However, the couple split in February 2021 -- before Season 25's finale aired on ABC the following month -- 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.
Rachael issued multiple apologies on social media, but Matt explained on The Bachelor: After the Final Rose in March that he wanted to give Rachael some time to educate herself on racism in society and gain awareness.
Matt apparently needed to know that Rachael could support him and truly understand his perspective as a Black man in America.
But according to Reality Steve spoiler blogger Steve Carbone, Matt could only stand his breakup from Rachael for about a month because he allegedly began texting and FaceTiming her every day following their ATFR appearance, saying he still loved her and wanted her back.
Matt and Rachael apparently reunited on April 4 in New York City to give their relationship another shot, and they proceeded to hang out in Los Angeles and Miami before becoming an official couple again.
"There were rough patches in our relationship," Matt acknowledged during the May 25 episode of "The Pomp Podcast," likely alluding to the fact he had been accused of trying to hook up with an old Miami-based flame named Grace shortly before flying Rachael to New York to see him in early April.
Matt explained there was a point in time when he "wasn't really honoring" the commitment he had made to Rachael to work on their relationship" but a "come-to-Jesus meeting" with the brunette beauty got the couple's romance back on the right track.
"[Rachael] was like, 'If you're going to make this work, then let's do it. But, if you're not going to make it work, then I'm going to let you do your own thing.' That's really all I needed," Matt recalled.
Matt added, "The best thing about Rachael is her heart. She's the most kind, caring, and understanding person I've ever met... Everything we've been through, everything she's been through, she's stuck right by my side. She's continued to have a positive attitude."
