Ever since this season of The Bachelor exploded in controversy — following the revelation that Rachael Kirkconnell attended an Antebellum party, and Chris Harrison's subsequent voracious defense of the finalist — fans were bracing themselves for the"After The Final Rose" event, which would directly take on the rampant racism surrounding Matt James' season. The episode — and its host Emmanuel Acho — certainly didn't shy away from the topic, delivering a bevy of notable quotes from the "After The Final Rose" that made the night one of the most memorable of the series.
See some of the most noteworthy quotes from the difficult, and necessary, conversation below:
Matt James:
On complaints that claimed Rachael's photos were taken a long time ago: "You know what was a long time ago? Plantations. And so I would ask those same people who were so triggered to bring that same energy to supporting folks of color who are asking for change because a lot of those conversations that are being had are outside of people of color."
On how he still feels about Rachael: "Those feelings don't go away over night. And you can still really care about somebody and want them to do better. I don't think that anybody's irredeemable."
On his revelation about Rachael: "Rachael might not understand what it means to be black in America."
On Rachael's progress: "There's a lot of work to be done. I have to take a step back and allow her to put in that work. And I'm looking forward to seeing her put in that work."
On Rachael's Antebellum photos: "If you don't understand that something like that is problematic in 2018, there's a lot of me that you will never understand. It's as simple as that."
On why Matt broke up with Rachael following the revelations:"The most disappointing thing for me was having to explain to you why what I saw was problematic and why I was so upset. And that's why it was problematic because when I'm in a relationship, it means that I'm committed to that person. And commitment for me, when I'm dating someone, is on track to get married. And so when I questioned our relationship, it was in the context of you not fully understanding my Blackness, and what it means to be a Black man in America, and what it would mean for our kids when I saw those things that were floating around the internet. And it broke my heart because this is the last conversation I thought we'd be having. I didn't sign up to have this conversation."
On why Matt broke up with Rachael following the revelations, cont.: "I had to take a step back for you to put in that work that you outlined that you needed to do. That's something you gotta do on your own. And that's why we can't be in a relationship."
On whether there's a future between Rachael and Matt: "The feelings that I have for you don't go away over night. And seeing you like this hurts. But then I ask myself... I don't want to be emotionally responsible for those tears, because the work and the reconciliation that needs to be done is work that I can't do for you."
In response to whether Matt wanted to give Rachael a final embrace: "I don't know if it will ever not hurt hearing those things."
Rachael Kirkconnell:
On how she's been since the end of The Bachelor: "I don't want to sit here and victimize myself."
On how she looks back at the 2o18 photos: "I see someone who was living in this ignorance without even thinking about who it would be hurting."
On her defense of her actions: "I'm not going to sit here and say that I didn't know any better. Because I could have easily asked myself those questions. No, I never took the time to make that connection, because if I would have taken the time, I easily could've understood what was wrong with it."
On what she hopes people learn: "People need to realize saying, that just saying, like, 'this is normal where I came from, or this is common where I came from,' that doesn't make it right."
On why she waited to release a statement: "I wanted to not just say the right words, but I wanted myself to really understand why people were so hurt by this."
On how she's educated herself: "I don't think anything is going to change if we don't take those actions to put that education into play."
On whether she worried about the photos upon joining The Bachelor: "I didn't think about it one time. Because at that point, it was just me taking some photos with my friends. And I didn't think anything of it. I didn't think of the trauma that it would cause."
On her break-up with Matt: "When he first called me to end things, my, you know, initial reaction was, I was very confused. I was very blindsided. But once that initial reaction went awayI thought about you know how strong I thought our relationship was, so for him to end things like he must have been very very hurt by everything. It was hard because I lost the love of my life, but in the process of that, I hurt him while doing so."
Emmanuel Acho:
The quote that summed up the night in the best way possible: "I think we all need to do a better job at acknowledging that history is meant to be remembered, but not all history is meant to be celebrated."
Acho for The Bachelor 2022?
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Image: ABC