That interview blew the situation right up, resulting in Harrison stepping away from the franchise, Kirkconnell posting an apology online, Rachel Lindsay deciding to leave Bachelor Nation, and Matt James reportedly breaking up with Kirkconnell.
On early February 9, the spoiler king wrote that Katie Thurston’s selection as the next Bachelorette came out at the taping of the “Women Tell All” special episode of this season of The Bachelor, with “Women Tell All” reportedly filming on February 4, which was before Chris Harrison’s fateful February 9 interview in which he defended Rachael Kirkconnell after photos of her at an Antebellum party in 2018 started to spread across the internet.