Even as a new season of The Bachelor is underway on the 2025 TV schedule, fans are still recovering from the sudden breakup of Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell — one of the franchise’s longest-standing couples. Kirkconnell revealed what’s been getting her through the past three weeks, and it sounds like she’s got a good Taylor Swift playlist to help her mourn the end of her four-year relationship.
In the stages of breakup grief (as written by Taylor Swift), you have to get through “loml” and “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” before you can reach the level of “I Forgot That You Existed,” and the 2024 double breakup album TTPD seems to be exactly the era Rachael Kirkconnell is in right now, as she told Cosmopolitan what’s been helping her post-breakup:
Obviously, The Tortured Poets Department [laughs]. Yeah, anything Taylor right now is great. I’ve been really loving Doechii. I haven’t been listening to podcasts, but someone I’ve really been obsessing over lately—and I think it’s just because her movie [One of Them Days] just came out—is Keke Palmer. Anything that she does or says, I’m sat. She takes my mood from ‘I’m not feeling it’ to ‘I can conquer the world.’
Three excellent choices, if you ask me. After receiving support from the women of Bachelor Nation, Rachael Kirkconnell is soaking in the energy of some strong female celebrities, as well as indulging in the heartbreaking lyrics of The Tortured Poets Department.
The winner of The Bachelor Season 25 doesn’t consider herself a true Swiftie who stays up-to-date on all of Taylor Swift’s upcoming projects, but she does recognize that the singer has been a constant presence in her life when heartbreak rolls around. Rachael Kirkconnell said:
I mean, yeah. I’m 28, and I was 10, I think, when her very first album came out. But I’m not out there looking for Easter eggs, even though I respect that. I just love the music. And as a woman, you just have to respect her. I’ve been there for every album and she got me through breakups when I was 12, 16, 24, and now 28. You have to be a fan when she’s there for you through all of that.
I’m not sure how The Bachelor franchise has associated itself with Taylor Swift to the degree that it has, but Rachael Kirkconnell is far from the first of the reality show’s contestants to summon the power of The Tortured Poet Department’s chairman. Just look at the Bachelor Nation’s history with the Eras Tour artist:
- Christina Mandrell, who appeared on Zach Shallcross’ season of The Bachelor and is now married to the dangle earring-wearing Brayden Bowers, was in Taylor Swift’s “Fifteen” music video.
- Former Bachelorette Katie Thurston hard-launched a new relationship through a “12 days of messy” series on social media, where she dedicated a Taylor Swift song to a different ex each day.
- Jenn Tran dropped hints about the end of her season by pairing a TS song with each new episode of The Bachelorette.
- Ex-Bachelor contestant Amanda Stanton was dragged recently for suggesting that Taylor Swift might be stealing her style.
It sounds like Rachael Kirkconnell is in good company when it comes to her Taylor Swift fandom. The biggest musician on the current season of The Bachelor, however, is Grant Ellis himself.
Tune in to see if more musical opportunities await on new episodes each Monday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and streaming the next day with a Hulu subscription. (You can also see the spoiler for how Grant Ellis’ season ends and keep up with all of The Bachelor Season 29 eliminations.)
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
