The Bachelor‘s Matt James Announces Split from Rachael Kirkconnell 4 Years After She Won His Season

Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell have called it quits.

The former Bachelor, 33, shared the news with a prayer on Instagram on Thursday, Jan. 16, writing, “Father God, give Rachael and I strength to mend our broken hearts. Give us a peace about this decision to end our relationship that transcends worldly understanding. Shower our friends and family with kindness and love to comfort us. And remind us that our Joy comes from you, Lord 💔”

The post was accompanied by an image of James and Kirkconnell, 28, meeting on The Bachelor for the first time. James tagged Kirkconnell in the post and turned off the comments. His latest post on his Instagram Stories featured several different pizza pies and tagged his location as being across the pond in London.

Kirkconnell did not share her own post. In fact, her last video was posted in early December and was a video birthday tribute to James.

“Happiest of birthdays to my best friend, my teammate, my sous chef, the man that has my whole heart,” Kirkconnell captioned her post. “You fill it (and my tummy) with so much love and laughter and i’m so thankful i get to dance through this life with you. thank you for your never ending love and support and smooches and snuggles. to many more adventures, happy birthday my pumpkin ♡.”

The couple met on season 25 of The Bachelor in 2020 where Kirkconnell won James’ season amid controversy. At the time, James and Kirkconnell chose to continue dating but not to get engaged during the reality show’s finale.

Kirkconnell was involved in scandal after photos of her attending an Antebellum-themed party in college surfaced. James, who was the show’s first Black Bachelor, and Kirkconnell briefly split amid the fallout. Former The Bachelor host Chris Harrison defended Kirkconnell in an interview with former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay, the first Black Bachelorette, leading to Harrison ultimately exiting the show.

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In May 2021, James and Kirkconnell confirmed that they had rekindled their romance. And in May 2022, James opened up to PEOPLE about the healing he and Kirkconnell had gone through in their relationship.

“I’ve learned a lot. And at the end of day, everything that we’ve been through has prepared us for the future,” he said at the time.

He continued, “It felt like the world was against us. Some people felt like the situation was blown out of proportion and others felt like it hadn’t gotten enough attention. We were just trying to enjoy each other and grow our relationship without having to deal with people we didn’t even know weighing in.”

In the years since, the couple have traveled the globe together and been featured regularly on one another’s social media accounts. In February 2024, James told PEOPLE that engagement was the goal when it came to his relationship with Kirkconnell and promised a “special” proposal.

“It’s about doing whatever you’re doing at your own pace, whether that’s the relationship, your job, exercise,” James told PEOPLE 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.”