Rachael Kirkconnell have not said sorry in the immediate aftermath of her controversy surrounding college photos of her being part of an antebellum-themed party. Turns out she really wanted to say sorry, but she was advised not to, and instead just "stay silent" up until the scandal blows over.

"I had a lot of people in my ear saying, 'You'll have your time. Don't make it worse. You'll have your time to speak. We'll give you a platform. Just wait it out," the former "Bachelor" contestant confessed to "From Privilege to Progress" hosts Michelle Saahene and Melissa DePino on Monday

She then said she felt intense pressure to ignore the issue. "I felt pressure to just keep it all in, to wait, to stay silent."

But she realized that she could not stay silent forever. As the controversy unfolded, the contestant who bagged the final rose from the first black bachelor, Matt James, in Season 25 of "The Bachelor," felt she really should  apologize and take responsibility for her actions.

"I finally decided to put that statement out and then obviously that wasn't enough because it's not actually a conversation," Kirkconnell, 24 said during the hosts' "Unscripted Live." 

She said the statement released after the scandal lacked true accountability. 

"Anyone could have written that statement, which a lot of people had thought. I didn't even have any sort of representation at that point. People were like, 'Wow, her publicist did great with this.' That's when I was like, it's not enough," she explained. 

ABC is yet to react to the coverup that she's suggesting. 

Kirkconnell was accused of racist behavior back in February 2021, which was when James' season was airing. 

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Somehow, her old photos surfaced of her attending an antebellum-themed party in college and while these have been taken so long ago, critics refused to let her off the hook. 

Critics pointed out the racist undertones of the Old South celebration, claiming that the event seemed to be celebrating slavery. The scandal has gotten so big that not only was Kirkconnell slammed over the photos, but "Bachelor" host Chris Harrison was removed from the ABC franchise for even trying to defend Kirkconnell, and saying the photos were too long time ago to be criticized. 

During her newest interview, she also confirmed that the controversy is what caused her and Matt James to first split up. Her heartbreak was the trigger for her to address the issue for real. 

"That was our breaking point at that point for both of us and that's when we had split up right towards the end of February and that same week, I was like I have nothing left to lose at this point so that's when I just decided to post an IGTV of me just speaking," Kirkconnell said, adding, "I have to get my voice out there and put my face out there."

She has since reconciled with Matt.

 

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