After racially insensitive photos surfaced of Rachael at an antebellum-themed ball, and reports that she had liked photos of people on Instagram posing in front of a Confederate flag, Matt made it very clear that he was done with the relationship—even though Rachael said she was committed to working to understand racism. But now, it seems, Matt has changed his mind about their relationship. The two have been spotted together in Los Angeles and New York City, and Matt just revealed to PEOPLE in a new interview that he’s “pursuing” a relationship with Rachael again, although he was a little vague on the details. “I’ve seen Rachael a handful of times,” he told the magazine. “I’m not pursuing any relationships right now outside of that. I said I was going to focus on my relationship with her and that means focusing on it.” Rachael apologized in February, saying that “at one point, I didn’t recognize how offensive and racist my past actions were, but that doesn’t excuse them.” She added, “they are not acceptable or okay in any sense” and said that she deserves “to be held accountable” for her actions. Matt didn’t really answer when asked if Rachael has been doing the work she said she would do in learning more about racism, saying that Rachael would have to answer that question. “A lot of what I’m focused on right now is the work that I’m doing in the community” and training for a marathon, he said. While Matt was pretty vague on the status of his relationship with Rachael right now, he did say that he wouldn’t appear on Bachelor in Paradise. “There’s a negative chance I’ll be on Paradise,” he said, adding that his friend and former Bachelorette star Tyler Cameron wouldn’t go on the show, either. “I think we’re good on that,” he said. Matt said during the After the Final Rose special in March that he was going to take “a step back” to allow Rachael “to put in that work.” He later told Rachael, “The work and reconciliation that needs to be done is work that I can’t do for you, and I know that you’re capable of doing it.” If Matt and Rachael are, in fact, a couple again, they’re being pretty low-key about it—neither has made any mention of the other on their Instagrams. Next, read up on what happened with Chris Harrison and who’s replacing him as host.
