Kat Izzo has claimed she's receiving a bad Bachelor in Paradise edit and the show's producers made it look like she brutally rebuffed and dumped Brayden Bowers when that wasn't really the case.
ADVERTISEMENT
On Bachelor in Paradise's recent Season 9 episode, Tanner Courtad arrived in Paradise after the season's first Rose Ceremony, and Kat -- who had just accepted Brayden's rose and seemed smitten with him -- appeared to accept Tanner's date invitation without warning or having a discussion with Brayden first.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Kat proceeded to fall for Tanner after a day of horseback riding and making out, and so she broke up with Brayden when she returned to the Paradise resort afterwards and boasted about how she'd had a wonderful time with Tanner and hadn't actually thought about Brayden at all.
This past weekend, Kat attempted to give her side of the story and set the record straight in a since-deleted statement she posted to Twitter and Instagram Stories.
ADVERTISEMENT
According to screenshots of the post circulating on social media, Kat wrote of Brayden, "Did I check in with him prior to the date? Yes. Did he tell me he was fine with the situation and then say other things to others? Yes."
"Did I validate his feelings? Yes," Kat insisted. "Did he gaslight me for validating his feelings? Yes."
Kat continued in her social-media post of Brayden, "Did he have toxic responses when I tried to explain my feelings? Yes. Was that very triggering for me? Yes. Did they only show the part where I finally got frustrated as if it was the whole conversation? YES."
Kat -- who appeared on Zach Shallcross' season of The Bachelor earlier this year -- also added a hashtag for Bachelor in Paradise to her statement.
Several men in Bachelor in Paradise accused Kat of being "cold blooded" and disrespectful to Brayden on Bachelor in Paradise's October 12 episode.
ADVERTISEMENT
Blake Moynes, for instance, pointed out how it was "not a great look" for Kat, and Aaron Schwartzman said it seemed like Kat had just used Brayden for his rose, which prompted Brayden to call her a "maneater" behind her back.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
Last week's Bachelor in Paradise episode essentially showed Kat going on her date with Tanner and then dumping Brayden that same night, without much thought or tender consideration.
"The fact I wasn't thinking about us while I was there [is a problem]," Kat told Brayden on Bachelor in Paradise.
"I was just happy and enjoying it, and I was really tapped in. I wasn't tapped in at all to what would be happening here between you and I."
ADVERTISEMENT
Even Bachelor in Paradise bartender Wells Adams told Us Weekly that Kat's treatment of Brayden surprised him.
"I don't think that she handled things very well with Brayden," Wells said on a recent episode of the magazine's "Here for the Right Reasons" podcast.
After all, Brayden had told the cameras that he could see a future with Kat and was already falling in love with her.
"From my eyes, they were one of the strongest couples on the beach before [Tanner and Tyler Norris] got there," Wells explained to Us.
"So I was very, very surprised that she didn't at least be like, 'Hey, let's go talk about this beforehand.' I also hated -- and I love Kat -- but I hated when she came down dressed up for the date and he was like, 'Hey, you look beautiful.' And she totally dismissed him."
ADVERTISEMENT
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
Wells admitted Kat's behavior in that moment "broke" his heart "for Brayden," whom the Bachelor in Paradise bartender has come to "love" and respect.
"I love that he has this redemption story. I think it's great," Wells shared. "It's a good life lesson. Sometimes you really cannot judge a book by its cover or whatnot. You got to give people a second chance."
Once Kat was done with Brayden, Brayden vented to Bachelor in Paradise cameras about how the bachelorette had allegedly played him.
Brayden even told Kat that she had made him feel "dirty" and "cheap" like a "wh-re."
And in a preview for the next episode airing Thursday, October 19, someone writes in the "Paradise Truth Box" that Tanner should "watch out" for Kat because she had "played" Brayden.
Brayden, however, recently told Us that he feels "no animosity" towards Kat.
Bachelor in Paradise fans anticipate Brayden may set his eyes on Rachel Recchia, who starred on The Bachelorette's nineteenth season, now that his romance with Kat is over.
Brayden recently told Us that he Rachel is "absolutely beautiful," and he gushed of her, "She is carefree and fun, and she's super intelligent. I mean, she's a freaking pilot. That's pretty freaking cool. There's a lot of things about her that [are] really amazing."
Brayden added of Rachel, "And so I think the better question would be instead of what are the good traits about her, what are some of the bad traits that wouldn't make you date her? Because I feel like those are very few. So she's a great girl."
Rachel, however, is currently coupled up with Sean McLaughlin -- another suitor from Charity's The Bachelorette season -- on Bachelor in Paradise.
ADVERTISEMENT
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Interested in more The Bachelor news? Follow our Bachelor Nation News Page on Facebook or join our The Bachelor Facebook Group!