Hold onto your flip flops, Bachelor in Paradise fans. Shockwaves rippled through Bachelor Nation during the kick-off episode of season nine when Hannah Brown appeared, and host Jesse Palmer handed her a date card. Hannah, who starred in season 15 of The Bachelorette after previously placing in the top seven in season 23 of The Bachelor, is one of the franchise’s more memorable characters.
A former beauty pageant champion, Hannah held the title of Miss Alabama 2018, and made her debut in The Bachelor franchise as a contestant on former professional football player Colton Underwood’s season. But why is she now on Bachelor in Paradise, and is she really even single?
What happened on Hannah’s season of The Bachelorette?
After her season of The Bachelor wrapped, then-host Chris Harrison announced Hannah as the lead in season 15 of The Bachelorette, marking the first time a bachelorette was chosen who did not place in the top four of the prior season. Hannah then sought to find true love on her own season of the show.
Fans will likely remember Hannah’s season for its shocking ending. In the finale episode, then-24-year-old Hannah chose then-25-year-old Jed Wyatt, a songwriter from Nashville. However, during the After The Final Rose special, a major bombshell was dropped. The two supposed lovebirds had almost immediately broken up, calling off their engagement in June of 2019.
Hannah had discovered that Jed had a serious girlfriend at home, and he himself admitted during the episode’s taping that he only went on the show to get publicity for his burgeoning music career. During the episode, Hannah — now single once again — asked the runner-up, Tyler Cameron, on a date. He accepted, though the two did not end up dating after the show, leaving her single yet again.
What happened to Hannah after her season of The Bachelorette?
Despite how tumultuous her season of The Bachelorette was, things got even rockier for Hannah after she left the show. On May 16, 2020, Hannah got herself in the middle of a controversy when she sang the lyrics of DaBaby’s “Rockstar” on her Instagram Live, which included a racial slur.
Social media users were outraged, and many cast members of the show — including former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay, who was the first African-American lead in the franchise — condemned Hannah’s actions. Initially, Hannah denied she used the slur, and wrote an apology on Instagram. A few weeks later, she followed up with a much longer and more comprehensive apology.
Despite the incident, Hannah later joined the cast of another reality show. Only this time, she wasn’t looking for love. Hannah was a competitor on season 28 of Dancing With The Stars. Her partner was Alan Bersten, and the pair won the competition. Most recently, Hannah was a contestant on the last season of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, a show where celebrities compete in challenges designed by former military experts. Brown won that show too, alongside soccer player Carli Lloyd.
As for her romantic life, Hannah announced on Instagram on Monday, August 28 of this year that she was engaged to her boyfriend, Adam Woolard. The photo showed Hannah wearing an engagement ring, and captioned the announcement, “So happy. i love our steady love. ❤️.”
The pair have been dating for nearly two years. When Hannah wrote her memoir in November 2021, titled, “God Bless This Mess,” she thanked Adam in the acknowledgements, writing, “Adam, my sweetie — you are my rock. [Thank you for] loving and embracing me in such a transformational time. You’ve healed my heart.”
Is Hannah really single?
This begs the question… why on Earth is Hannah making an appearance on Bachelor in Paradise if she was just engaged in August? When she appeared on the scene, the other women immediately panicked, and many were not anxious to see the former beauty queen join the competition. Contestant Jess Girod lamented of Hannah’s entrance, “She is the Taylor Swift of Bachelor Nation.”
While Hannah chatted with some of the guys and things looked pretty flirty, it turns out it was all for show. Eventually, she told the group she would be hosting a bonfire for them to reveal some secrets, but she herself was not a contestant on the season. Hannah told the cast, “I have found love and my happily ever after, so I will not be joining you on the beach.” It turns out, despite the fake-out, Hannah is definitely not single. After the show wrapped, she returned home to her fiancé, and still intends to be married.
