The Bachelor alum Matt James has revealed that girlfriend Rachael Kirkconnell and his longtime best friend Tyler Cameron may be a little hot and cold towards each other.
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Matt, 30, and Rachael, 25, have seemingly been inseparable ever since, given they've traveled together and have talked about possibly getting engaged.
But before Rachael, there was Tyler -- and Matt and Tyler's bromance goes all the way back to their college days when they both played football at Wake Forest University. The guys also run ABC Food Tours together.
During a recent appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Matt confessed Rachael and Tyler have a "love-hate relationship," according to People.
However, Matt, 30, made the admission during a rapid-fire game that prevented Matt from elaborating on his surprising statement.
Back in June 2021, Tyler said he definitely approved of Rachael and her relationship with Matt.
"Rachael is awesome. She's a beam of light," Tyler, 29, gushed to Us Weekly at the time.
"I really enjoyed hanging out with her, spending time with her. We had a good time."
It's probably safe to assume Rachael and Tyler -- who is currently "very single" -- have a "love-hate relationship" because Matt's time is torn between the two of them.
Matt and Tyler quarantined together, along with former The Bachelorette star Hannah Brown, at the start of the coronavirus in 2020, and Matt became close with Hannah, who broke Tyler's heart on her season.
Once Matt found Rachael, the pair partied with Tyler and model Camila Kendra in 2021, but Camila allegedly dumped the Season 15 The Bachelorette runner-up in August 2021 after eight months of dating.
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Camila appeared to break up with Tyler shortly after he publicly announced that he was "very in love" with her.
"Things were going well until they weren't," an insider told Us last summer. "Friends were surprised things ended so quickly."
But Matt and Rachael's relationship only seems to be getting stronger.
Andy Cohen asked Matt when he's planning to "make it official" and pop the question, and Rachael reportedly interjected, "Thank you for asking."
Matt didn't provide a straight answer but instead noted how he'll propose marriage "when the time's right," according to People.
Matt said he had a feeling Rachael was The One when they met on the very first night of filming The Bachelor's 25th season.
"When I met everybody that first night and our interaction was the most genuine," Matt said on Watch What Happens Live. "I was looking for that genuine connection and just realness and she exuded it. And there it is."
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Matt revealed in an excerpt of his book obtained by Us that he wanted to spend all of his time with Rachael while taping the show.
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Matt also shared how he knew "early in the process" that he was going to pick Rachael as his winner, way ahead of the finale, which also featured his runner-up Michelle Young.
"In the beginning, she cut through the polished front I'd honed and into my nerdy side," Matt reportedly wrote of Rachael.
"We debated who was the bigger fan of How to Train Your Dragon and Marvel movies. I observed her empathy from afar, noticed how her kindness extended beyond our time alone and to everyone else she encountered."
Matt was also apparently smitten with the Atlanta native's kind heart and family values.
Matt sent Michelle home before his final date with Rachael and ultimately gave his final rose to Rachael.
The pair briefly split in February 2021 when racially-ignorant and racially-insensitive photos from Rachael's past resurfaced online, including a 2018 image of Rachael attending an antebellum-themed "Old South" party at her Georgia college with sorority sisters.
Matt said he decided to forgive Rachael, but then they didn't speak for weeks until immediately before reuniting in March 2021 for the live The Bachelor: After the Final Rose special.
And the pair's dynamic onstage appeared tense and cold. Matt explained on After the Final Rose how he wanted to give Rachael some time to educate herself on racism in society and gain awareness.
Matt admitted that he "took advantage" of his "undefined, gray space" with Rachael after the live special and "reconnected with former flings," including a woman named Grace in Miami, FL.
When Rachael found out, she felt betrayed and therefore gave Matt an ultimatum to date her -- and her alone -- or they'd be finished forever.
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Matt wasn't sure he'd ever see Rachael again after that argument, but he "pleaded, coaxed and convinced" her to meet up with him in Atlanta in April 2021.
The couple apparently hashed out their issues in a parking lot while sitting in Rachael's car.
"We talked for four hours in that car about all of the issues that had kept us apart -- her mistakes, my mistakes, insecurities, family drama, public perception, and everything else under the sun," Matt wrote.
"I decided to be better going forward. She had done self-work that I hadn't reciprocated. I promised her that I was all in. It was the best decision I could have made."
Matt recently said his relationship with Rachael is thriving due to good communication, spending a lot of time with each other, getting to know each other on a deep level, and building trust.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
