Bachelor Nation was thrown for a loop when Matt James tweeted that he was looking for a therapist after a brutal finale on The Bachelor. As fans will recall, James ultimately split from his chosen finalist Rachael Kirkconnell after photos of her attending an antebellum plantation party resurfaced.
Amid the outrage that erupted, hosted Chris Harrison stepped down after defending her. Bachelor sources tell TMZ that producers are checking in with James and take the mental health of contestants seriously.
EMMANUEL ACHO
Emmanuel Acho, who took on Harrison’s hosting duties for the After the Final Rose, hit up Instagram to reveal a moment viewers didn’t see. He said of a conversation between runner-up Michelle Young and Kirkconnell, "I was talking to Michelle early on and I could sense the heartbreak over her loss of a former lover in Matt, but I could also sense the despair over her loss of a former friend in Rachael based upon those photos that have surfaced about Rachael."
"Michelle had reached out to Rachael, but had never heard back, and so Michelle was broken over that. I sensed that over the course of our conversation," Acho explained. "So during that next commercial break… I reached out to the producers via my microphone and I said, 'Hey, we have to get Michelle and Rachael to somehow reconcile.'"
"I said, 'Well, look, Rachael, you put out a public apology for the world, but there were women that you were friends with that haven't heard from you and still feel broken because of that. So if you're willing, Michelle would love to talk to you,'" Acho recalled. "Rachael smiled. And of course she obliged."
The conversation, Acho said, featured both women emotionally opening up.
"Michelle walks out, they sit down on the couch together and after Michelle pours her heart out, and Rachael pours her heart out, the two shared an embrace," he said. "I simply sat there and witnessed it and thought, 'If we could see this collectively as a society, we could all grow.'"
"It was a beautiful depiction that I got to witness — and for the sake of time, you all did not get to witness," Acho added. "That was my favorite moment that y'all didn't see."
Young has since been named an upcoming Bachelorette.
CLARE + DALE?
Meanwhile, Clare Crawley and Dale Moss appear to be rekindling their romance. The pair were spotted kissing (with their masks on) in NYC. The pair have been spotted around Manhattan, celebrating her 40th birthday party.
They broke up in January following allegations that he cheated on her with a realtor named Eleonora Srugo.