Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell come out of their hiding place at the ESPY Awards

You can definitely call it a comeback – Matt james, the first Black ‘Bachelor’, and Rachel kirkconnell making their public debut as a couple … after the racism controversy that separated them and blew up the TV franchise.

The duo were all smiles as they showed up for the ESPYs on Saturday night in New York… and happily posed for the photographers. Although we know they were together again, they kept a low profile.

They looked stylish enough for their coming out – Matt, a former college football player, wore a double-breasted plaid suit, while Rachel wore a very low-cut sheer black dress.

Quick reminder: Matt gave Rachel her last rose, but after photos of her surfaced at a pre-war planting-themed college party … broke up with her during the special “After the Final Rose”.

Matt said: “If you don’t understand that something like this is problematic in 2018, there is a lot of me that you won’t understand.”

Matt presented the separation as giving Rachel space to work on herself and then a few weeks later … bam! We spotted them together in Santa Monica – but they were obviously trying to keep it on the DL, as Matt covered himself in sunglasses and a hoodie.

Since then we’ve also seen Matt and Rachel hanging out around New York City. So with the debut last night … it looks like they’ve completely sorted things out!