Rachael Kirkconnell Denies Infidelity Led to Matt James Split But Says There's 'No' Chance of Reconciliation: 'We're Out'

Rachael Kirkconnell has spoken.

The former Bachelor contestant, 28, was spotted at LAX on Monday, Jan. 27 and approached by TMZ, which led to break her silence on her split from Matt James for the first time.

Kirkconnell — who met James on his season of the ABC dating series in 2020 — said she's "doing okay" and "hanging in there" as she boarded an escalator and approached the security line in the airport. "It's nothing that you can prepare for, so yeah, you just take it one day at a time," she said of navigating a breakup in the public eye.

When asked what happened that led to the split — which James, 33, announced in a cryptic Instagram post on Jan. 16 — Kirkconnell responded, "Things will start to come out and I'll speak about it whenever I'm ready. But for now, I'm just protecting my peace."

She did clarify, though, that there was "no" infidelity involved, but still, when asked about the potential for a reconciliation, she said, "No. Yeah, we're out."

Kirkconnell is expected to open up more about the breakup during an appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast, which was recently announced by host Alex Cooper. The episode will debut on Jan. 28.

In James' post, he shared a photo of his first time meeting Kirkconnell, as he wrote a prayer and asked for "strength to mend our broken hearts" after they'd made a "decision to end our relationship."

Following his announcement, Kirkconnell shed some light on her stance on the breakup on social media — and hinted that she might have been "blindsided" by it.

Fans noticed she had liked some comments on her most recent Instagram post — which happens to be a gushy birthday tribute for James — related to the split.

"The more I'm thinking about it the more I think he completely blindsided her with this," one fan wrote in a comment she liked. "Give her some grace and let her respond in her own time."

She also liked two other comments, one that said simply, "I'm so sorry," and another that said, "Praying for you, babe ❤️‍🩹 for your peace and healing."

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Her sister also weighed in, writing on TikTok that James and Kirkconnell were "still together" when he was posting from their London vacation just 12 hours before the breakup announcement. She also revealed that his post came just "3 hours" after the couple had decided to go their separate ways.