The Bachelorette alum Kaitlyn Bristowe has revealed a "big, insider scoop" -- that Zach Shallcross allegedly staged scenes of him being "sick" with coronavirus overseas in Los Angeles, CA.

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"I have a big, insider-scoop secret here," Kaitlyn teased on the February 23 episode of her "Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe" podcast.

"I probably shouldn't tell it, but I'm going to!"

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On last week's episode of The Bachelor's 27th season, Zach was "feeling under the weather" after his one-on-one date with Gabi Elnicki in London, and so he decided to rest while nine of his bachelorettes enjoyed a bus tour of the city without him.

Zach also wasn't well enough to attend the group-date afterparty, and then the next day, The Bachelor host Jesse Palmer announced that Zach had tested positive for COVID-19 and needed to quarantine. The news was especially devastating for Charity Lawson, who was supposed to get a solo date with Zach that day.

While Zach conducted The Bachelor franchise's first-ever virtual cocktail party and Rose Ceremony from inside his hotel room in London, Kaitlyn has claimed producers filmed some extra footage of Zach appearing to battle COVID-19 in Los Angeles, long after he actually recovered from the virus.

"When they show B-roll of Zach, and he really doesn't look like he's doing too bad despite the dramatic footage of him blowing his nose -- you remember? He's, like, in his hotel room, in the bed, blowing his nose, he's got a little fake cup of tea?" Kaitlyn began.

"That's a hotel in L.A!" she claimed.

Kaitlyn continued of the extra shots, "[Production] must have been like, 'Oh sh-t, we need some B-roll of Zach looking sick.' And so he's back in L.A. and they're like, 'Can we just get you blowing your nose and holding a cup of tea in the hotel room?'"

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Kaitlyn went on to explain how she recognized that Zach's hotel room is one in California.

"It's the hotel they always put people in when we're doing, like, [After the Final Rose] or The Women Tell All or The Men Tell All. That's where they stay, in this, like, very specific bed that has writing on the back," Kaitlyn alleged.
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"I just thought that was funny. Now that right there, ladies and gentlemen, is some tea!"

The Season 11 The Bachelorette star -- who later co-hosted two The Bachelorette seasons in 2021 with Tayshia Adams -- joked that she would've loved to have some sick time or R&R while filming her season back in 2015.

On The Bachelorette's eleventh season, Kaitlyn got engaged to Shawn Booth, but the pair announced their split in November 2018 after three years of dating.

Kaitlyn is now engaged to The Bachelorette 14 alum Jason Tartick, but they've been dragging their heels on wedding plans.

"I actually thought in that moment, I was like, 'Damn, I could have used five days off with some tea in bed during my season,'" admitted the former Dancing with the Stars winner.

The Bachelor executive producer Bennett Graebner recently shared with Entertainment Weekly how he was initially "concerned" the virtual twist on Zach's season "wouldn't look like The Bachelor" fans have come to "know and love."

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"To be frank, I thought it might look embarrassing," he confessed.

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As The Bachelor's February 20 episode showed, Zach, guided by assistance over the phone, had to set up all of the audio and lighting equipment himself in his hotel room.

Zach proceeded to have one-on-one conversations with nearly a dozen bachelorettes via iPad for the cocktail party, and then Zach's face was featured on a large wall-mounted TV monitor for the Rose Ceremony, which took place in a fairly small room.

A platter of roses was displayed in front of the TV monitor, and as Zach called each bachelorette's name, the woman was able to grab one of the available roses.

The producer revealed that Zach's COVID-19 diagnosis was unfortunate because the entire The Bachelor cast and staff had been "fully vaccinated." In fact, Zach and his bachelorettes were tested daily for coronavirus, every morning.

At the end of The Bachelor episode, Zach eliminated Kylee Russell and Mercedes Northup.

The Bachelor star now has nine women remaining on his journey to find love, which continues on Monday, February 27 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC.

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

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.