Josh Harward has confessed that he dated Taylor Frankie Paul's younger sister Aspen prior to competing for Taylor's heart on The Bachelorette.

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Although ABC axed The Bachelorette's 22nd season over domestic violence allegations against Taylor, the show already filmed late last year.

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

Since the cancellation of Taylor's The Bachelorette season was announced last month, the bachelors from her season have been appearing on the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast to share stories about themselves and their experiences on the ABC reality dating show.

And Josh, 28-year-old sales manager from Provo, UT, dropped a bombshell on co-hosts Rachel Recchia and Charity Lawson when taping a recent episode of the podcast.

Josh revealed that he goes "way back" with Taylor's family and "actually grew up with" them.

"I went to school with them, played sports with some of her cousins. We've been in contact for -- oh, man it's been almost, not 20 years, but like 15-plus [years]?" he said.
 
"Her mom has driven me to some of their family parties. I have been in her mom's car."

Because of his history with Taylor's family, Josh admitted there have been "rumors" floating around that he wanted to put to rest.

"I've never been engaged to or married her younger sister Aspen... That was never anywhere close to the extent," Josh explained.

But Josh did, in fact, confirm that he and Aspen dated back in the day.

"We were boyfriend and girlfriend, me and [Taylor]'s younger sister, for I think two whole days," Josh shared with a laugh.

"We were sixth graders. I think we were 12 years old, little kids. We passed a little note to each other: 'Will you be my girlfriend? Will you be my boyfriend? Yes or no?'"

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)  

Josh said he and Aspen "stayed best friends forever" but that was "pretty much the extent of it."

Josh also explained that he and Taylor, 31, ended up going to different high schools because Taylor's family moved and they had "a little bit of an age gap" between them.
 
"But I was really good friends with her younger sister and her cousins, so we definitely swim in the same circles," he noted.

Not only that, but Josh claimed he and The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star talked "a lot" during the coronavirus pandemic.

"She was jumping in the mix of TikTok, and I helped a lot of people kind of catch some steam there," he claimed.

"And so she was asking for tips and tricks and we connected. We made some fun little fake pregnancy videos on there to just catch the public's eye. And it was great!... We were duetting each other's TikToks."

So prior to reuniting with Taylor in The Bachelor mansion, Josh said his relationship with Taylor consisted of "tons of Story swipes" and "tons of Instagram conversations about her kids, her family and how she's doing, and her spiritual growth that she's had."

Josh pointed out how The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star has "gone through a lot."

"I mean to each of us, we all do, life's not easy. And so we were able to connect on a lot of different things that were subtle and simple over the years," Josh recalled.

"I'm definitely someone of integrity and I knew that for a while there, she was married to a really great guy, [Tate Paul]. And so there was no intent or anything like that, and that application of pursuance... I never really had an opportunity to pursue anything until now."
   
But Josh said when the door opened to date the mother of three on TV, he "had the opportunity to strike."

"And here we are," he quipped.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)

Since Josh and Aspen were so young when they dated, Josh said he didn't reach out to Aspen before he left for Los Angeles to film The Bachelorette.

However, Josh said he did, in fact, chat with one of Taylor's cousins, with whom he still plays basketball.

When Josh insisted he had serious intent dating Taylor, he said he received the cousin's blessing to compete on The Bachelorette's 22nd season.

"I definitely went into the mansion 100% being like, 'I have an advantage. I know it. I don't care if I'm the bad guy, because I'm here for Taylor and there is no other intent,'" Josh told Rachel and Charity.

"She has gone through it, and more than any other guy here, I have seen her family, her friends, her journey through years and years and years of friendship. What a better place to start a lifelong, happy relationship where we can finally actually meet in person, get to know each other, and see if we have that chemistry?"

Josh claimed he already had chemistry with Taylor's family and friends in Utah.

"Things were great that way, so how much easier can it get than to start a relationship when you're already best friends with somebody? That's the dream. That's the goal," he noted.

And Josh said the other The Bachelorette suitors picked up on his history with Taylor immediately.

"I didn't care one lick about anyone else," Josh concluded.

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

To read spoilers about what happened on Taylor's The Bachelorette season and whether she picked Casey as her winner, click here.

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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