Was there more behind Sarah Trott‘s sudden exit from The Bachelor than we all realized? 

Recent media reports have suggested that the 24-year-old broadcast journalist may have been dating a musician named Ben Dorman, a.k.a. DJ Bijou, around the time that she was getting to know Matt James on the ABC dating show. Photos have surfaced showing Sarah, Ben and others on vacation in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico just weeks before she would have headed to Nemacolin Resort to film season 25.

This has led Sarah’s team to issue a statement unilaterally denying such claims.

“Sarah unequivocally did not have a boyfriend before, during or after her appearance on The Bachelor,” read the message released to E! News on Tuesday, Jan. 26. “When she took a trip to Cabo in August 2020, she did so with a group of friends, Ben Dorman being one of them. Ben and Sarah had a fun trip with their mutual friends, and while there may have been some intimate moments between them, it did not lead to a relationship. Sarah went on the trip to Cabo single and came back single, still on her journey to find love, which is why she agreed to go on The Bachelor a month or so later.”