This 'Crazy Coincidence' Pushed Former Bachelor Matt James To Forgive Rachael Kirkconnell Following Racism Scandal
24.03.2022 - 18:15
/ perezhilton.com
Matt James stepped up to make the most of his connection with Rachael Kirkconnell — after she stepped up to take ownership over the concerning sorority scandal of her past.
The former Bachelor leading man, and the woman who won his season of the reality TV competition show, are the focus of James’ new memoir, First Impressions: Off-Screen Conversations With a Bachelor on Race, Family, and Forgiveness, which is set for publication in May.
And in a pre-released excerpt of the book first shared by Cosmopolitan on Wednesday, Matt lays out exactly what happened after cameras stopped filming and the anger over Rachael’s old antebellum plantation-themed party pictures subsided.
Related: Matt James Wipes ALL His ‘Bachelor’ Content Off Instagram! Yikes!
James’ excerpt picks up in rural Georgia in early 2021, where he recalls how Kirkconnell called him while she was staying with family, and he was traveling, to warn Matt of the coming racist pictures. At first, James didn’t think the scandal was going to be as significant as it was, writing that he tried to downplay it for her in private:
Once the photo was leaked on Reddit early last year, and all hell broke loose across social media, Matt explained that Rachael called him “immediately.”
Keen on explaining her side of the story, she apparently tried to put the situation into context for Matt:
Still, the physical distance between them — and having the conversation by phone — proved to be very difficult. Matt recalled how he told Rachael that he needed to see her in person and have a difficult conversation about the quickly-growing controversy before too long:
So, Matt revealed that the pair retreated to a house “in the middle-of-nowhere Georgia” to talk in person — and in private: