Catherine Giudici / Instagram

'The Bachelor' alum Catherine Giudici gives Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell relationship advice

By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 05/11/2021

The Bachelor alum Catherine Giudici is giving Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell her best advice as they continue to try to make their relationship work.

"Just commit to each other," Catherine, 35, told Us Weekly on Monday.

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Catherine, who is happily married with three children to The Bachelor's Season 17 star Sean Lowe, said of Matt and his The Bachelor Season 25 winner, "If they want to be together, [they should] commit to each other and know that there's a lot of noise out there."

Catherine suggested Matt and Rachael must "really look at each other and say, 'Is this something real?' And I think that's what they're doing."

Matt and Rachael fell in love on The Bachelor's 25th season, which filmed in late 2020 and aired earlier this year. But then Matt revealed on After the Final Rose he had broken up with Rachael in February -- shortly after Rachael apologized for her racially-ignorant and insensitive actions in the last several years -- to allow the Georgia native time to educate herself on racism in society and become a better person.

But according to Reality Steve spoiler blogger Steve Carbone, Matt began FaceTiming with Rachael every day following their ATFR appearance, saying he still loved her and wanted her back.

The pair therefore reunited in early April in New York City and have hung out about a handful of times since then.

"They are back together, but Matt is hesitant to publicly and outrightly confirm it right now because it's still fresh and they still have issues to work through... He's feeling pressure to set a good example for other Black men," a source recently told The New York Post's Page Six.

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Catherine said she believes Matt and Rachael's break probably brought them closer together.

"I think taking a break and reconnecting is going to be really good for their relationship," Catherine shared.

Matt told WSJ Magazine earlier this month he and Rachael are "trying to make it work" and are having "critical conversations" about what it means to be in a biracial relationship and what Matt needs in a partner, "especially if that woman isn't Black," to understand his perspective.

"It's on people who care about being allies to do the work to be truly antiracist," Matt said. "And I think it's unfair to leave people without the ability to unlearn and be better."

Matt confirmed to People late last month he's "not pursuing any relationships right now outside" of his with Rachael, who has defended Matt against harassment and called him the love of her life.

"I [am] going to focus on my relationship with her," Matt noted.

When People asked Matt whether Rachael has done the work she promised, Matt replied, "That's something you could talk to her about."

Matt and Rachael's apparent April reconciliation came about a week after Us Weekly reported the pair were "on non-speaking terms" due to The Bachelor star's alleged attempt to two-time Rachael.

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Matt was accused of "trying to hook up" with a woman named Grace in Florida on April 4 and treating her like "a booty call" before reuniting with Rachael in New York only two days later, according to Carbone.

A source told Us last month that Rachael thought she and Matt were on the track to getting back together but once she found out about Grace, she felt "manipulated," "played" and "devastated" by her then ex-boyfriend.

As for Catherine, she and Sean fell in love and got engaged on The Bachelor's 2013 season and subsequently tied the knot in a January 2014 televised special on ABC.