'Bachelor' star Rachael Kirkconnell defends Matt James from 'repulsive' online racism following split

Going out on top. Former Bachelor producer Sarah Gertrude Shapiro was impressed by the end of season 25 of the ABC reality series. Although Matt James and winner Rachael Kirkconnell left the season dating, they split amid her resurfaced racially insensitive Instagram posts, as revealed on the After the Final Rose special.

Bri Springs is hopeful for the future of Bachelor Nation, but the season 25 contestant isn’t sure she wants to be a part of it.

Matt James is starting fresh. The "Bachelor" star, 29, who split from season 25 contestant Rachael Kirkconnell, removed all traces of the 24-year-old Georgia native -- and all other social media posts -- from his Instagram profile on Friday.

Matt James is starting over!

Spilling the Bachelor tea! Matt James is opening up about his journey as the Bachelor following the end of season 25, which left him single after a public breakup with winner Rachael Kirkconnell.

Clean slate. Matt James deleted all the photos from his Instagram on Friday, March 19.

Matt James' brother is giving an update on the former Bachelor's state of mind following the conclusion of his season of the show. On Friday's episode of Rachel Lindsay and Van Lathan's podcast, John James, a rapper who goes by John the Scorpio, said Matt is «doing good» after his split from Rachael Kirkconnell.On Monday's finale, Matt professed his love for Rachael and the pair decided to leave the show in a committed relationship, though not engaged.

Rachel Lindsay is speaking out following Matt James' finale. The former Bachelorette, who's been outspoken on this season's controversies, shared her thoughts on her and Van Lathan's podcast, ,on Friday. «This is tough for Matt,» Lindsay said. «Matt's in a bad situation.»On Monday's finale, James professed his love for Rachael Kirkconnell and the pair decided to leave the show in a committed relationship, though not engaged.

Rachael Kirkconnell is telling off a certain nasty group of Bachelor Nation fans — and deservedly so.

Rachael Kirkconnell is urging Bachelor Nation to stop directing hate at Matt James after their messy split played out on the season 25 finale of The Bachelor.

The reaction that Bachelor Nation has been waiting for. Rachel Lindsay shared her thoughts on Matt James’ split from Rachael Kirkconnell after the Monday, March 15, finale of The Bachelor.

Matt James is in the market…for a therapist, not someone to give a rose to. One day after the 29-year-old real estate professional’s season of The Bachelor ended, he appeared to reference the drama that played out on our television screens. “Google…Therapist…Near me,” Matt jokingly tweeted on March 16 (replace the dots with emojis of a hand writing, though).

Bachelor viewers weren’t the only ones surprised to learn that Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell had already called it quits. Season 25 finalist Bri Springs spoke exclusively to Us Weekly after the Monday, March 15, finale, revealing that she has mixed feelings about the pair going their separate ways.

Rachael Kirkconnell spoke out about her split from Matt James following the conclusion of their season of "The Bachelor."  After selecting her as the winner of his season, James revealed during the "After the Final Rose" special that they had already ended their relationship, despite falling in love on the show, due to the scandal that emerged off-camera, which included claims of racism against her.  On Tuesday, Kirkconnell took to Instagram to unpack the breakup and let fans know that James is

Still dealing with the aftermath. Matt James got candid about his split from Rachael Kirkconnell and the future of Bachelor Nation during his first interview after the Monday, March 15, finale.

Not exactly a fairy tale ending. Rachael Kirkconnell penned a note about her love for Matt James after he broke off their romance while season 25 of The Bachelor was still airing.