Clare Crawley Reacts to Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell Split

Clare Crawley seems to be weighing in on Matt James’ recent split from Rachael Kirkconnell. 

On Wednesday, Jan. 29, Clare, 43, revealed that it was her first time on social media since starting a detox two weeks ago. 

In the Instagram Stories posts that followed, the season 16 Bachelorette star raised a few eyebrows by seemingly throwing shade about a past contestant almost wasting her time.

“Catching up on [social] news and smh at some of this stuff,” Clare wrote via her Instagram Stories over a photo of two farm animals. 

She continued, “Remember that one time I specifically asked producers to please not allow one specific guy on my season because I knew for a fact he was NOT looking for a serious relationship whatsoever and I didn’t want him to waste anyone’s time.”

Though Clare didn’t name anyone specifically, she finished with: “So, instead, they made him the next Bachelor.”

Grant Ellis is the newest Bachelor, and while his premiere episode on Monday, Jan. 27, did feature a llama (like Clare’s Instagram post), the Bachelor who came after her was Matt.

In addition to the 33-year-old recently breaking up with Rachael in mid-January, four years after she won his season, he and Clare have a rocky past. 

“If you are doing interviews and creating Cameo accounts before you are even on my season… you are in it for the wrong reasons… #dontwasteyourtime,” Clare tweeted in April 2020 before Matt was set to compete during her season.

Soon after, Matt publicly stated that he was on Cameo to raise money for coronavirus (COVID-19) relief, which prompted Clare to respond the following day, claiming her initial post was never meant for any one person in particular.

Due to pandemic filming delays, Matt ended up becoming the next Bachelor, which meant he no longer needed to appear on Clare’s Bachelorette season. 

The network decision was a great one, according to Tyler Cameron.

“That boy dodged a bullet,” Cameron told E! News in October 2020. “That boy is on his own. Just ’cause it’s a mess. It’s just a disaster. You know what I mean? It’s nothing about Clare. It’s a mess, you know? Just to be able to jump and skip and be the Bachelor, like who, I mean, of course, good for him, so I am very happy he’s not there.”

As for Matt’s breakup with Rachael, the influencer said during a Tuesday, Jan. 28 episode of Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast that she and Matt had been planning to start a family together before he broke up with her.

“We talked about family and kids more than anything,” Kirkconnell said, adding that no longer being able to fulfill that dream “sucks more than anything.”