Rachael Kirkconnell received a rose from The Bachelor star Matt James after Fantasy Suites and is hoping to also earn his final rose.
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Rachael is a 24-year-old graphic designer and Georgia native.
"I feel it with every ounce of my being that he is who I'm supposed to be. It's scary because I still have that chance of losing him, but I know I want it more than anything I've ever wanted," Rachael told the cameras.
In fact, Rachael said her "worst nightmare" was Matt spending the night with another woman, and she had to endure Matt enjoying overnight dates with Michelle Young and Bri Springs as well.
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But Rachael gained all the confidence she needed back during her alone time with the Bachelor, and she planned on being intimate with Matt since she could envision herself spending the rest of her life with him.
"I am one hundred percent completely ready for [marriage] if you give us a chance and I'm ready to take on life with you and whatever comes our way," Rachael told Matt.
"If you had a ring in your pocket and pulled it out right now, I would say, 'yes.' I've been ready for weeks at this point!"
Matt gushed about how Rachael is smart, beautiful, articulate and sexy, and he wanted to show Rachael how much he truly cared about her.
"What we have, you can't have that with two other women," Rachael noted.
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Until viewers can watch The Bachelor's Season 25 finale and find out whether Matt picks Rachael in the end, let's learn some things about the bachelorette right now and get to know her better.
Below is a list of 15 facts Reality TV World has compiled about Rachael Kirkconnell.
Rachael Kirkconnell claims she went on The Bachelor for the right reasons
Rachael insists Matt is the reason why she decided to apply for The Bachelor and appear on the show for its 2021 season.The bachelorette liked the idea of both Matt and herself appearing on the reality show for the first time given Matt had never competed on The Bachelorette prior to being named The Bachelor star for Season 25.
Rachael predicted the pair would have a lot of fun together on the show as newbies.
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The Bachelor bachelorette's zodiac sign is Libra
Rachael was born on September 26, 1996 in Cumming, GA. Her parents are named Darrell and Kim, and she has one brother named Greyson and a younger sister named Trinity.There's more to Rachael than just her sweet smile
When announcing Matt's cast of bachelorettes in a Facebook Live video, The Bachelor host Chris Harrison revealed, "Rachael is just a down-to-earth southern girl, really personable and just as sweet as cotton candy.""But also very competitive," Chris added.
"Don't let that southern side fool ya! Again, I go back to [Hannah Brown] and [Hannah Ann Sluss] and all of our Hannahs. She has that sweet southern charm, but trust me, they can take care of their own."
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Rachael didn't move far away from home to attend college
Rachael graduated from Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville, GA in May 2019 with a BBA Marketing degree.Rachael made the Dean's List for multiple semesters.
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The brunette beauty was hoping to fall in love for the first time on The Bachelor
Rachael claims to be a hopeless romantic to her core, but she admits her past relationships didn't work out partially because she lacked confidence.Rachael has apparently never been in love before, just like Matt, but she believed Matt had the potential to change that for her.
Rachael says she is hoping her love story will be something huge and life altering.
Rachael appears to be a well-traveled social butterfly
According to Rachael's social-media account, she has traveled quite a bit for a 24 year old.Dubbed a "southern sweetheart" by ABC, Rachael has visited Saint John in the U.S. Virgin Islands and also touched down in many U.S. states with her friends -- including Florida, New York, California, Chicago, Louisiana, Las Vegas, North Carolina, and Alabama.
The Bachelor bachelorette attempts to live big with no regrets
Nothing makes Rachael happier than a good movie, good wine and charcuterie boards.She says she wants to look back on her life when she's old and feel like she has made the absolute most out of every single day.
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Rachael would describe her ideal relationship as "special"
Rachael hopes to find a man who will make every day with her special and something to tell their future children about.Rachael has said, "At the end of the day, love is what makes your life more special than others."
"Life can be hard and really difficult and dark at times, but if you have someone by your side that loves you more than they love themselves, that makes it all worth it in the end," she added.
Rachael has been in a social-media controversy since The Bachelor premiered
A TikTok user named Maddy Bierster posted a video clip in early January of Rachael and Matt talking on Night 1 at the cocktail party on Reddit and wrote over the image, "Girlieeee, remember when you bullied me in high school for liking black guys???"Maddy also captioned her post on TikTok, "BECAUSE I REMEMBER."
Reality Steve spoiler blogger Steve Carbone shared his thoughts on the controversy when he tweeted January 4, "Think it's all fun and games and IG shilling being a contestant on this show? Not necessarily when anyone from your past can throw out accusations and you won't be able to defend yourself for a while."
Maddy later insisted in videos on her TikTok she'd never lie about anything so serious and Rachael and her friend group in high school had "ridiculed" her for dating a boy of a different race. She suggested Rachael is hypocritical and needs to be held accountable for her actions.
Maddy also claimed she never received an apology from Rachael and would like one.
In addition, Rachael has been accused of cultural appropriation and liking photos with offensive and racist content on Instagram, such as two girlfriends posing in front of a Confederate flag.
And in February, photos also resurfaced of Rachael with her sorority sisters attending an antebellum plantation-themed "Old South" fraternity formal at Georgia College & State University in 2018, which was only three years ago.
Reality Steve spoiler blogger Steve Carbone reposted two photos from the party February 5 on Twitter and tweeted how this was "unacceptable" and "wildly ignorant" of Rachael to do.
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Rachael has apologized for her "offensive and racist" behavior
The Bachelor bachelorette took to Instagram in mid-February with a lengthy apology."While there have been rumors circulating, there have also been truths that have come to light that I need to address. I hear you, and I'm here to say I was wrong," Rachael wrote.
"At one point, I didn't recognize how offensive and racist my actions were, but that doesn't excuse them. My age or when it happened does not excuse anything. They are not acceptable or okay in any sense. I was ignorant, but my ignorance was racist."
Rachael added, "I am sorry to the communities and individuals that my actions harmed and offended. I am ashamed about my lack of education, but it is no one's responsibility to educate me."
Rachael continued in her apology, "I am learning and will continue to learn how to be antiracist, because it's important to speak up in the moment and not after you're called out. If you are a person who doesn't understand the offense in question, I urge you to learn from my mistakes and encourage you to use them as a teachable moment."
"As for my family, I love them and how they raised me to be my own individual," Rachael wrote.
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"They have always encouraged me to have my own views, opinions, and beliefs. As I was thinking about what I wanted to say, I couldn't help but think about how sick people must be of reading these kinds of statements; how a person didn't realize the trauma that their actions would inflict on other people. It must get so exhausting."
Rachael therefore said she wants to put her "energy towards preventing people from making the same offensive mistakes that I made in the first place, and I hope I can prove this to you moving forward."
She concluded her post, "Racial progress and unity are impossible without (white) accountability, and I deserve to be held accountable for my actions. I will never grow unless I recognize what I have done is wrong. I don't think one apology means that I deserve your forgiveness, but rather I hope I can earn your forgiveness through my future actions."
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Rachael claims she's educating herself on racism in society to better herself
Rachael has provided her followers with resources to use and learn from in the wake of her racism controversy, and she also took to Instagram on February 28 to show her support of The Bachelorette alum Rachel Lindsay, who felt the need to delete her Instagram account since people were bullying and harassing her over Chris Harrison's leave of absence from the franchise."You have the opportunity to make a positive difference, to use your energy towards change, and to come together and realize what's right in a time like this. If you are choosing to rather spread hate, to send cruel, vicious messages, to be mad about people being hurt by racism... do better," Rachael wrote on her Instagram.
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"Be better. Rachel Lindsay and other BIPOC have called for myself and others to be held accountable. This is needed, and she does not deserve the hate she is receiving. Recognize that she along with every person you send hateful messages to, are human. We are real people, and she should not have to disable her account to escape this toxicity."
Rachael concluded, "This is not okay. She is doing the hard work that needs to be done for change, and does not deserve to be silenced or ridiculed. If you are someone that has been cruel, find what fuels this hate in your heart, and fix it."
Rachael's mother Kim Kirkconnell insists her daughter is not a racist
Kim recently defended her daughter and explained Rachael has been "suffering the consequences" of the social-media scandal that "has been demoralizing and depressing," according to the U.K.'s The Sun."No one should have to go through what she has been through," Kim noted, adding that the fallout from the racism controversy has been "devastating and heartbreaking, to put it bluntly."
Kim said Rachael -- who has Latina heritage through her father, Darrell Kirkconnell -- is actually "very passionate" about the Black Lives Matter movement and issues regarding race and the bachelorette "feels like she let everyone down."
Kim claimed Rachael never bullied Maddy in high school and Maddy has "committed slander and libel and was served a cease and desist with which she chose not to comply."
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In regards to the photo of Rachael in Native American costume, Kim said Rachael was not yet educated about cultural appropriation in 2015. Kim also said Rachael never "registered" that a Confederate flag was in the background of a photo she liked.
Kim also told The Sun of the Old South fraternity party, "The world 'antebellum' was never used to describe the event," adding that Rachael thought she was attending a "Rose Ball."
"The event made no references to the Civil War... no Confederate flags were present, and no Confederate outfits were worn," Kim explained. "They did not party on a plantation in the dresses. They took some pictures, changed, and went to the beach."
Kim revealed that Rachael actually "chose to disassociate" herself from Greek life once she discovered "problematic and racist behavior" in the community not long after attending the formal.
"She dropped out of her sorority that same year and was disaffiliated for the rest of her time in school because she did not share their views and beliefs and did not want to be a part of it anymore," Kim shared.
"Rachael now knows the full extent of the history behind Kappa Alpha and their formal and feels horrible that she hurt people by attending."
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Kim also argued her family's voting registration and the fact they've supported the Republican Party and former President Donald Trump does not support claims they are racist.
The graphic designer is a dog mom and they're a package deal
Rachael apparently has a love for animals and got a puppy she named Winnie in 2017.In November 2017, Rachael shared multiple photos with her brown and black furbaby, who appears to be a dachshund mix.
Rachael captioned the slideshow, "If you know me you know this is my dream. I can't wait to spoil you my little baby Winnie, momma loves you way too much already."
The Bachelor's Sarah Trott doesn't believe Rachael is a mean girl
Sarah revealed to Entertainment Tonight that Rachael and Bri Springs attempted to console her when she felt attacked by the other girls and decided to quit The Bachelor, although the sweet moment wasn't shown on television."A scene that didn't make it, Rachael and Bri are so sweet and they came to comfort me," Sarah shared.
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"I did make good friends and there were moments where I was thinking, 'These are friendships that I can have moving forward.' So I think that's a positive, too."
Sarah therefore told ET that she hopes Matt ended up choosing Rachael or Bri in the end.
"They were the first to comfort me and they were absolute sweethearts," Sarah recalled.
"I can imagine them being in the Top 4 just because they are really sweet and smart girls, from what I saw, and that is the kind of person Matt should end up with."
Rachael can be impatient and messy, but is also neat
Rachael's favorite way to pass the time is by doodling.The bachelorette hates slow drivers.
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And Rachael says she is very neat with organization and cleanliness but messy when it comes to planning and scheduling.
Rachael Kirkconnell Photos
Click the BEGIN GALLERY link below to see some additional photos of Rachael!RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
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