The Bachelorette alum Rachel Recchia has reacted to Blake Moynes dating rumors, and her perspective on their relationship is a bit surprising.
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"We went to an event together, so he flew to L.A. Everyone wants us to be a couple so bad," Rachel said on the August 19 episode of "The Ben & Ashley I: Almost Famous Podcast."
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Rachel added, "I feel like we always address the rumor over and over again, but we're still not a couple. We're friends."
The podcast's co-host Ashley Iaconetti, however, wasn't buying it.
Ashley pointed out how Rachel and Blake "look really cute together" and so it's hard to believe the pair never made out, at the very least, during one of their hangout sessions or the wildlife conservation trip they had taken together last year.
"You've definitely made out!" Ashley quipped.
"We haven't!" Rachel confirmed. "We literally haven't. At this point, I say, 'We just should,' because then we can just be like, 'Yeah, we made out and it wasn't good.'"
But Ashley asked what would happen if kissing Blake ended up being really good.
"Maybe we should!" Rachel replied.
"I love [him]. He's my most solid guy friend. I go to him for everything," she explained. "So I'm also like, 'Who would I go to then if we had that weird kiss, and then things got awkward?'"
Ashley, who married her longtime best friend Jared Haibon after years of pining for him, advised Rachel to "do it now" before things could get really awkward.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW"One day," Rachel responded.
Rachel and Blake both appeared on Season 9 of Bachelor in Paradise in 2023. The pals chose to leave the show after not finding a serious and potentially lasting connection.
"We went to Paradise together. We've been friends and have done trips for over a year," Rachel shared of her dynamic with the wildlife manager. "If it was meant to be, I think it would have happened."
Rachel also apparently thought that ABC was going to name Blake the new The Bachelor star for Season 29 airing in early 2025.
The Season 19 The Bachelorette star admitted to Ashley she "actually was surprised" that ABC didn't choose Blake as their new leading man.
"I thought he was [going to be it]," Rachel noted.
"There's always speculation, and I think they talk to so many people. I think he would be such a good Bachelor. I want to watch wildlife dates."
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"I agree," Rachel concluded.
However, the honor went to The Bachelorette 21 alum Grant Ellis, who was just shown competing for Jenn Tran's heart.
"Maybe one year, at another time [Blake will be the Bachelor]," Rachel said. "I feel like Grant is another good pick too, but I don't know him at all. I don't know anything about him."
This past weekend, Rachel and Blake attended the Oceana Seachange Summer Party with Nautica together.
Given Rachel and Blake posed arm-in-arm on the red carpet, fans were buzzing about whether they're an item -- or about how they should be.
Rachel commented on Blake's post about the event with four heart emojis, but then Blake quickly shut down all the dating speculation.
In response to Rachel sending love, Blake wrote, "Rachel, [I] went on the bach with a chance to find a partner. Instead found a sister."
The fact Blake called Rachel his "sister" definitely implies that he doesn't view her in a romantic light.
Rachel is still single after appearing on several The Bachelor spinoffs.
Rachel first competed for Clayton Echard's heart on The Bachelor's 26th season, and after she had her heart broken by Clayton, she co-starred on The Bachelorette's nineteenth season alongside Gabby Windey.
Rachel got engaged to Tino Franco at the end of her season, but they broke up before After the Final Rose aired because he had cheated on her with another woman.
Rachel went on to appear on Bachelor in Paradise's ninth season, where she had romances with Sean McLaughlin, Brayden Bowers, Jordan Vandergriff and Tanner Courtad.
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Rachel joked with the podcast's co-hosts Susan Noles and Kathy Swarts about how she was possibly done with dating forever after a string of bad luck in that department.
Blake, meanwhile, admitted in late May that he was feeling "lost" trying to navigate his dating life after multiple stints on reality television.
Blake had dated Clare Crawley and Tayshia Adams on The Bachelorette's sixteenth season, and then he appeared on Season 17 of the show and got engaged to Katie Thurston.
Blake and Katie announced their split not long after the finale aired in October 2021, and then he went on to date Jess Girod on Bachelor in Paradise.
But Blake and Jess broke up before Fantasy Suites because she struggled to picture him as her future husband.
"I'm a confident guy, but this is one avenue right now I'm a little lost in trying to navigate," Blake told Susan and Kathy on the "Golden Hour" podcast.
"Because it is extremely difficult, and I don't have the answer right now," he added.
Susan suggested that Blake needs to find a woman who would enjoy doing the same kind of work for animals.
"Definitely would help!" Blake acknowledged. "There are just definitely slim pickings."
Kathy voiced how the right person will probably come Blake's way as long as he continues to focus on his passions, and The Bachelorette alum confirmed, "Yeah, that's the way I'm looking at it, for sure."
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Blake elaborated, "But on the flipside, if someone wants to be a part of the stuff I'm doing and wants to take on that journey with me, too, come along!"
Blake said there's "no question" in his mind that he wants to get married and have a family one day.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
