Hannah Brown, 24, first graced television screens on season 23 of The Bachelor. Now, the most recent Bachelorette is going to grace the dance floor. Hannah will be one of the many contestants gunning for the mirror ball trophy on season 28 of Dancing With The Stars. However, this is more than just a dancing competition for Hannah. “It’s a great way for me to channel my energy into something completely, to get a fresh start and a great way to get a six-pack,” she said when speaking EXCLUSIVELY with HollywoodLife at the DWTS cast reveal on Aug. 20.
In all seriousness, Hannah told HollywoodLife that DWTS is a chance for her to connect with her fans by channeling her “vulnerable” side into her dances. “I think the reason I’ve connected with the people who are invested in my journey is that I’ve been so vulnerable. So, I’m going to continue to do that [on DWTS],” she said. “But there is a lot more of my story that doesn’t revolve around what people have already seen. There is a lot more to me, and I want to be able to share that. And also, I mean, yeah, The Bachelor [and] Bachelorette was a big part of my life and, of course, that could be a part of the dances, but there’s more. And I think this is a great way to let people in on why I am the way I am.”
What exactly will fans see when Hannah and her still-yet-to-be-assigned professional dance partner hit the floor? “Well, you’ll probably just see more of the things that you’ve slightly seen,” she tells us “like I feel slightly bad for my partner, whoever that is, because we’re going to be like a couple. I’m going to be like, ‘Look, I don’t like you today. I’m going to have to have a little break because I’m tired of you. And I’m going to go stand in the corner, probably stare at a wall, and then I’m going to come back. And I’m probably going to yell and get a little frustrated. But we’re going to work through it.’ “
“Like I said,” she adds, “I think that’s why people connect with me is because I am a real person that got kind of thrown into this spotlight. I had the same emotions that everybody else has. I think it’s just showing that, ‘Hey, there’s some days where you are struggling,’ And, I’m going to continue to struggle, because of everybody struggles.”
“And I have days like that too,” says Hannah, making a vast understatement since her Bachelorette finale involved her breaking off her engagement to Jed Wyatt, 25, and tell Tyler Cameron, 26, the man she dumped in Crete, that she still had feelings for him. Since that confession, Tyler apparently struck up a romance with Gigi Hadid, 24, leaving Hannah in the dust.
“But when you’ve been through a lot, I think it’s really important that you allow yourself to have those emotions because that’s a part of self-care, is allowing yourself to feel those emotions, figure out why you’re feeling those emotions and grow through those,” Hannah tells HollywoodLife.
“There’s a purpose in the pain,” she adds. “There’s power in the pain, and you can find strength in your weaknesses. And that is something that I feel like people try to shy away from. They only want to show the good moments. They use their social media as a highlight reel of their life, but it’s, I think the highlights of life are the ones that are the breakthroughs. Through the breakdowns that get you to the breakthroughs. And I’m going to continue to do that even through my waltz.”
Season 28 of Dancing With The Stars will debut on ABC on Sept. 16 at 8 PM ET.