Rachael Kirkconnell Is Ready For Her Bourdain Era

Rachael Kirkconnell is holding a portable fan up to her face. It's Day 1 of Stagecoach, and we're meeting at Club Magenta, the hot-pink T-Mobile activation tucked into the festival grounds — part bar, part influencer photo op — where she's surrounded by a cluster of recognizable faces, most of them with a drink in one hand and a phone in the other. Kirkconnell, decked out in an all-black Western 'fit, seems to be in the middle of at least four conversations at once, but she peels off easily. We grab waters and find a quieter corner.

Five years out from her run on The Bachelor, the 30-year-old has officially settled into life as a full-time lifestyle creator. "I've put my life on restart, honestly. I'm in the process of getting a new house, a new team, new everything," she says. "I'm very content where I'm at right now. It feels like a fresh start."

When we last spoke in December, the Georgia-based content creator was fresh(ish) off a breakup, weighing a move to New York or LA. She still hasn't ruled either place out, but a decision is no longer urgent. "I always tell everyone I'm down for the move, but I don't want to do it just 'cause." The outskirts of Atlanta might not be a creator hub, but it's where her people are. "I travel so much that when I'm home, I love it."

Best known for her travel and food content on TikTok, where she has over 11.3 million likes, Kirkconnell says she's "1,000%" niche-less. Slicked-back-bun tutorials, margarita recipes, OOTDs — it all lives in the "lifestyle lane."

These days, that includes music festivals. "I'm a rookie when it comes to Coachella and Stagecoach," she admits. With 1.6 million followers across TikTok and Instagram, a trip to the festivals dubbed "the influencer Olympics" was inevitable. "I'd win a gold medal in showing up the latest, or leaving a performance early to go get something to eat," she jokes. Today, her pick is wok-fried soba noodles, served in a neon yellow takeout box.

Really, the dream is being like an Anthony Bourdain.

She's here on a brand trip with T-Mobile, sharing a mansion with a group of creators and former reality stars like Bachelor Nation alums Joey Graziadei, Kelsey Anderson, Andrew Spencer, and Alexe-Anne Godin, plus creators Danielle Carolan and Henry Smith. "I'm always nervous ahead of weekends like this. Going in with no plus-one is so scary sometimes — you don't know if you're going to vibe with people," she says. "But honestly, you can feel it out within the first hour."

The vibe locked in fast, helped along by Spencer buying 12 bald caps for the group to wear during Pitbull's set. "We've been having the best time on the grounds, but we already can't wait to get back to the house," she says. "If you kick it off with someone, three days feels like three weeks."

When she's not at festivals or on a trip, Kirkconnell revels in her at-home routine. "My favorite thing to do is to cook a meal and run it over to my living room. I put it down on my coffee table, press play, and there we go. I'm doing dinner and a movie, always." She'll watch pretty much anything, with one exception: reality TV.

Despite getting her start on a dating show, Kirkconnell has successfully shifted focus away from her love life. "Finding a husband is on the back burner for me. Don't get me wrong, I do want a partner, it’s something I yearn for at times, but I'm not even actively seeking out anyone. If it happens, it happens," she says, before leaning closer to my phone — currently doubling as a recorder — to add: "Exclusive: I still haven't gone on a date or hooked up with anyone [since my breakup]."

A good-looking guy doesn't check a box for me because he could be the worst person in the world.

In theory, Stagecoach would be the perfect place to find someone new — a hunky cowboy seems like the ideal suitor for a Georgia girl like Kirkconnell. “My head is on a swivel,” she jokes. “But I'm not taking it that seriously. It's fun to look, but a good-looking guy doesn't check a box for me because he could be the worst person in the world."

The only time she wishes she had a man around? “When I go to the grocery store and come home — I live in a town house, so I have to go up two flights of stairs — and I see a trunk full of groceries and know I have to take four trips up and down the stairs. That's when I miss having someone in my life," she says. "But if that's the only time I miss a man, I'll survive."

She’s clear-eyed about the "societal pressure" women face to settle down, and she's not buying in. "Why is it that women have this problem, but men don't? I turned 30 this year. I still feel so young, and I am so young. But society pushes this idea of what we need to have. It's frustrating," she says. "I love the idea of having a family, but to be honest, I feel like the world is on fire right now. As much as I want kids, I don't know if I want them to grow up in the world that we're currently in.”

Her bucket list, instead, is squarely culinary. "I want to do an Erewhon smoothie collab, but for the people. Something like a hot sauce. Let's put that out in the universe now."

There may also be a TV return on the horizon, though she's playing it close to the chest. "I've been in talks with certain people about maybe potentially getting back on the television," she teases. "Right now, it's definitely the early stages. But hopefully, you'll see me back on the screen again, if not this year, next." I start guessing: Traitors? A guest judge spot on Top Chef? She’s smiling, but coy when she replies, “I don't know, but that would be great.”

The goal, ultimately, is bigger than a TV deal. "Really, the dream is being like an Anthony Bourdain. Food is the one thing that connects every culture. You could have nothing in common with someone, but if you have a meal together and you both love it, there you go: now, you have something in common."

We finish up and start walking toward the main stage so she can rejoin her group before Ella Langley’s sunset set. Before she even says hello to her group, she leads with the only question that matters: “Anyone want some of my noodles?”