‘The Bachelorette’: Why Hannah Brown Was Convinced She Needed to Be Married by 25
Hannah Brown turned 24 when she was filming Colton Underwood’s season of The Bachelor.
At the time, she says she really was ready to get married. And that she really was interested in Underwood.
“I had no idea who nominated me at first,” Brown told Entertainment Tonight, adding that she thought her first call from Bachelor casting was a telemarketer. “I ended up taking a leap of faith. I really was interested in Colton. I thought he had his own platform and was a handsome guy. He had a lot going for him, and I thought I could see myself with somebody like that.”
Later, the former Miss Alabama learned a pageant videographer she’d worked with had nominated her for the dating show.
Hannah Brown felt it was expected of her to be married by 25
In addition to being genuinely interested in Underwood, Brown had been feeling the pressure to get married. Even at 23.
“Oh my god, if I’m not married by 25, I should invest in some cats,” she told the publication she remembers thinking at the time.
She went on to recall a run-in she had with a former P.E. teacher of hers just after she’d gone through a breakup.
“As long as you are married by 25, you should be fine,” she remembers them telling her.
“The same day — it was a real hard day — at the grocery store, I was wearing pajamas, because why not? [A man] told me I’d never get a man looking like that. And then the day before that, I had a client that told me I should get on Match.com, at 23 years old, because I didn’t have a boyfriend,” Brown continued.
Brown also felt she was ready for marriage at 23 because she’d been in two serious relationships prior to going on The Bachelor. Additionally, the former beauty pageant queen had ample time to enjoy being single, she says.
“A lot of people think that I’ve been engaged before because I’ve said in the past I had two very serious relationships where we were in the talks about engagement,” she said. “I didn’t have a relationship for a year and a half before I went on The Bachelor. And that was a good time for me.”
Hannah Brown likes being single, but hopes to find ‘the guy [she’s] supposed to be with’
Though both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette didn’t result in a partner for Brown, she says she’s learned so much about life and who she is.
“[I’m] really learning from some of the situations that I’ve been through and powering through that, and becoming stronger and more powered and empowered through that,” she said. “I really am proud of myself. And that’s what I’ll be able to say… still struggle, still not perfect — far from it. But proud of this girl.”
“I mean, I’m still single, so maybe I should try Match.com. I don’t know,” Brown continued. “But I’m OK with being single, too. I still want a guy, a man, to do life with it. That would be so fun to share that with somebody. And that’s what I want.”
While Brown is good with, even happy, being single, she still hopes to find a partner someday.
“But I have finally gotten to a point where I’m OK with being alone, and can do my own thing. Because if I keep doing my own thing and becoming my best self, I’m hoping, wishing, praying the guy I’m supposed to be with is doing the same thing right now, and we’ll just be better for each other when that day happens,” she shared. “Wow, magic. It’s not magic. It’s hard work, a relationship. You know what I mean.”
Read more: In a Game of ‘Date, Marry, Disappear,’ Former Bachelorette Hannah Brown Marries Peter Weber
