On Connecting With Rachael on the Show
James revealed that he wanted to spend all his time with Kirkconnell “early in the process” and knew he was going to pick her before the finale.
“In the beginning, she cut through the polished front I’d honed and into my nerdy side,” he wrote. “We debated who was the bigger fan of How to Train Your Dragon and Marvel movies. I observed her empathy from afar, noticed how her kindness extended beyond our time alone and to everyone else she encountered. I listened to how she spoke about her family. Conversations deepened after that. I discussed the troubled legacy I felt I had been handed. I told her about my own reservations about falling in love, for fear of history repeating itself.”
James wrote that Kirkconnell “cared for my wounds” and “exposed hers in return.”
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