Is 'The Bachelor's Matt James Ready To Say 'I Do' To Rachael Kirkconnell?

There were several roses exchanged between "The Bachelor's" Matt James and his front-runner Rachael Kirkconnell during his season!

Now, more than a year after we saw James and Kirkconnell's unconventional love story pan out, (well, unconventional for "The Bachelor" anyway), the real question on Bachelor Nation's mind is whether the

two lovebirds are any closer to tying the knot than they were at the conclusion of their controversial season.

The answer may be closer to revealing itself any day now!

Any conversations concerning walking down the aisle have been a long time coming for the couple.

These conversations have been imperative for them to grow past an incident which heavily impacted the early days of their relationship.

James, 30, and Kirkconnell, 25, were at the center of a situation which had heavily influenced Bachelor Nation and served as a catalyst for an attempt to bring the franchise forward in ways pertaining, but not limited to, inclusivity among contestants and whether it could have any staying power during a cultural

period marked by several incidents of racial injustice, and the importance of properly incorporating their impact into popular culture and society-at-large.

Kirkconnell and James opted not to get engaged during the finale of James' season, and were suddenly confronted with navigating unearthed photos of Kirkconnell from two years prior where she was seen posing with friends at an antebellum-themed fraternity party, as per a tweet containing the photos,

which had surfaced in February 2021.

The aftermath of those unearthed photos and the impact they had on Bachelor Nation which included long-time franchise host Chris Harrison famously defending Kirkconnell in an interview with the

franchise's first Black 'Bachelorette' Rachel Lindsay, lead to him eventually leaving the franchise.

Kirkconnell and James' relationship was heavily impacted by the off-screen events.

The duo eventually split up not long after Kirkconnell's photos surfaced, according to Us Weekly.

After extensive work behind-the-scenes to repair their relationship, James and Kirkconnell were publicly spotted together two months later.

After more than a year since their rocky beginnings, the couple are happily living together and showcasing their daily adventures for fans on their respective Insta-stories!

Those adventures, which heavily feature Kirkconnell and James enjoying their favorite restaurants, will be a mainstay for these 'Bachelor' babes.

Since these two seem to be one of the most thriving couples within Bachelor Nation, it's no surprise a certain question could and has been popped to James during interviews.

The duo are much more concerned with strengthening their relationship before taking the giant leap into matrimony- a move James has many thoughts about.

"When you're in the 'Bachelor' bubble, like, it's such an intense experience that you don't know what is and what isn't real because you've got all of these girls telling you they love you," James recently told Us Weekly.

"You've got the pressure to propose to someone. And all of this, like, ancillary, 'Just like do this, do this, do this,' he added.

James very much believes abiding by those pressures would have had a negative impact on the health of their relationship.

"And then for everything to happen how it [did] it's, like, 'I know how I feel. I just need to validate that,'' he explained.

'Trusting the process,' and rather, trusting THEIR process instead of the franchise's more conventional take on moving relationships at an accelerated speed, has been the right move for James and Kirkconnell.

"I wouldn't be with someone that I wasn't considering marrying, especially at this point in my life. We've talked about living in the same city and what those next steps look like," he said, referring to their future together.

"Everything is on the table," James concluded.

More on Matt James journey with making a connection with himself during his time as the 'Bachelor' will be explored in his upcoming memoir, "First Impressions," which will be released on May 3rd.