The Bachelor alum Rachael Kirkconnell has revealed that she's not giving her boyfriend Matt James an ultimatum or timeline for their future, except when it comes to one topic.

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Matt, who starred on The Bachelor's 25th season in 2021, left the show dating Rachael, his winner and final-rose recipient.

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Matt and Rachael briefly split in February 2021 over racially insensitive material from her past, but they ended up reconciling in April of that year and have been going strong ever since.

Now that they're in love and traveling the world together -- with recent stops in Greece and Italy -- fans have been wondering if an engagement is on the horizon.

"I think we understand where they come from because, obviously, we came off of a show that expects an engagement at the end of it and whatnot," Rachael, 25, told Us Weekly in a joint interview with her boyfriend.

"So now it hasn't gone anywhere, of course, because they've expected it since Day 1. So I think at this point, we're just kind of used to it because like I said, they've just been expecting it for the entirety of our relationship. I don't think it really affects us anymore -- or it really ever did."

Matt noted that setting a timeline is "socially constructed," which made Rachael laugh, but then she quipped, "The only timeline I give him is I was like, 'I gotta have kids before, you know, I can't have kids.' So keep that in mind."

The Georgia native insisted it's important for Matt and herself to enjoy dating each other right now, even if they're not meeting fans' expectations for their relationship.

"I feel like with everything we go through and whatnot, I feel like it's pretty crucial to just have fun with one another no matter where we're at or what we're doing," Rachael shared. "We got to make the most of everything."

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And Matt agreed that he and the brunette beauty like to "have a good time."

"And I think that it's important to share every aspect of who you are with, you know, the people that care enough to follow along and a lot of what we do in our day-to-day is very playful," Matt said.

"I think that a lot of other couples are in the same situation -- we're not alone in the way that we interact with one another and talk to each other. So when people see that, it's like, 'Oh, yeah, we do the same thing.' It just helps with them being able to relate to you."

As far as what "fun" consists of for the couple, Matt said he and Rachael have "prank wars" and they're just "living in real-life."

"We're just enjoying where we're at. And we're not on TV anymore. So we're just trying to live in the moment," he noted.

And Rachael added how they have a "normal relationship" but still root for other The Bachelor and The Bachelorette couples from "afar."

"Everyone that goes through that show, I'm really rooting for them. I'm really happy for [Susie Evans] and [Clayton Echard], they seem like they're really, really happy right now," Rachael said. "I'm really rooting for [Rachel Recchia] and [Gabby Windey]. They seem very happy obviously."

Matt insisted "there's no hard feelings whatsoever" between himself and the show or other franchise contestants.

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"We want the best for [Michelle Young], everybody," Matt said, referencing his The Bachelor 25 runner-up.

"At the end of the day, like, you want people to meet their person, and if they do it on the show, that's a blessing. I'm so fortunate that things have worked out the way [it did] with Rachael and I hope that everyone who goes on the show can find, you know, their Rachael, their person."

Matt and Rachael agreed they are focused on "being very present" and "appreciative" of how they met each other and ended up together.

Although Matt said he has no hard feelings for The Bachelor franchise, he previously admitted to the Los Angeles Times that the show failed him and turned his relationship with Rachael into a "sideshow" and a "circus."

"We're one of the only couples from that franchise still going strong," he said in June. "The reason is we're going at things at our own pace. We're not playing games that a lot of people play just to stay in that circle."

Matt said during a May episode of Watch What Happens Live that he had a feeling Rachael was The One when they met on the very first night of filming The Bachelor's 25th season.

"When I met everybody that first night and our interaction was the most genuine," Matt said, according to People. "I was looking for that genuine connection and just realness and she exuded it. And there it is."

Matt's new book, First Impressions: Off Screen Conversations with a Bachelor on Race, Family, and Forgiveness, was released on May 3, and the former The Bachelor star wrote about his fast-moving romance with Rachael on the show.

Matt revealed in an excerpt of his book obtained by Us that he wanted to spend all of his time with Rachael while taping the show.

Matt also shared how he knew "early in the process" that he was going to pick Rachael as his winner, way ahead of the finale.

"In the beginning, she cut through the polished front I'd honed and into my nerdy side," Matt reportedly wrote of Rachael.

"We debated who was the bigger fan of How to Train Your Dragon and Marvel movies. I observed her empathy from afar, noticed how her kindness extended beyond our time alone and to everyone else she encountered."

Matt was also apparently smitten with the Rachael's kind heart and family values.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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