Will Rachael Kirkconnell win? Here's why 'racism' row won't change Michelle Young's fate in ‘The Bachelor' finale

Rachael had liked her friends' photos featuring the confederate flag and pictures of her from an antebellum-plantation-themed ball
Rachael Kirkconnell, Matt James and Michelle Young in 'The Bachelor' (ABC)
Rachael Kirkconnell, Matt James and Michelle Young in 'The Bachelor' (ABC)

'The Bachelor' Season 25 will air the finale episode on Monday, March 15, 2021. Matt James began this journey 11 weeks ago on the show with a diverse group consisting of 32 women. Over the weeks, five more women who chose to battle for his heart were introduced into the competition, the finalist Michelle Young being one of them. Heather Martin too gatecrashed the show and wanted a chance to be in the running, making her the 38th woman who showed up for Matt, however, he sent her packing just as quickly as she arrived.

Rachael Kirkconnell and Michelle are the two women who've survived through the weeks where they've participated in a number of group dates, survived all the whining, gossiping and bullying, and also the overbearing fact that Matt had been forming connections with the other women and it wasn't necessarily restricted to the emotional aspect.

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Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell in 'The Bachelor' (ABC)

Just last week during the fantasy suite dates episode Rachael was seen losing all her chill at the fact that Matt was possibly bedding the other two women and that too before she received her invite to the said date. Forty-eight hours of pure agony is what she went through but at the end of it, Matt was able to kiss and make up with her and everything was rosy in their world yet again. 

Matt showed interest and formed promising relationships with a lot of women, including his top three which also had Bri Springs in the lineup. Abigail Heringer too shared a close bond with him and so did Pieper James. But the Bachelor dumped all of them and with just two women left in the running, it's clear that Rachael is going to win this thing and end up with a proposal from Matt, not the marriage kind though. There are reports that confirm he didn't put a ring on it but he definitely dumped Michelle and chose Rachael over her.

Rachael Kirkconnell and Matt James in 'The Bachelor' (ABC)

This should not come as a surprise as all the episodes of this season built up to this. Rachael was the only woman who got an 'I love you' back from Matt during the course of the show. She was the only one who had the best possible dates with him, remember the shopping spree with a personal stylist and Matt, the one where she scored a pair of red bottoms amongst other fancy stuff. Then the private concert with Aloe Blacc where she danced and kissed the night away with Matt.



 

Also don't forget the skydiving date she took Matt to in a fancy supercar, yes the one where she fell face down into the grass while landing from the parachute. Bri and Michelle's dates were nowhere close to Rachael's in terms of grandiose and the sizzling chemistry that she shared with Matt was nothing compared to the other women. Also, he called her "smart and articulate" amongst other adjectives when all Rachael was seen doing on the episodes was speaking about how ready she was to be a wife to Matt and how she can't breathe when he's in front of her.



 

'The Bachelor' was mired in the biggest racism row to date and Rachael was at the center of it. Her Instagram history revealed problematic details of how she had liked her friends' photos featuring the confederate flag and pictures of her from an antebellum-plantation-themed ball were released by a Redditor, a week after the season started airing. Rachael has apologized since then but the hatred towards the show and her, in particular, hasn't died down.

Matt has released a statement of his own that hints he has broken up with her, however, this and the outrage isn't going to change anything as far as the finale is concerned, so tune in for what is considered as one of the most disappointing ends of a season.



 

Catch 'The Bachelor' finale on Monday, March 15, 2021, starting at 8 pm only on ABC. You can also live stream the finale on Fubo TV and if you have a cable subscription, the episode will be available to watch on Tuesday, March 16 on ABC.com

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