Emmanuel Achosays his favorite moment fromThe Bachelor: After the Final Rosespecial is one that never made it on the air.
On Tuesday, the former NFL linebackeropened up in a video posted on his Instagramabout a conversation that took place between frontrunners Michelle Young and Rachael Kirkconnell.
“My favorite part of the one-hour special that was not shown actually … was talking to Michelle early on and I could sense the heartbreak over her loss of a former lover in Matt, but I could also sense the despair over her loss of a former friend in a Rachael based upon those photos that have surfaced about Rachael,” Acho, 30, says in the video, referring tothe controversy surrounding Kirkconnell’s racially insensitive photos.
ABC/Craig Sjodin
“Now, Michelle had reached out to Rachael, but had never heard back. And so Michelle was broken over that. I sensed that over the course of our conversation. So during that next commercial break, I called an audible,” Acho adds. “I reached out to the producers via my microphone and I said, ‘Hey, we have to get Michelle and Rachael to somehow reconcile.’ "
“I knew after talking to Matt that we probably weren’t going to see reconciliation relationally between him and Rachael during the course of the episode,” Acho continues. “So what kind of reconciliation can we see?”
“I said, ‘Well, look, Rachael, you put out a public apology for the world, but there were women that you were friends with that haven’t heard from you and still feel broken because of that. So if you’re willing, Michelle would love to talk to you.’ "
“Rachael smiled,” Acho said of Kirkconnell’s reaction. “And of course she obliged.”
“Michelle walks out, they sit down on the couch together and after Michelle pours her heart out and Rachael pours her heart out, the two shared an embrace, and I simply sat there and witnessed it and thought, ‘If we could see this collectively as a society, we could all grow,’ " he adds.
“It was a beautiful depiction that I got to witness — and for the sake of time, you all did not get to witness,” Acho says of the moment cut for time.
The conversation between Young and Kirkconnell isn’t the only moment from the show that went unaired.
Matt James' second runner-upBri Springsrevealed toRachel Lindsayduring an interview withExtraon Tuesday that she was also cut fromAfter the Final Rose.
Springs said she was disappointed to see that her conversation with James didn’t make it into the show.
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“I realize that there was probably a lot of content to digest between Matt and his conversations with Michelle and Rachael, and the announcement of two Bachelorettes,” she told Lindsay, 35. “I do feel like I had a great conversation with Emmanuel about my journey … I got good closure from it and I wish people could have seen me reach that conclusion.”
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During Monday night’s after show, Jamescame face-to-face with Kirkconnellfor the first time since parting ways with her in the wake of her resurfaced and racially insensitive photos from 2018.
He added: “And that’s why we can’t be in a relationship.”
James also got closure with Young, who was alsoannouncedas one of the leads in upcoming back-to-back seasons ofThe Bachelorette.
source: people.com
