What Matt James And Rachael Kirkconnell's Body Language Was Really Saying During After The Final Rose

Matt James' season on The Bachelor was as intense as could be. He got down to the final three contestants: Bri Springs, Michelle Young, and Rachael Kirkconnell. After much anticipation, Bachelor Nation discovered that Matt picked Rachael to receive the final rose.

However, in January 2021, people started sharing things on the internet about Rachael. For instance, one TikTok user claimed that Rachael had previously bullied her for dating Black men, per ET. Then images surfaced where Rachael had liked racist photos, per the outlet, and a photo went viral of Rachael with friends at an antebellum plantation party.

The After the Final Rose episode aired on March 15, 2021, and Matt confirmed that he and Rachael were no longer together in light of what had surfaced. During the episode, Matt and Rachael were together on stage with host Emmanuel Acho and the body language between the former couple was loaded, so Nicki Swift reached out to a body language expert to understand what they were really saying to each other. The results are shocking.

Nicki Swift spoke with Nicole Moore, a body language and relationship expert, to ask what was going on between Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell during the After the Final Rose episode.

Moore noted how uncomfortable Matt was to see Rachael for the first time since their breakup. "One of the first things he did when he saw Rachael was bite his lip and turn his lips inward, a body language sign that he felt somewhat unprepared for the meeting with Rachael," Moore explained, noting that Matt was hesitant and tense. "Clearly, the emotional toll of the breakup did a number on Matt."

Matt spoke about this emotion on March 16, 2021, the morning after the final episode, when he appeared on Good Morning America. He said that seeing Rachael was like being hit by "a ton of bricks." Matt added, "I felt the weight of everything that I was carrying throughout the season, and with what we were dealing with as a country, and having to explain that, why it was problematic to me and our relationship, which was extremely difficult."

Matt's body language went from hesitation to anger during the episode. When host Emmanuel Acho asked Matt why he didn't stay with Rachael and help her grow, "Matt's face changed to silently seething anger," Moore explained. "His eyes squinted slightly, and his jaw muscles were tense. The question made him extremely uncomfortable and angry, but he held his words in and measured what he said." What did Rachael's body language say?

Rachael Kirkconnell showed very different body language from Matt James in the final episode. Nicole Moore noticed that Rachael "had splotches on her right shoulder, perhaps from nervousness and her body language certainly showed that she was very uncomfortable and ashamed."

Moore pointed out that Rachael's legs were shaking and she wrung her hands, "a classic body language indicator of nervousness." When Emmanuel Acho asked Matt how it felt to watch the woman he loved to be so torn about hurting him, "Rachael bowed her head down and looked at her knees for a lengthy period of time. This bowed down head indicates she felt extremely ashamed for hurting Matt."

Moore noticed Rachael was attempting to be close to Matt and comfort him throughout the episode, with gestures like putting her hand on his shoulder and later grabbing his hand. However, Matt's body language showed he was not receptive to her. "Matt's body language here was telling," Moore explained. "He didn't push her hand away, but he didn't lean in to her when she tried to comfort him either. He did not engage with her in any way and her comforting gestures fell flat because they were not embraced by him."

Rachael apologized for her past actions in a post on Instagram, shared in February 2021. While Rachael expressed her personal desire to educate herself and grow, in Moore's opinion, it's extremely unlikely that Matt will want to get back together with her.