The last time Matt James appeared on an ABC reality show, he barely knew Rachael Kirkconnell.

This time around, however?

Matt James is relying on Rachael Kirkconnell for support.

On Monday night, the most recent Bachelor lead made his Dancing with the Stars debut, doing the Cha Cha Cha with partner Lindsay Arnold and earning a decent 24 points for his initial effort.

It's safe to assume James will advance beyond this opening week -- especially if Kirkconnell has anything to say about it.

“my man is officially trading in his skateboards sneaks for some dancing shoes!” Rachael wrote on Instagram last night.

“can’t wait for you guys to see how hard this guy has been working and what they’ve come up with, you won’t want to miss it… I promise he’s come a long way."

James, of course, chose Kirkconnell as the winner of his Bachelor season.

He then broke up with her, however, after a slew of racially-insensitive social media posts from Rachael's past came to light.

After explaining to the world that Kirkconnell will never understand what it's like to be a Black man in America, James eventually reconciled with Rachael -- and two have been gushing over each other ever since.

“Oh man, she’s been supporting me in every way imaginable,” James told the media prior to Monday's premiere.

“I mean, first of all, she was the only person who seemed to like my beard, so, you know, that’s love right there.

"And she was stoked about this opportunity for me.

"Her sister is an incredible dancer, so we’ve all been consulting about how I can improve my steps."

It's very, very early, but... so far, so great for James.

"When I come back from practice, she’s been, you know, my dance partner outside of Dancing With the Stars," James continued.

“I come back and try to apply the same lessons that I learned during my rehearsals, and she’s whipping me into shape.

"So, it’ll be a lot of fun.”

Alongside his girlfriend on Monday evening, James was cheered on by Bachelorette star Hannah Brown -- who took home the Dancing with the Stars mirror ball trophy in 2019.

"She gave me a lot of advice," James told Entertainment Tonight of Brown.

"You know, Hannah is a woman of a lot of words but what I took with me most was to have fun.

"And when I'm with Lindsay it's hard not to have fun."