For months, Bachelor Nation members have had one question on their minds: Who is The Bachelor 2021 winner who gets engaged to Matt James? Matt, a 28-year-old real estate broker from New York City (and Tyler Cameron’s best friend!), was announced as the season 25 Bachelor in June 2020.

Unlike the past six Bachelors, Matt is the first Bachelor since Brad Womack to not be a former Bachelorette contestant. Originally chosen as a contestant for season 16 of The Bachelorette with Clare Crawley and Tayshia Adams, Matt bypassed the Bachelorette and was announced as the Bachelor franchise’s 25th Bachelor on Good Morning America. “It’s an honor,” he said at the time of his announcement. “I’m just going to lean into myself and how my mom raised me and hopefully when people invite me into their homes on Monday night they’re going to see that I’m not much different from them and they see that diverse love stories are beautiful.”

Matt also made history as the Bachelor franchise’s first Black Bachelor in its 20-plus-year history. Overall, Matt is the franchise’s third Black lead after season 13 Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay and season 16 Bachelorette Tayshia Adams. “In my opinion I don’t think it’s ever the wrong time to do the right thing,” he told Good Morning America. “Too little too late for me is this happening and we can’t have change until we put that first foot forward and the first foot forward for The Bachelor franchise is having a black lead so I’m excited to take on that role.”

That’s the gist when it comes to Matt. But back to our original question: Who is The Bachelor 2021 winner? Find out what we know about who won season 25 of The Bachelor (and Matt James’ heart) ahead.

Who is The Bachelor 2021 winner?

Image: Courtesy of ABC.

So…who won Matt’s season of The Bachelor? Well, according to Reality Steve, the Bachelor 2021 winner is Rachael Kirkconnell, a 24-year-old graphic designer from Cumming, Georgia. Matt’s final three are Rachael, Bri (and Michelle Young (one of five contestants who were brought on after the second rose ceremony.) Serena Pitt is Matt’s fourth-place finalist and Abigail Heringer is his fifth-place finalist. Reality Steve also reports that Michelle was eliminated before Matt’s final rose ceremony, which means that Rachael was the only one Matt could’ve given a rose to at the last ceremony. Matt is the second Bachelor to eliminate his runner-up outside of the final rose ceremony after season 23 Bachelor Colton Underwood. The move is common for Bachelorettes. (i.e. season 12’s Rachel Lindsay and Peter Kraus and season 16’s Tayshia Underwood and Ben Smith.)

According to Reality Steve’s sources (a.k.a. Rachael’s friends and family from Cumming, Georgia), Michelle and Rachael are Matt’s final two, and Rachel is his winner. Though Reality Steve isn’t 100 percent sure Matt’s winner is Rachael, he has strong reason to believe that it’s her after receiving evidence that Bri and Michelle (Matt’s other final three contestants) don’t win. In January 2021, Matt was also seen listening to Rachael’s “Nigh Drive” playlist on Spotify, which led fans to believe that they have a relationship after the show. 

So are Rachael and Matt engaged? That bit is unclear (Reality Steve couldn’t confirm they are), but in a promo for Matt’s Bachelor season, viewers can see him propose to someone and take out an engagement ring box. While this could be a red herring (there are a lot of engagement-themed Bachelor dates and challenges), it could also be a clue that Matt and his winner are engaged and have a traditional ending. Guess we’ll have to wait until Matt’s Bachelor finale to be 100 percent sure. What Reality Steve can confirm is that Matt and Rachael are still together. 

The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.

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