The Bachelor alum Matt James has explained why he doesn't feel pressure to propose marriage to girlfriend Rachael Kirkconnell.

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The Bachelor's 25th season filmed in late 2020 and aired in early 2021.

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

While Matt's journey to find love on the show didn't end in an engagement, he and his winner, Rachael, have been happily dating for well over three years now.

"We're doing great. I feel like when you feel pressure, it's when you don't want to do something. So I've never really felt pressure [to get engaged] because it's something that I've always wanted to do," Matt, 32, told Us Weekly.

"And it's something that we're going to do at some point. That's why we're together and what we're working toward. I'm excited about our future."

When Matt is finally ready to pop the question, he admitted it may be difficult to completely surprise the love of his life.

Matt joked of Rachael, 27, "She asks a million questions. 'Why are you asking me to get my nails done? Why are we doing this?' She's just so intuitive that it's going to be tricky."

"It's going to be tough because she needs a reason why we do anything -- and not a crazy reason, [but] just to know why," The Bachelor 25 alum continued.

"She never does something just to do it. So when that happens, I'll have to think outside the box. I'll have to stretch the truth on why we're doing something."

It's also hard for Matt to fathom that ABC had announced him as The Bachelor star a whopping four years ago.

When asked to give his younger self some advice, Matt quipped, "That's a good question. What would I tell Matt? I'd probably tell him that Tom Brady's going to win a Super Bowl, so put some money on the Bucs."

But on a serious note, Matt told the magazine, "I would say, 'Just enjoy the process. It's going to be crazy, but just trust yourself.' Because I don't regret anything that's happened over the past four years. It's been amazing."

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Matt gave his final rose to Rachael on The Bachelor's Season 25 finale, and despite a two-month split in early 2021, they've been going strong as a couple ever since April 2021.

Matt teased in February that he and Rachael are happy doing things at their own pace. He explained at the time, "If you do things that other people want you to do and you don't consider y'all's feelings, then I think that is a recipe for disaster."

But Matt said his marriage proposal to Rachael will be "special" -- not on the couch at home -- when that time comes and he's "definitely excited" about the idea of taking their relationship to the next level.

In July 2023, Matt and Rachael discussed with Us how they didn't get annoyed by Bachelor Nation's fascination with their relationship and when they're going to break up or get engaged.

"We post and share every aspect of our lives. So for people to be curious means that we're, you know, keeping them in the loop and we want them in the loop."

Rachael agreed that she understood and embraced the hype surrounding her relationship, especially because fans had been hoping for a marriage proposal at the end of Matt's The Bachelor season.

But The Bachelor winner asked fans to consider the fact she and Matt weren't able to spend a lot of time together while filming The Bachelor and so their romance truly started in the real world, away from cameras.

"It's not that weird [to not be engaged]. I feel like that's pretty normal," Rachael explained earlier this summer. "I feel like we're doing all the right things to take our relationship to the next step."

The Bachelor winner and Matt gushed about how they're extremely happy with their relationship.

"Matt really is just my best friend," Rachael told the magazine.

"I think at the end of the day, it's just really fun to live the life that we live together. I don't think anything that we do would be nearly as fun if I weren't with him."

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Rachael continued, "I love our dynamic, I think that we make each other better people. We bring out the better version of ourselves. I think we have a lot to teach each other."

Matt also agreed that he's been dating his best friend, which "makes everything that much better."

"You get to enjoy life with that person," the former The Bachelor star elaborated. "It's a great come true. We're always telling ourselves how blessed we are."

Rachael told Us in June 2022 of taking her relationship with Matt to the next level, "The only timeline I give him is I was like, 'I've got to have kids before, you know, I can't have kids.' So keep that in mind."

Rachael said she and Matt weren't concerned with others' expectations for their relationship and future together.

"I feel like it's pretty crucial to just have fun with one another no matter where we're at or what we're doing," Rachael shared. "We got to make the most of everything."

And Matt told the Los Angeles Times around the same time, "We're one of the only couples from that franchise still going strong. The reason is we're going at things at our own pace. We're not playing games that a lot of people play just to stay in that circle."

After falling in love on The Bachelor, Matt and Rachael briefly split in February 2021 during Rachael's memorable racism controversy, which resulted in former The Bachelor host Chris Harrison and ABC agreeing to part ways.

But Rachael was extremely apologetic, and so she and Matt reconciled in April 2021.

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

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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