Katherine "Kat" Izzo has refuted Sean McLaughlin's claim that they had a very close friendship prior to filming Bachelor in Paradise together.

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On Bachelor in Paradise's tenth season, Sean was shown repeatedly defending Kat and gushing about their strong friendship.

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But when Kat essentially turned her back on Sean amid his politicking and strategizing to win the cash prize in Costa Rica, Sean -- who claimed he would've died for Kat -- felt completely betrayed and later lashed out at her.

After Sean and his then-love interest, Allyshia Gupta, self-eliminated from Paradise, they both claimed on different podcasts that Sean and Kat had spent the holidays together in 2024 and spoke frequently before Paradise.

Allyshia also alleged that Kat's mother had once reached out to Sean to thank him for always having Kat's back.

Kat, however, told a completely different story during a recent appearance on "The Viall Files" podcast, which is hosted by former The Bachelor star Nick Viall.

"Sean and I were friends. On our first Paradise, [Season 9], we were from the same hometown and we have mutual friends. We kind of became friends after the first Paradise, which was two years ago," Kat explained with Dale by her side.

"We talked about boy-and-girl dating stuff, right? He was someone that I talked to about [my ex-fiance John Henry Spurlock] and everything. But once I went back to San Diego, it's not like we talked every day or monthly or anything."

When Kat returned to California after her first Bachelor in Paradise stint, Sean went back to Tampa, FL.

On Bachelor in Paradise's tenth season, Sean and Kat reunited as pals, but when their friendship fell apart, Sean told the cast that Kat had joined the show, not for love, but to boost her career and stir up drama on the beach.

Sean and Allyshia also alleged Kat had a boyfriend back home during filming and was secretly messaging him on an iPad she had snuck into her hotel room on Day 1 in Costa Rica.

Sean claimed that Kat's ex-boyfriend is his best friend and that he had receipts to prove his allegations.

Kat, however, denied the accusations -- which Allyshia previously predicted -- and told Nick that she doesn't believe Sean had any real receipts.

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In addition, Kat laughed about how Sean and her ex-boyfriend definitely weren't best friends.

"So he met my ex twice," Kat said. "So best friends? I don't know. If that's what he wants to call it, [then fine]."

Kat elaborated, "[Sean] only met him because my ex and Sean are from the same hometown. I was home and I was like, 'Hey, we should meet up and go to a bar and say hi and catch up.' And then that's when he met my ex."

Kat claimed "that was the extent" of Sean's friendship with her pre-Paradise love interest.

"As far as holidays, same thing. We did not spend the holidays together. We were at the same local bar in the same hometown during holiday time because I was home," Kat alleged.

"I don't know if you would consider that [spending the] holidays together, but for me, that was kind of where it went."

Nick asked if Kat and Sean had just bumped into each other at the same bar, and Kat replied, "Yeah!"

She continued, "I didn't even know who was going to be at that bar, actually."

Nick quipped in reply, "That's definitely not spending the holidays together."

Kat explained how in Tampa, most people know each other and party at the same places.

"So he met my sister there because I was with my little sister. It's not like he's friends -- or hung out -- with her. I think he said they hung out, and no, my sister was just with me," Kat clarified.

"And I don't know what the comment was about my mom. I think my mom maybe DMed him at one point, saying, 'Thank you for being a good friend to Kat,' back in the day."

Kat said she only reached out to Sean before Bachelor in Paradise's tenth season to see if producers had called him about joining the show.

"I said, 'They just called me.' And that's when we started talking again, but still, I have receipts I can show you. We're not BFFs," Kat insisted.

"I do think he felt connected to me because we did have that common ground. So I feel like maybe that's where he was coming from -- he felt hurt as if he was betrayed."

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Kat noted, "We were friends, but I wouldn't have considered him a close friend."

Kat, however, didn't think she ever denied being Sean's friend on Bachelor in Paradise.

Kat recalled trying to comfort Allyshia one night before a Rose Ceremony.

"[Allyshia] was like, 'He's talking strategy again,' or whatever, and then she was like, 'Well isn't he one of your good friends?' And I was like, 'Well, I wouldn't say good friends,'" Kat shared.

"So that's how I remember it. And the last thing I thought was that that was going to be taken to the extent that it was. But that's how I remember the situation. I'm sure she might remember it a different way."

Dale added how emotions were heightened and intensified moments before a Rose Ceremony and so things can easily be taken out of context.

Nick acknowledged how the terms "friend" and "best friend" are thrown around very freely in Bachelor Nation.

"I've always said this world is very high school," Nick pointed out, adding how some people tend to oversell their relationships.

Several months have passed since Bachelor in Paradise filmed its Season 10 finale, and Kat and Dale are still together. Sean and Allyshia, however, split shortly after filming the show.

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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