON, left the show and seemed to break Matt's heart, The Bachelor star handed out three roses to the women who could see themselves marrying him someday.

Matt's Final 3 bachelorettes are Bri Springs, a 24-year-old communications manager from Owatonna, MN; Michelle Young, a 27-year-old teacher from Edina, MN; and Rachael Kirkconnell, a 24-year-old graphic designer from Cumming, GA.

Bri, Michelle and Rachael expect to receive an overnight Fantasy Suite date with Matt, who has developed strong feelings for more than one woman.

However, Matt has only told Rachael to her face that he's "falling in love" with her.


Since Serena told Matt that he's not her "person," Matt is hoping one of his Final 3 bachelorettes will be and that he won't leave the dating process brokenhearted.

But Rachael, Michelle and Bri all appear to be head over heels for Matt.

"If he were to propose to me tomorrow, I would be confident in saying, 'Yes, I know we can make this work.' At least I think so," Rachael said in the latest episode.

Rachael later added that she would be "completely crushed" not to receive Matt's final rose.

And Michelle shared with The Bachelor star that she was "falling in love" with him after her hometown date.


"That makes me so excited but it's so scary. It's so genuine and so real," Michelle gushed about her connection with Matt.

Michelle also had confidence she'd end up with Matt and he'd be her "hubby" one day.

"When Matt and I walk away from this experience hand in hand, life will be so full," Michelle said in a confessional.

And Bri shared with her mother how Matt seemed to see every single part of her when he looked at her.

"I do feel like I'm falling in love with him. I'm so, so scared," Bri told her mom before expressing her feelings to Matt as well.


So who went home in third place and which bachelorettes were Matt's Final 2? And who did Matt pick and end up with -- and is the couple still together now? Keep reading for new The Bachelor spoilers!

Spoilers for Matt's The Bachelor: The Women Tell All

The Bachelor's ninth episode is set to air Monday, March 1 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC.

The Bachelor: The Women Tell All broadcast was already filmed and hosted by Chris Harrison.

However, based on Chris' recent racism controversy, reports have swirled ABC is going to edit him out of the broadcast.

The Women Tell All will feature 15 women returning to one stage to "relive the romance and rehash the rivalries from their journeys to find love," according to ABC.


While some bachelorettes seek forgiveness, others attempt to take a stand.

Matt also confronts a room of his ex-girlfriends, and he faces Serena P. for the first time after her shocking and unexpected departure.

The pre-taped special will include funny bloopers and an exclusive sneak peek at the remainder of the season.

In a preview for The Women Tell All that aired at the end of Monday night's The Bachelor episode, the women on Matt's season appear to be at each other's throats.

Ryan Claytor says, "It's just hard to hear yourself being called a ho, an idiot or a shady b-tch."


Katie Thurston asks women to own their bad behavior in the house, and Brittany Galvin cries that she didn't sign up for the show to get her name slandered. Anna Redman admits to Chris Harrison she was "angry," seemingly as her reason for starting the rumor that Brittany is a paid escort in Atlanta.

And Victoria Larson apparently breaks down into tears.

"Yes, I was involved in drama because I was going through, like, levels of pain," Victoria laments.

"That's fake as hell!" argues Mari Pepin, although it's not clear whether she's referring to Victoria's explanation.

When Serena P. joins Chris on the stage, she admits of Matt, "I still care about him so much."

Chris then asks Serena P. in front of everyone whether she thinks she had made the wrong call in dumping Matt after hometowns.

Matt picks Rachael Kirkconnell and Michelle Young as his Final 2 bachelorettes

According to Reality Steve spoiler blogger Steve Carbone, Michelle Young and Rachael Kirkconnell finished as Matt's Final 2 bachelorettes.

"I was told 'Michelle and Rachael were final 2,'" Carbone wrote in his January 4 blog, explaining he was still unsure who had been Matt's third-place finisher.

But in a subsequent January 21 blog, Carbone revealed he had now learned Bri was eliminated after Matt's overnight dates with his Final 3 bachelorettes.

"Bri gets eliminated after overnights," he wrote.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)


Matt's BFF Tyler visited The Bachelor star on-location while the season was filming and revealed in an early December video log that Matt seemed "extremely happy."

"He loves his girls... He spoke so highly of them," Tyler shared. "He's really pushing himself to be vulnerable and put himself out there, and I think you're got to get a great season and a great Matt."

Tyler predicted, "I'm excited to see how all of this ends here, because Matt seems genuinely happy. I think we're going to get the ending we all want and have been missing for a while." 

Matt's father appears on The Bachelor

According to Carbone, Matt also receives a surprise visit from his seemingly-estranged father, whom Matt has told multiple women about in conversations this season.

Matt revealed his father wasn't around much when he was growing up and his mother raised his brother and himself. Matt also gravitated towards friends with big families to fill that void and said his parents didn't set a good example of what a marriage should be.

"Just like last season where I reported [producers] were trying to get [Kelsey Weier]'s dad to show up for her hometown date, I guess they succeeded with Matt's," Carbone wrote in a January 26 blog post.


"I don't know the outcome. If it was contentious, if Matt got closure, if it's a touching moment, etc. Not sure."

In a preview The Bachelor has aired repeatedly during the season, Matt is shown sitting down outside on a curb as host Chris Harrison asks if he's okay. Matt replies, "No, I'm not."

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)

Carbone now believes this scene had to do with the appearance of Matt's father.

"Either he'd just met him or was just told his dad is there to speak with him," Carbone reasoned.

"I know immediately people will think this is a low blow by the show because clearly they didn't consult Matt beforehand. Which is why I think that this meeting between Matt and his dad probably ends cordially at least."


Carbone doesn't think Matt's conversation with his father ended badly or else the show would look bad for not asking for Matt's consent first.

Regardless of the outcome, Matt's chat with his dad was likely a tough one and probably very emotional.

"But when it's over, Matt probably feels better," Carbone predicted. "I can't imagine for the life of me that Matt calls it a disaster/walks off set/f-bombs production for bringing him on, etc."

Carbone, however, clarified how he does not know the end result of Matt and his father's conversation.

Matt James picks Rachael Kirkconnell as his final The Bachelor winner

In his January 4 blog, Carbone had insisted he was "positive" Serena Pitt and Michelle Young did not ultimately win Matt's heart.

Carbone reported in his January 4 blog post that he believed Rachael received Matt's final rose of the season.


"I was told, 'Michelle and Rachael were final 2, and Rachael wins,'" Carbone revealed.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' SEASON 25 BACHELORETTES: MEET ALL OF MATT JAMES' LADIES! (PHOTOS)

The spoiler blogger, however, wasn't totally confident in the knowledge he had about the winner.

"If you believe everything coming out of the small town of Cumming, GA, then it's Rachael Kirkconnell [who won]," Carbone explained.

"Because for the last month, all I keep being told out of Cumming is that Rachael won, and all her friends and family know and they're telling everyone."

But Carbone noted he heard similar information about Madison Prewett during Peter Weber's The Bachelor season -- and that information ultimately turned out to be incorrect.


(Peter got engaged to Hannah Ann Sluss at the Final Rose Ceremony after Madison quit the show in second place. After Peter and Hannah Ann split, Peter briefly reunited with Madison but the pair never really got their relationship off the ground and broke up within a few days).

"I never ran with it because I was never convinced it was that easy. And it ended up being wrong anyway," Carbone explained.

"Maybe Rachael did win. All I'm saying is that if she did, she, her family, and her friends are doing an awful job of keeping it secret."
 
Carbone therefore questioned if Rachael's alleged victory was another situation in which someone started a false rumor about her winning and it then spread like wildfire.

"I'm not 100 percent sold on it yet, but, I'm just telling you that's the one I've heard most," Carbone wrote.

The spoiler blogger said he expected to hear more details as Matt's season unfolded on TV, "but that's what I got for you right now." 

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)  


However, in his January 21 blog Carbone announced he had now gotten full confirmation that Rachael had in fact received Matt's final rose.

"Tuesday night into yesterday, I got the confirmation I needed about this seasons spoiler: Matt chose Rachael and is still with her," he wrote.

"I know it's been out there, but I don't base my spoilers on what anyone else reports. Never have, and never will. Been hearing it was her for a while but never felt fully secure saying with certainty he chose her."

Matt sends Michelle Young home before the final Rose Ceremony

In his January 26 blog post, Carbone reported he had also now learned that Matt did not follow The Bachelor's usual format and dump Michelle at the Final Rose Ceremony before choosing Rachael.

Instead, according to Carbone, Matt decided to send Michelle home early instead of embarrassing her and breaking her heart at the Final Rose Ceremony.

"Matt actually lets Michelle go before the final rose ceremony," Carbone wrote in his blog post.


It's rare viewers have seen The Bachelor star let a bachelorette go prior to the Final Rose Ceremony-dumping.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)

In Season, 23 The Bachelor star Colton Underwood had a similar outcome in which he decided to dump Tayshia Adams and Hannah Godwin during the overnight Fantasy Suite dates in order to pursue a relationship with only Cassie Randolph.

"Well, apparently it happens again and Matt eliminates Michelle before the final rose ceremony," Carbone wrote.

Matt also spoiled that he picked Rachael

Matt also appears to have accidentally verified Carbone's spoiler that he picked Rachael as his final bachelorette.

In January, Matt was caught listening to and "liking" one of Rachael's Spotify playlists, leading viewers to believe he must have picked her as his winner at the season's final Rose Ceremony.


Matt's actions were visible in his public Spotify history, which he seems to have not realized was publicly available.

Rachael's playlist, titled "Night Drive," had a whopping 77 songs on it.

Some of the artists or groups represented on Rachael's playlist included The Mary Onettes, The Chainsmokers, The Districts, Flume featuring Beck, The Weeknd, Daft Punk and Joji.

Matt was subsequently asked about his Spotify activity in an interview with Entertainment Tonight reporter Lauren Zima, who is the girlfriend of The Bachelor host Chris Harrison.

However, Matt tried to brush off the matter and suggested that -- in what would be a dramatic departure from the usual behavior of prior The Bachelor leads -- he has remained in contact with several of his bachelorettes since his season finished filming in November.

"There's a lot of music that I've taken from a bunch of women on the show. I've listened to [Kit Keenan]'s playlist, I've listened to [Michelle Young]'s playlist," Matt responded.


RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)

"I think that people are very eager to find any tea," Matt acknowledged, "and you know, lucky for me, I had a very good group of women and I've taken a lot of what I've learned from them and applied it to my life."

Matt even pointed out the shirt he was wearing for his video interview was inspired by Kit's fashion given she's the daughter of fashion designer Cynthia Rowley.

"A lot of the things I'm doing going forward were taken from my time with these women," Matt concluded.

Matt James didn't get engaged to Rachael Kirkconnell at the final Rose Ceremony

While Carbone stated Matt and Rachael were still together as a couple in his January 21 blog post, he clarified he wasn't sure they got engaged at The Bachelor season's final Rose Ceremony or if the couple may have gotten engaged afterwards.

"I do not know if they're engaged or not," he wrote.


However on February 2, Carbone reported he had now confirmed Matt and Rachael did not get engaged at The Bachelor season's final Rose Ceremony.

"Matt did not propose to Rachael. They are still together today though," he wrote in a blog post.

"Everyone will basically say this relationship has zero chance because it doesn't have that 'label' of engagement, even though that's never mattered in the past since so many don't make it any way," he added.

"But I can already tell you him not proposing will immediately have people giving the hot take that these two won't make it. I mean, I don't think they will either, but not because he didn't propose."

"I don't think they'll make it because I don't think for a second Matt is ready for a serious relationship, and never was." 

Rachael Kirkconnell and Matt James stayed together for weeks after her racism scandal started

In mid-February, Rachael finally broke her silence and released a lengthy apology for prior offensive and racist behavior that came to light and surfaced online after The Bachelor premiered on ABC in January.


Given the widespread media coverage Rachael's racism scandal has attracted, some viewers had wondered if Matt and Rachael's status may have changed after Carbone's February 2 blog post in which he stated Matt and Rachael were still together.

However the couple's relationship status had not changed a couple of weeks after the blog post, according to Carbone.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)  

"They are still together," he reiterated in another February 17 blog posting.

"Matt and Rachael are still together and will be come [After the Final Rose]. I don't see that changing. After that? Anybody's guess.," he added later in the blog post.

"Just think of how hard it is to make it as a couple in this franchise when everything is great and America loves you. Matt and Rachael don't have much support publicly, they're living through the biggest scandal this show has ever seen, and they can't address it publicly for another month. Gonna be real tough for these two to make it in the long run.

But Matt and Rachael split up recently!

"Breaking news last night... We all know Matt picks Rachael in the end, but after last night, well, they are no more," Carbone wrote in a February 23 blog post.

After the Huffington Post reported Matt and Rachael's breakup on February 22, Carbone said he was able to confirm the news.

"Matt and Rachael broke up within the last week. I don't have an exact day, and I don't have any details as to why, but judging by Matt's [Instagram] post yesterday, I get the sense that the guy was put in a no-win situation," Carbone explained.

"So basically no matter what he did, he was going to take some heat. If he sticks this out and shows up with Rachael on the ATFR as a couple, it'll be 'how is [he] not affected by what she did?' Now they've broken it off, it'll be 'why couldn't he stand by her?'"

Carbone also reported The Bachelor: After the Final Rose will not air as a live event this March and the special will instead be filmed this week in Los Angeles, CA.

The special's scheduling marks a departure from The Bachelor's other recent seasons -- although given The Bachelorette's recent fall season didn't feature any After the Final Rose special, it's unclear how big a role Rachael's racism scandal may have played in the decision versus other factors like the ongoing pandemic.


Chris Harrison will also not be hosting the special as he recently decided to "step aside" from the franchise for "a period of time" after he sparked an outrage by defending the allegations against Rachael prior to her public apology.

RELATED LINK: '90 DAY FIANCE' COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS SPLIT? WHERE ARE THEY NOW? (PHOTOS)

Carbone speculates anything could happen on After the Final Rose and he is unable to provide specific details at this time.

"Because the breakup is so new, when these two see each other again, does some reconciliation happen? Is there any way they make it through this?" Carbone questioned.

"Does Matt possibly have the balls to ask Bri or Michelle for a second chance? Does he leave solo?...  Will there even be an audience? I'm not sure. But this sure is gonna be messy. I can't remember the last couple that couldn't even make it to their ATFR taping."

Carbone still stands by the fact, however, Matt and Rachael never got engaged. Carbone insisted in his February 23 blog that Matt gave Rachael a promise ring at the final Rose Ceremony.


"A promise to stay together 3 months? Whatever the case, that's what we're getting at the end of this season," Carbone claimed.

"A lot obviously came about post filming, all stuff Matt had no clue about while he was falling for Rachael and ultimately choosing her. It's really going to be interesting seeing what Matt says is the reason for the breakup with Rachael."

The spoiler blogger guessed that Matt probably broke it off with Rachael due to all the negative press surrounding the bachelorette.

"There just doesn't seem to be any other reason why a week before taping the ATFR. They've been together this whole time," Carbone reasoned

"Accusations have been out there since the night of the premiere 2 months ago. Like, WTF? Why now?... There's a lot of questions out there that definitely need to be answered."

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)


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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski