The former star of The Bachelorette, Hannah Brown, has had a roller coaster year. From going from a beauty queen to being thrown in the spotlight as the star of the hit ABC show, Hannah went to Instagram to reflect on the whirlwind of a year she had and how she's handling life post-Bachelorette.
Hannah, a former Miss Alabama, was thrown into stardom after being cast as The Bachelorette. The outspoken 24-year-old was very open about her Christian faith. In one of the most dramatic scenes in the entire season, she confronted one of the contestants, Luke Parker, when he slut-shamed her before the fantasy suites. She ended up choosing between the top two men - Jed Wyatt and Tyler Cameron - and ultimately chose who she thought was the safer choice to go forward with the engagement. Hannah cut Tyler off mid-proposal speech to let him know that she chose Jed. Hannah accepted Jed's proposal and the two spent five weeks engaged before the news broke that Jed had left a serious relationship to be on The Bachelorette, which he said was only to boost his music career. Upon hearing the news, she broke off the engagement. At the live portion of The Bachelorette finale, she then proceeded to ask out Tyler for drinks, to which he quickly agreed. Just days later, Tyler was seen leaving Hannah's place in Los Angeles early in the morning. Fast-forward a few more days, Tyler is spotted in New York at dinner with supermodel Gigi Hadid and then headed back to her place.
After so much love, heartbreak, and fame brought on so quickly, Hannah went to Instagram to journal and reflect on The Bachelorette journey and how life has changed since then. In the caption of the photo below, she opened the statement by writing, "I’m struggling. Life is so different... I’ve been in love with multiple people, I got engaged, I broke off an engagement, and I shared it all with millions of people." She wrote very candidly about how the show has tested her faith, writing, "My faith has been questioned by thousands who don’t know my heart." In regard to the Luke P. sex-shaming incident, she wrote about her impact: "I’ve become a role model for young women and started bigger conversations around faith, and sex." She went on to remind her fans that although she is "struggling" with the changes, she is by no means complaining about the opportunities she's been given. She wrote:
"I am not complaining about this past year of adventures. The woman who has emerged would shock the mirror-image young girl from a year ago. I have so many blessings to be thankful for. However it’s uncharted territory for me, and it’s been hard to really process what the heck is going on. .. Life is beautiful, but wild. I think it’s okay to be strong-to know you’re strong-but to still feel weak simultaneously. I believe that’s when the magic happens. My spirit has opportunity to grow and blossom from this place."
She continued that this is actually the first time in her life that she's living on her own and opened up about the struggle of feeling "guilty because I don’t have the time or emotional capacity to fill each of them in on my life right now." She said it's due to feeling like she doesn't even have time to keep up with her own life. She said that she is holding onto her faith, saying, "I can rest knowing that My Savior has compassion and wants to help and love me through this journey."
Although this year has been full of ups and downs, Hannah has been a role model to women to not let them be bullied and lied to by men. This outspoken beauty queen's faith has been scrutinized and yet still remains steady. Although Hannah didn't find love, it seems clear that this former Bachelorette star will be taking dating slow as she tries on being her own woman for a while. It remains to be seen which doors will open up for Hannah as time goes on, but after being praised as being on the most relatable and genuine Bachelorette stars ever - this wont be the last we've seen of Hannah.
Source: Hannah Brown