‘The Bachelor’ Alum Matt James Shaves Off His Long Beard & Reveals His New Look

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The former reality TV star took to TikTok on February 18 and revealed that his girlfriend, Rachael Kirkconnell, had helped him shave off his long beard.

Matt James, 32, debuted his freshly shaven face over the weekend! The Bachelor alum took to TikTok on February 18 and revealed that his girlfriend, Rachael Kirkconnell, 27, had recently helped him shave his beard off. Moments before Rachael began to shave Matt’s beard, she joked that this moment was her “real Valentine’s Day gift.” Rachel even joked that she couldn’t find her boyfriend’s face due to his lengthy beard.

During the TikTok video, Rachael also said that the beard looked like a “Brillo pad” to use for washing dishes. Matt later reassured his girlfriend that the hair removal was pain-free and similar to “shearing a sheep.” After the brunette beauty only shaved half of the beard off, she said that they should “keep it like that.” Near the end of the clip, Rachael revealed that she wanted to cry because she “missed” her beau’s face.

At the end of the video, Rachael celebrated Matt’s makeover by cheering and clapping at him in the mirror. He opted to remove his entire beard — however, he kept his mustache. “I will never let my girlfriend shave my beard again,” Matt joked in the caption of the now-viral post. His leading lady also laughed that it’s officially “Stache Season” and that she does not “miss the beard.”

After Matt and Rachael shared the hilarious clip, many of their fans took to the comments to celebrate alongside his girlfriend. “YAYYYY [sic] BEARD IS GONE,” one admirer penned, while another added, “I’m so happy for you Rachel! This is awesome.” Meanwhile, a separate fan compared Matt’s new look to Frozone from The Incredibles. “Now it’s definitely giving Frozone,” they wrote. Later, a fourth fan asked Rachael to shave Taylor Swift‘s boyfriend’s face next. “Do Travis Kelce’s next,” they joked.

Matt and the internet personality have been linked to each other since Season 25 of The Bachelor. Rachael was a contestant during his 2020 season, and she ultimately won the final rose. The pair briefly split and discussed their breakup during an episode of After the Final Rose in March 2021. However, they ended up back together a few months later. Rachael recently opened up to PEOPLE about her future baby plans with Matt. “I feel like we honestly talk kids more than ever, but we have a few steps until then,” she said in November 2023.