The *REAL* reason why Cassie Wood lied to her fellow Bachelor contestants

The bubbly 23-year-old played down the extent of the couple’s relationship outside of the house, telling her roomies that they had “met”. She chose not to elaborate not elaborating that the pair had actually been on a few dates – enough for her to form some pretty intense feelings.

"I did feel guilty," Cassie said in an interview with TV Week. "The hardest thing for me was hiding that from the girls. I hate lying, but I wasn't given a rule book on how to handle it and I freaked out. It was hard."

The issue has remained a hot topic – and a bone of contention – for the contestants, and this week it reportedly comes to a head, with fellow frontrunner Brittany Hockley confronting her about it.

"For me, it was the hardest part of the show," Brittany told TV Week. "Cass was put in a really awkward position, but I was really upset. I felt blindsided and a bit embarrassed.

"She'd always maintained she hadn't dated Nick, and while there was a lot of chitter-chatter as to whether she had or not, I always stood by her. But as her best friend, I'm not going to hold it against her."

Britt and Cass formed a close bond in the house, and Cass says her decision to not divulge too much information was because she didn’t want to make them feel “uncomfortable”.

However now that the show has wrapped, and odds that Brittany takes home the final rose are stacking up, Cassie says her friendship is the most important thing.

"It's just something I'll have to deal with," she adds. "It's more important to stay friends and I'd never let anything ruin that."

This article was originally published on InStyle