Politics
Bachelor Matt James posts first photo with Rachael Kirkconnell after getting back together following racism scandal
MATT James has confirmed his blossoming relationship with Rachael Kirkconnell despite her racism scandal that plagued the Bachelor Nation.
The Bachelor star was previously spotted vacationing with the season winner, but had not formally announced their relationship.
Matt and Rachael volunteered together on Thursday[/caption]
Matt, 29, took to Instagram to share a sweet photo as he and Rachael, 24, performed charitable acts at a New York City school.
The couple promoted “financial literacy” to those in need, and the reality star shared a picture of the special occasion.
The ABC frontrunner stood smiling while watching his girlfriend hug a child as the two taught cryptocurrency to a classroom.
“The gift of conversation lies less in displaying it ourselves than in drawing it out of others 
,” Matt captioned the shot.
The Bachelor stars previously split ways[/caption]
They seemed to have rekindled[/caption]
“Today we began a series focused on financial literacy (savings accounts, what is crypto currency, budgeting, etc.) 
“Our goal is (and always has been) to provide access to resources, individuals, & opportunities so that our students can make informed decisions for themselves and their families 
,” he explained, before closing with “Feed | Educate | Connect.”
Despite breaking up for a brief period of time in March, Matt and Rachael decided to give their a relationship another shot as the Bachelor star shared the news in April.
The former football player told PEOPLE: “I’m not pursuing any relationships right now outside of that. I said I was going to focus on my relationship with her and that means focusing on it.”
Matt has been ‘focusing’ on his relationship with Rachael[/caption]
They’ve been traveling to see one another[/caption]
When asked if the season winner had been working to educate herself on racism after her viral scandal, he replied with “that’s something you could talk to her about.”
“A lot of what I’m focused on right now is the work that I’m doing in the community and with the [marathon] training.”
Matt chose Rachael over Michelle Young during the Bachelor season 25 final rose ceremony.
However, the reality star canceled their final date once word emerged that the brunette had attended an Old South antebellum party while in college.
She apologized for her behavior[/caption]
“I was very blindsided. But once that initial reaction went away, I thought about how strong I thought our relationship was, so for him to end things, he must have been very, very hurt by everything,” she explained.
After photos surfaced of Rachael dressed in plantation garb and standing in front of a confederate flag, Matt admitted he “wasn’t okay,” and that “Rachael might not understand what it means to be Black in America.”
During the After the Final Rose ceremony the couple confirmed their split, as the TV personality said: “If you don’t understand that something like that is problematic in 2018, there’s a lot of me that you won’t understand. It’s as simple as that.”
However, after reuniting, Rachael offered an apology to her ex, as she admitted causing his “hurt.”
The couple recently vacationed to Miami[/caption]
“I just want to take the time to say I’m really sorry.
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“I really tried to put myself into your shoes as much as I could, I really do think that our relationship was very strong and the love that we shared was very real, so for you to end things I realize that must’ve been really hard for you as well, to where you must have been hurting,” she gushed.
The couple has fully rekindled after vacationing in Miami and spending time together in Matt’s native New York.
