"Waste Of A Season": Rachael Kirkconnell Reveals Bachelor Producers Made Her Feel Like A Failure, Confirming They Don't Care About The Cast

The Bachelor season 25 winner Rachael Kirkconnell is speaking out after Matt James broke up with her, revealing that the producers made her feel like a failure because they didn't get engaged at the end of their season, and this proves that they don't care about the cast. In 2021, Matt and Rachael's Bachelor endingaired, revealing that they'd left together in a relationship, rather than engaged. However, they split before the finale because of Rachael's racially insensitive past, but they got back together a few months later. However, in January 2025, Matt blindsided Rachael by breaking up with her.

Rachael shared that the Bachelor producers made her feel like a failure and like the season was a waste because she and Matt didn't get engaged.

On the Call Her Daddy podcast, Rachael revealed that the Bachelor producers made her feel like a failure and like the season was a "waste" because she and Matt didn't get engaged. Rachael explained that when Matt said that he couldn't propose, she wasn't disappointed, but she was wondering if he still wanted to be with her.

Rachael said, "Then when he was like, 'I still want to be with you. I want to try this out in the real world,' I was excited, but the rest of the [people] felt like they were literally breaking down the set as we were still doing our final [scenes]. They were done. They were like, 'waste of a season.' I felt like a failure 'cause they didn't get an engagement out of it."

Then when he was like, "I still want to be with you. I want to try this out in the real world," I was excited, but the rest of the [people] felt like they were literally breaking down the set as we were doing our final [scenes]. They were done. They were like, "waste of a season." I felt like a failure 'cause they didn't get an engagement out of it.

What The Bachelor Season 25 Producers' Reaction To Matt & Rachael Not Getting Engaged Means

The Bachelor Producers Don't Care About The Cast

As the first Black Bachelor, Matt broke ground on the show, but his season has always been criticized for its tremendous failures. From the focus on the drama among the women to the accusations of racism outside of the show to the lack of an engagement, Matt's season was one of the most controversial.

Rachael had participated in racially insensitive activities in the past, such as liking social media photographs showing the Confederate flag and going to an antebellum South-themed college party. Matt broke up with her because he said that she didn't think that she understood what it meant to be Black in America. However, Matt and Rachael surprised everyone when they got back together and stayed a couple for four years after their finale, which is one of the longest Bachelor relationships.

However, it's very telling that Rachael is now revealing that the producers made her feel like a failure and like the season was a waste because she and Matt didn't get engaged. They didn't care that leaving in a relationship was what was best for Matt and Rachael because they had their own agenda. The fact that they'd be breaking down the set while Matt and Rachael were still filming their final scenes together proves that they had no respect for their relationship and didn't care about them.

Our Take On Rachael Kirkconnell's Bachelor 25 Revelations

The Bachelor Producers Must Do Better

The Bachelor producers have long been criticized for their lack of care for the lead and the contestants. They've exploited and humiliated people on the show, focusing on their failures and turning them into a circus for ratings. However, Matt's decision not to propose was actually more logical than jumping into an engagement, and it shouldn't have been viewed as a failure at all. It was what was best for him and Rachael at the time.

The Bachelor producers must do better when it comes to how they treat their casts. Their lack of care for the lead and contestants' well-being is problematic. Rachael shouldn't have been made to feel like a failure or a waste of time just because the show didn't end how they wanted it to. Hopefully, the Bachelor producers have learned from their mistakes, and will do better with Grant Ellis' season, which is currently airing.

The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.

Source: Call Her Daddy