From 2018 to about 2020, Hannah Brown had a pretty jam-packed schedule and went on a whirlwind of emotions in a short amount of time. It all started with The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, then came Dancing With the Stars. Though the reality star won her season on the dancing competition series, it left her with a feeling you wouldn't expect.
Speaking on The Jamie Kern Lima Show, Brown shared that her win felt "jarring" and that even with all the successes going for her, she "was so lost and felt so lonely" afterwards. Though she took home the Mirroball trophy after competing on DWTS season 28 with pro partner Alan Bersten, she returned to Alabama feeling "so empty." Here's what else she had to say:
"Everybody loved me and everybody thought I was killing it, and I was showing up week after week on live television and getting through these performances, but I just felt like I had to win to prove that everything that I had done had been worth it... It was like, the way I thought that this trophy in this moment was going to feel so big. But instead it felt so light. It actually carried no weight."
It's not clear whether the former Bachelorette felt this way because of a bad experience on the show. Though it does sound more like all the eyes and attention on her suddenly had more to do with these feelings. She was cast on The Bachelor season 23 in 2018 for Colton Underwood's season and came in seventh place. Then soon after, she was announced to be headlining The Bachelorette season 15, going on to put her dancing shoes on for Dancing With the Stars after that.
Everything came right after the other, and being on both the dating reality series' I'm sure can be emotionally draining. First she hoped to be the right person for Underwood, then had to go on to find the right person on her season. Then the schedule of DWTS definitely isn't forgiving. So again, I don't know if she personally had a hard time in terms of the show and people there. But one thing is for sure, Brown felt overwhelmed it sounds like.
A fellow bachelorette though, Charity Lawson, has shared that the dancing series was not good for her mental health, per Entertainment Weekly. It was all of this mixed together that probably caused Brown to feel this way. She was one of the most popular celebs to join the show, and there were definitely many viewers rooting for her.
That also puts pressure on a person. Even so, she did end up returning as a guest performer in season 32, so hopefully she still has some good memories associated with it. She did such a great jo, and deserves the praise she got. Check out what else she says in the the full interview below.
Dancing With the Stars returns with a new season, season 34, this fall 2025 on ABC.
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