Matt James Posts First Photo With Rachael Kirkconnell Following Scandal, Romance Rekindling

Former The Bachelor stars Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell confirmed they are a couple again on Instagram Thursday. James, 29, posted a photo of the two during a visit to a New York City school for the ABC Food Tours charity James established with Tyler Cameron. Despite Kirkconnell’s racism scandal that engulfed James’ season of The Bachelor, the two are now dating again.

James’ Instagram post on Thursday was the first time James shared a photo with Kirkconnell, 24, since he resumed using Instagram in March. “The gift of conversation lies less in displaying it ourselves than in drawing it out of others,” James wrote. “Today we began a series focused on financial literacy (savings accounts, what is cryptocurrency, budgeting, etc.).” James noted that the goal of ABC Food Tours is to “provide access to resources, individuals, & opportunities so that our students can make informed decisions for themselves and their families.”

Kirkconnell did not post the photo on her own Instagram page, but she did share James’ post on her Instagram Story, reports PEOPLE. “What [James] said,” she wrote. “Today was a good one!” On Friday morning, she shared a post looking over the New York City skyline as she held up a dink. “Good morning + happy Friday!!! Tell someone you love them,” her caption read.

Kirkconnell received James’ final rose at the end of The Bachelor in March. During the After the Final Rose special, they revealed they broke up after photos of her at a plantation-themed party in 2018 surfaced. Kirkconnell apologized, and host Chris Harrison came under hot water for appearing to defend her. Harrison was later replaced for After the Final Rose and will not host this year’s The Bachelorette. In her apology, Kirkconnell said she was “learning and will continue to learn how to be antiracist.”

After The Bachelor ended, James deleted photos from his Instagram account, only to return in late March. His posts focused on his work with ABC Food Tours, his family, and social justice work. In April, James asked Kirkconnell to come to New York, but they didn’t immediately reunite. After photos of the two in Los Angeles and New York surfaced, James told PEOPLE on April 28 that they are back on.

This week, James told the Pomp podcast Kirckonnel gave him the “ultimatum that I needed” and their relationship has “been great” ever since. “There were rough patches in our relationship [and] we actually broke up for a moment,” James said. “We’re back together [now]. Everything we’ve been through, everything she’s been through, she’s stuck right by my side. She’s continued to have a positive attitude. It’s one of the many things I love about her.”