The Bachelor alum Kat Izzo has hard launched her relationship with new boyfriend Zac Cooper.

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Kat, who also appeared on Bachelor in Paradise last year, took to Instagram on Tuesday, July 16 and posted a carousel of photos featuring her new man.

"Just as surprised as you are," Kat captioned her post, along with a smiley face.

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While Kat didn't identify her beau by name, multiple people -- including The Bachelorette's Season 20 star Charity Lawson, whom Kat had competed against on Zach Shallcross' The Bachelor season -- tagged Zac in the comments.

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Kat's photos captured The Bachelor alum kissing her boyfriend on a boat, enjoying a romantic picnic on the beach, sweetly whispering secrets to each other, walking hand-in-hand, eating fast food, dressing up in matching costumes for Independence Day, and Zac kissing her wrist.

Supportive and congratulatory messages poured in from members of Bachelor Nation.

Charity wrote to her close friend, "I approve x1000 welcome to the looney toon fam."

Kylee Russell commented, "Love every part of this for you."

And Rachel Recchia gushed, "OMG!"


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Prior to getting romantically involved with Zac, Kat was last linked to her Bachelor in Paradise co-star John Henry Spurlock.

John Henry, who had competed on Charity's The Bachelorette season, proposed marriage to Kat on Bachelor in Paradise's ninth-season finale, which aired December 7 on ABC.

"We couldn't be any more different. I knew that, she knew that, and everybody [knew that]... But it just worked," John Henry explained during an April episode of "The Ben & Ashley I: Almost Famous Podcast," which is co-hosted by Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti.

"She's very vocal, she's loud, she's always all over the place, and I'm grounded. It just worked... It fit."

After filming the show, Kat moved to North Carolina to be closer to the underwater welder, but she had been hoping they'd eventually relocate to San Diego, CA, together.

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The idea of potentially moving and changing jobs apparently overwhelmed John Henry.

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John Henry and the registered nurse from Tampa, FL, announced their split on December 11 with a joint Instagram statement.

"I started thinking to myself, 'Is this really it? Is this really what I want?' Once I started thinking that, it just kind of started spiraling for me, and then everything else just started getting more stressful," John Henry explained on the podcast.

"And then, I started to see our differences a lot more. So, things just really got hard for me."


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John Henry said he was also struggling with depression at that time and he "wasn't there" for Kat like he "should've been" or wanted to be.

"It got to a point where it was just extremely hard for the both of us," he recalled. "And then basically, I called it quits. I said, 'This doesn't feel right. I think this should be a lot easier than what it is,' and it just, it wasn't the case."

John Henry revealed that Kat was "shocked" by his decision to break up with her and the situation "wasn't really fair" to her.

"Because at the time, I was her fiance and I was supposed to be her rock... I think the hardest thing for her was the fact I'm supposed to be her guy and I'm supposed to be there for her, and I was struggling with that because of all the issues I was dealing with myself," John Henry shared.

To this day, however, John Henry said he and Kat remain friends and have an amicable relationship.


The Bachelor in Paradise alum concluded, "I'm happy with my experience, and I wouldn't change it for anything... Someone is going to be very lucky to have [Kat]."

John Henry sparked dating rumors with Rachel Nance earlier this summer, but Rachel denied that she and John Henry are an item.

In fact, Rachel revealed that she and John Henry "just hung out" -- as "great company" for each other, with "no flirtation" -- and she actually has a boyfriend who's "a super sweet guy."

Rachel explained of being photographed with John Henry at a dinner out, "He's handsome, he's sweet and he's a great person, but it was just -- I think for the both of us --  dinner."

"The timing of it [made it dinner instead of lunch]," she continued.

"It was after work and he lives close to my house, and he was like, 'Let's just get dinner.' I was like, 'Sure!' We ate, and yeah, it was fun. But then I posted it and it was like, 'Ooh, the world is talking!'"


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Rachel insisted she and John Henry "didn't think much of" the little friendly outing.

Bachelor in Paradise is set to return to ABC with its tenth season in 2025.

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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.