Matt James Reveals He 'Booked a One-Way Ticket to Kenya' Following Rachael Kirkconnell Breakup

A new journey. Matt James revealed he booked a “one-way” flight to Africa following his split from Rachael Kirkconnell, who claimed he ended their four-year romance.

“I booked a one-way ticket to Kenya. My dad was born in Nigeria, so I’ve always wanted to come to Africa,” Matt, 33, told fans in an Instagram video on February 8.

The Bachelor alum explained how he wasn’t just able to hop on a plane and go, showing how he had to get a “yellow fever vaccine, typhus shot, cholera vaccine. I even had to apply for a visa.”

Matt took viewers aboard his 13-hour flight from New York to Nairobi, Kenya. From there, he took another flight to reach the town of Iten, Kenya, which he said was “home” to some of the world’s greatest runners.

“If you’ve ever been or have any recommendations for places to visit while I’m in Africa, please share,” the marathon competitor concluded.

Matt shared the video two days after revealing he was in Kenya, posting a video on February 6 that showed him going for a “morning run with friends.” It was the reality star’s first Instagram post since he used the social media platform to announce he and Rachael, 28, had split.

“Father God, give Rachael and I strength to mend our broken hearts. Give us a peace about this decision to end our relationship that transcends worldly understanding,” Matt captioned a January 16 photo showing himself and Rachael meeting for the first time on The Bachelor. “Shower our friends and family with kindness and love to comfort us. And remind us that our Joy comes from you, Lord.” He tagged Rachael in the photo as well.

Matt deleted the post on February 7, one day after his first Kenya video, as it no longer appeared on his Instagram page.

Rachael claimed that Matt had posted the breakup news on his Instagram page “two or three hours after” ending their relationship in the midst of a trip to Tokyo, Japan.

The Georgia native went into detail about how their breakup went down during a January 28 appearance on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast. Rachael told host Alex Cooper that she was “blindsided” at the start of a 12-hour long haul flight from Tokyo to Atlanta, Georgia, when she found out about his decision to post about their split so quickly.

Rachael recalled how a disagreement over how she got emotional during a dinner out in Tokyo snowballed into a bigger conversation where Matt revealed he didn’t see himself marrying her. The couple fell for each other during his season 25 of The Bachelor. Although Rachael received Matt’s final rose, she didn’t get a marriage proposal, and the pair agreed to keep dating and see where things went.

“He said that at the end of the day, there were just qualities about me that he worries about having in a wife. At the end of the day, [he said] there are things that we aren’t compatible with,” Rachael recalled.

“It was just one of those things where [I] was like, ‘Do you want to make this work?’” she continued. “‘Do you think that it’s me or is it something with you? Are you scared or is it really me? Is your perfect person somewhere out there? Is it not me?’ And he came to the conclusion that he didn’t think it was me, and he said he just didn’t want me to end up resenting him by wasting more of my time if it wouldn’t happen.”

“He just said, ‘You’re beautiful, smart and funny and you’ll find someone, you’ll find a guy that will love you for you.’ He just didn’t think that it was him. But it was just a lot to hear at once because a few days before I’m hearing the opposite,” Rachael said of Matt’s decision about their future.