Everything Tyler Cameron Has Said About Rachael Kirkconnell Amid Her Relationship With Matt James

Credit: Shutterstock; Michael Simon/Startraks

Everything Tyler Cameron Has Said About Rachael Kirkconnell Amid Her Relationship With Matt James

A Bachelor Nation falling out? Tyler Cameron and Matt James were friends for years before the latter got the gig as the season 25 Bachelor, but some fans are convinced his romance with Rachael Kirkconnell has put a strain on his bromance with Cameron. Prior to their time on reality TV, Cameron and James met while attending Wake Forest in North Carolina. "He was the older cool kid who took me under his wing,” the Bachelorette season 15 runner-up said of James in September 2020 on the "Bachelor Party" podcast. "We've just been boys ever since. Super grateful for that friendship and what he's shown me in the city." The two former football players even moved in together in New York City after Cameron’s stint on Hannah Brown’s season of The Bachelorette. “That’s my guy. I was gonna get a one-bedroom, but I think it’s important to surround yourself with people that are doing good things, and that’s my partner with ABC Food Tours,” he continued. “I’ve been living on his couch for a while now, and he hasn’t gotten sick of me.” At the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, James was among Cameron’s friends who moved into his house in Jupiter, Florida, to quarantine. That June, ABC opted to make James the next Bachelor after he nearly appeared on season 16 of The Bachelorette. The First Impressions author later revealed that Cameron’s late mother was the one who encouraged him to join Bachelor Nation. [sendtonews type="float" key="WqEhuoMdeX-2831139-14453"] "I wouldn't have gone on the show if it hadn't been for Tyler's mom,” James said on the “Almost Famous” podcast in February 2021. "She was so adamant about me having been a part of this experience because she saw what it did for Tyler and his relationship with Hannah … I felt like I owed it to her to see it through.” When James left to film The Bachelor in fall 2020, Cameron visited and made a cameo on one of the one-on-one dates. During the finale, James picked Kirkconnell over Michelle Young but didn’t propose. As the season was airing, the twosome split after the Georgia native’s past racially insensitive actions resurfaced. They reconciled, however, in April 2021 and Cameron was (initially) happy to have her visit them at their NYC digs. “She got him to pick up his s—t!” the Real Dirty Dancing alum told Us in June 2021. “You know, like, he’s cleaning up his clothes, he’s not leaving them all over the doors and stuff after he sweats in them, so I like it.” The trio continued to hang out on double dates in the Hamptons, Cameron and Kirkconnell supported James on Dancing With the Stars in fall 2021 and she returned the favor when the men ran the New York City Marathon that November. By 2022, however, fans began to question whether Cameron and James were still friends after the former Bachelor referred to Cameron and Kirkconnell’s relationship as “love-hate” that May. When addressing the speculation in July 2022, Cameron told Us: “I think people think [Matt and I aren’t friends] because we’re just not in each other’s everyday lives like we used to be. I think it’s part of growing up. It’s part of entering a relationship. … We all have those friends that they grow up, they start dating their person, they get married, they do their thing and you see him when you see him.” Scroll through for more from Cameron on Kirkconnell:

Credit: Shutterstock; Michael Simon/Startraks

Everything Tyler Cameron Has Said About Rachael Kirkconnell Amid Her Relationship With Matt James

A Bachelor Nation falling out? Tyler Cameron and Matt James were friends for years before the latter got the gig as the season 25 Bachelor, but some fans are convinced his romance with Rachael Kirkconnell has put a strain on his bromance with Cameron. Prior to their time on reality TV, Cameron and James met while attending Wake Forest in North Carolina. "He was the older cool kid who took me under his wing,” the Bachelorette season 15 runner-up said of James in September 2020 on the "Bachelor Party" podcast. "We've just been boys ever since. Super grateful for that friendship and what he's shown me in the city." The two former football players even moved in together in New York City after Cameron’s stint on Hannah Brown’s season of The Bachelorette. “That’s my guy. I was gonna get a one-bedroom, but I think it’s important to surround yourself with people that are doing good things, and that’s my partner with ABC Food Tours,” he continued. “I’ve been living on his couch for a while now, and he hasn’t gotten sick of me.” At the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, James was among Cameron’s friends who moved into his house in Jupiter, Florida, to quarantine. That June, ABC opted to make James the next Bachelor after he nearly appeared on season 16 of The Bachelorette. The First Impressions author later revealed that Cameron’s late mother was the one who encouraged him to join Bachelor Nation. [sendtonews type="float" key="WqEhuoMdeX-2831139-14453"] "I wouldn't have gone on the show if it hadn't been for Tyler's mom,” James said on the “Almost Famous” podcast in February 2021. "She was so adamant about me having been a part of this experience because she saw what it did for Tyler and his relationship with Hannah … I felt like I owed it to her to see it through.” When James left to film The Bachelor in fall 2020, Cameron visited and made a cameo on one of the one-on-one dates. During the finale, James picked Kirkconnell over Michelle Young but didn’t propose. As the season was airing, the twosome split after the Georgia native’s past racially insensitive actions resurfaced. They reconciled, however, in April 2021 and Cameron was (initially) happy to have her visit them at their NYC digs. “She got him to pick up his s—t!” the Real Dirty Dancing alum told Us in June 2021. “You know, like, he’s cleaning up his clothes, he’s not leaving them all over the doors and stuff after he sweats in them, so I like it.” The trio continued to hang out on double dates in the Hamptons, Cameron and Kirkconnell supported James on Dancing With the Stars in fall 2021 and she returned the favor when the men ran the New York City Marathon that November. By 2022, however, fans began to question whether Cameron and James were still friends after the former Bachelor referred to Cameron and Kirkconnell’s relationship as “love-hate” that May. When addressing the speculation in July 2022, Cameron told Us: “I think people think [Matt and I aren’t friends] because we’re just not in each other’s everyday lives like we used to be. I think it’s part of growing up. It’s part of entering a relationship. … We all have those friends that they grow up, they start dating their person, they get married, they do their thing and you see him when you see him.” Scroll through for more from Cameron on Kirkconnell:

Credit: Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock

March 2021

After James and Kirkconnell split amid the season’s drama, Cameron gave Us an update on how his pal was coping.

“He’s going through it [but] he’s doing good. We just have to take care of ourselves,” he said. “I always support Matt. I’m always a sounding board for him. If he’s asked to speak on something, I’m here for him and he does the same for me. That’s what brothers do for each other. He’s been working hard.”

Credit: Jason Merritt/Radarpics/Shutterstock

June 2021

After James and Kirkconnell got back together, Cameron approved.

“She was awesome. She’s a beam of light. I really enjoyed hanging out with her, spending time with her. We had a good time,” Cameron told Us. “I think they’re great for each other. They seem like they’re spending a lot of time together, getting comfortable with each other and they’ve come a long way. So if they’re happy, I’m happy.”

Credit: Joey Andrew/Startraks

September 2021

"He's definitely softened up a little bit, you know, because he's tough. He's a guy's guy, but I think she's kind of relaxing him and softening him up a little bit,” Cameron told People. "I think they'll take their time and they'll [get engaged] when it's right and if it's right for them."

Credit: Shutterstock (2)

July 2022

When asked about James’ “love-hate” remark, Cameron joked, “There's love?"

"I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. No, Rachael's great, and she makes Matt happy and they're happy,” he told E! News. “And it's fun to see, you know, them do their thing and they always are traveling and doing stuff. [Do] we have a love-hate relationship? I think it's just we have two strong opinions and way we see things and we sometimes clash. But at the end of the day, we're all cool. You know, it is what it is."

Credit: Shutterstock; Michael Simon/Startraks

July 2022

Cameron shed light on his dynamic with Kirkconnell during an interview with Us.

“I was definitely going through my own s—t. … We just have our own ways of clashing. I don’t like listening to people sometimes. And she’s strong and she has a really good opinion on a lot of things. And sometimes I don’t want to hear it,” he told Us. “They’re very happy and I think we clash just because we’re both passionate people in what we believe in. But we’ve also learned from each other, so that’s good.”

He added: “I think they’re good for each other. They keep each other happy and keep each other going and that’s what’s important.”

Credit: Shutterstock (2)

August 2022

“Everyone thinks there’s something going on there. … There’s nothing wrong. We’re all cool, we all like each other,” Cameron said on Daily Pop. “You get a relationship, and then you do things with your girlfriend. You don’t see your boy all the time.”

He then joked, “He’s got the ball and chain on him now.”

Credit: Courtesy of Matt James/Instagram

September 2022

James and Kirkconnell supported Cameron at the Andrea Cameron Foundation's 1st Annual Gala in September 2022. "A special night celebrating a special woman," the former Bachelor wrote via his Instagram Story, alongside a photo from the event.

Credit: Sara Jaye Weiss/Shutterstock ; John Salangsang/Shutterstock

October 2022

“He said something like, ‘We clash.’ There is nothing going on with Tyler and I,” Kirkconnell said on the “Ya, But Who Cares” podcast. “I love him, I wish him nothing but the best. If anything, it’s like a brother-sister, hate-love kind of thing. I truly wish him nothing but the best. Just because Matt and him, like, don’t hang out every single day like they did during quarantine … people think, ‘Oh, they’re not friends anymore.’ Just because they aren’t spending every single day together doesn’t mean that they hate each other now.”

Credit: Shutterstock(3)

January 2023

The trio sat down for a joint interview for the first time on Cameron’s “Everybody But Me” radio show. James kicked off the chat about their “beef” by explaining he was still “doing boyfriend-girlfriend things with TC” when Kirkconnell moved in with the former teammates in 2021. “My girlfriend was still technically Tyler,” he explained of their 2021 dymanic. “I wasn't balancing my time. Then I tried to balance it by, like, including [Rachael] in the things that me and TC were doing. And then, in part, it was messing up y’all’s relationship. And then I went on Andy Cohen.”

Cameron then shared his side of the story.

“When you first started dating Matt, and you started moving in, I had a ball with you. I had fun with you. I was like, ‘Oh, she's way more fun than Matt, like, she'll actually drink with me. … She won't go to bed at 10:30 p.m. and we're all trying to go out,’” Cameron said. “And then, I just kept waking up hungover from all our partying and Rachael's like, ‘You need to do better Tyler.’ … She’s like, ‘You need to not be acting like that.’ And, like, I was spiraling. … And I was like, ‘Man, if this girl don’t get out of here — she takes my homie and then she's over here in my crib [with] her makeup everywhere. And now she's telling me how I'm supposed to be?’”

Kirkconnell said she was trying to give Cameron tough love because she knew he was “hurting” and tried to encourage him to cut back on the partying to give himself “some TLC.”

Cameron admitted Kirkconnell – who said her only issues with him were his comments in the media — was “1,000 percent right.”

“I was just running from that. I always looked at you like a sister because you’re Matt’s girl. I was like, ‘I know she's looking out for me. But I don't want to hear s—t.’ So I would just give you attitude or mess with you,” he said. “Because I looked at you like a sister.”