This season of The Bachelorette has offered us some real highs and lows. I am, of course, talking about Peter and Luke P., respectively. Listen, I have a lot of feelings about Luke's "your body is a temple" chauvinistic, gaslighting bro-down in Episode 7, but instead, I want to keep it positive, which means focusing instead on America's (and Hannah's, for that matter) new boyfriend, the wonderful Pilot Pete. Swoon. Because I'm rooting so hard for this romance, I just had to know if Peter and Hannah B.'s body language on The Bachelorette could confirm if what I think I’m seeing between them is really happening. So, I reached out to Traci Brown, body language expert and author of Persuasion Point: Body Language and Speech for Influence, for her take on the couple.
I showed Brown a series of images of the two in a few of their, ahem, more intimate and pivotal moments, to see if there is a real chemistry between them — and possibly even something deeper in their connection. While what Brown sees in their dynamic is a bit of a mixed bag, there is enough here to keep hope alive that Peter will be walking away with the final rose and Hannah's heart.
It seemed clear from their very first group date that Peter only had eyes for Hannah, and Brown says his body language confirmed that. However, Brown notes that Hannah was less convinced to begin with. “He’s wanting to get more intimate than she is. He’s looking right in her eyes. And she’s looking away, maybe in embarrassment? And she may be holding his hand down instead of letting him put his arm around her,” Brown tells Elite Daily. While this early image captures an imbalance of attention or interest, things get better from here. It was a group date, after all.
In the fourth episode of the season, Peter did something surprising and totally adorable: He asked Hannah to be his girlfriend. Aww. Fortunately, she said yes (because who wouldn’t?). Brown analyzed a photo of this moment and notes that their interest and attraction is becoming more reciprocal. “They both have about the same intensity smile,” she says. “So I’d say attraction is equal.”
If there was any doubt that these two have real chemistry together, Brown puts that to rest with her analysis of this photo. But, she also points out that Hannah may be trying to control the pace of the connection. “They’ve both got their hands on each other. She may be trying to control the situation a bit. Her hand is on his wrist instead of fully around him,” Brown observes.
While Hannah and Peter seem happy to take advantage of every opportunity to do a little making out, Brown, again points to a pattern of Hannah holding back — literally — which may indicate that she's trying to hold back emotionally as well. “Her hand is on his shoulder between them,” Brown points out. “That little barrier is telling. In this moment she’s not 100 percent into him.” Uh oh.
While Hannah does seem to be trying to keep some distance between them — which is totally understandable if she's trying to give all her suitors a shot and not get too attached — Brown’s overall assessment of Hannah and Peter is a hopeful one. “These two seem great together,” she says. However, Brown adds that Hannah is firmly in the driver's seat of their dynamic. “She’s still wanting the upper hand and he may like her a little more than she likes him,” she concludes.
While only time will tell if Peter ends up being the one to win Hannah’s heart, there are plenty of reasons for Bachelor Nation to hold out hope. If not, well, I’m guessing we know who our front runner for next season’s Bachelor will be. Just sayin’.
