The debacle surrounding The Bachelor with Matt James and Rachel Kirkconnell appears to be a never-ending story. Over the weekend, according to E! Online, the pair met in New York City earlier this month.

The site reports that Kirkconnell was visiting friends in the Big Apple. One source states that Kirkconnell has been reaching out to James (he resides in NYC) who finally agreed to meet with her. The source maintains they are strictly friends.

To drive the point home a second source reiterates that the two are merely friends, insisting that James is not looking for a relationship, but merely focusing on his work and upcoming projects.

As depicted on the show Rachel Kirkconnell won Matt James’ heart. However, the relationship was short-lived once racially insensitive social media posts of Kirkconnell and friends resurfaced. A TikTok user even cited a time she was allegedly judged by Kirkconnell for liking Black guys.

When The Bachelor’s host Chris Harrison attempted to come to Kirkconnell’s defense, he found himself on the wrong side of social media’s wrath forcing him to take some time away from the franchise.

Despite the media trainwreck, James continued the relationship with Kirkconnell until she admitted her truth during the Behind the Rose special.

In the special Matt James ended it with Kirkconnell stating the news that surfaced made him “question everything”. James went on to say, “I wasn’t OK because it was in that moment and the conversation that I had that—Rachael might not understand what it means to be Black in America.”

The Bachelorette will be back soon with Tayshia Adams as one of the hosts as Harrison departed the franchise for the meantime due to backlash against his Kirkconnell defense.