Hannah Brown’s Summer Of Love

Within five minutes of sitting down for lunch with Hannah Brown at Shuka in SoHo, Manhattan, we’re already bonding over anxiety meds. We swapped prescriptions just about as fast as we shared names: I’m Lexapro; she’s Zoloft. We’re basically yin and yang.

After we order ample Mediterranean mezze for the table, I feel my face turning red, a classic anxiety symptom that loves to creep up when I’m giving a presentation at work, going on a first date, or, you know, grabbing a casual bite with former Bachelorette, Dancing With the Stars champ, and New York Times bestselling author Hannah Brown. But when I mention my fear that my face is serving tomato, she immediately jumps in: “It actually just looks like you have really pretty blush on.” Anxiety sisters really do get it.

“I got off of anxiety meds, and I should not have,” the 30-year-old Nashville resident tells me. “This season of life, I need to be back on. I just re-started four or five days ago, so I’m waiting for it to kick in.” By “ season,” she’s referring to the fact that she’s publishing a new novel, joining the cast of Bachelor in Paradise, and getting married — all this summer.

Like most of her devoted fanbase (nearly 4 million across Instagram and TikTok), I fell in love with Brown six years ago as she fell in love on TV. Now, as an expert in enthralling love stories, she’s writing her own. Following her 2024 romance novel Mistakes We Never Made, Brown’s follow-up, The Four Engagement Rings of Sybil Rain, tells the story of a runaway bride who journeys on her honeymoon that could have been — but not without running into an old flame or two.

Ahead of the book’s June 24 release date and Bachelor in Paradise’s July 7 premiere, Brown opens up about her writing process and how she’s feeling these days.

Elite Daily: We have to talk about Bachelor in Paradise. You’re joining the beach as a bartender in the Champagne Lounge. How did you get that call?

Hannah Brown: When I got the call from producers, I was totally caught off guard. I was like, “I haven’t talked to these people in a while.” We were just catching up on life, and they asked if I’d have any desire to have a role in this new season. They wanted it to be what everybody loves about Paradise, but with new elements — one of those being a female presence, which I loved.

People care about my love life, and that puts an immense amount of pressure on me to feel like I have to show up in a certain way.

ED: Another new element this summer is that there are Golden Bachelor contestants on the beach. Jesse Palmer said he’s pro age-gap dating — what do you make of that?

HB: It depends. My parents are 10 years apart. Adam and I are seven. I think that really has served us. There comes a point where it can be challenging as the age gap increases, but everyone is so different in terms of what’s best for their relationship. So I’m not really pro or against it. What are your thoughts?

ED: I also think it depends. There can be power dynamics that come into play, so that’s something to be wary of. But it’s so personal — there’s no hard and fast rule.

HB: And I think men don’t mature as fast as women sometimes.

ED: That’s just science.

HB: So yeah, it’s worked for me and my mom, at least.

ED: You’re getting married in France in July! You said on Kaitlyn Bristowe’s podcast that wedding planning has been a lot. Can you share more about how it’s been going?

HB: People care about my love life, and that puts an immense amount of pressure on me to feel like I have to show up in a certain way. I’m supposed to be excited and relieved that I finally got to this moment. Those feelings come, but so do overwhelm and nerves about a day that’s just about you. Society puts pressure on every single woman when it comes to marriage and being this blushing bride.

Me walking down the aisle, having everyone look at me, makes me scared — even though I’ve walked in a bikini on TV before. When you have anxiety, it can be so hard. Marriage is about the future, and anxiety is being scared of the future. Even though I know I’m with a wonderful person and we have a great love, there’s still anxiety when it comes to what the world has told us is supposed to be the most perfect, beautiful, magical day of your life.

Thank goodness I have a partner who tells me every day that my emotions are not too big for him and that he’ll always be there.

ED: We all really need an Adam Woolard. Earlier this year, you guys made the decision to stop living together until the wedding. Can you speak to that?

HB: The Adam and I that met in 2020 are totally different people than we are now, and the things that we value are different. My faith is very important to me, but at that time, I was not in the best place, and Adam didn’t have a religious background. Together, our faith became something that we really valued and was the basis for deciding what was important. For us, that was honoring our marriage and covenant, and we decided that we weren’t going to live together and be intimate until our wedding.

It was definitely challenging. We had lived together before. But it just felt like something that we needed to do.

ED: I absolutely devoured your new book, The Four Engagement Rings of Sybil Rain. How did you decide to go from writing your memoir, which came out in 2021, to romantic fiction?

HB: I would’ve never thought I would write a memoir about my life because I didn’t think anybody would care. But writing novels has been my first true dream come true. Everything else was just these crazy opportunities that found me. I’m finally doing something that I have always wanted to do.

Anything that I’ve done in my life, I have been scared to do.

ED: Can you give a little bit of insight into your writing process?

HB: For me, it’s a really collaborative process, and it probably has more Zoom meetings than other people’s, but the ideas, thoughts, feelings, and emotions are all mine. I lean on my co-author, Emily Larrabee, for the organization of writing a book and her expertise. But my words are in there, and that’s important to me.

ED: There are some amazing male characters in this book, and also some… less awesome men, specifically Liam, Sybil’s first engagement. I noticed some similarities between Liam’s behavior and men from your past you wrote about in God Bless This Mess. Was that intentional?

HB: Some of the experiences Sybil had, I had, because that’s all I know. You want to explain why a character is the way that they are, and I wanted to explain through Sybil and my books why I am the way that I am. Sometimes, your first experience of love can really hurt you, and you have to heal from it. Sybil has to go on a journey of healing from her relationships, just like I have. And man, it’s tough.

ED: What did you learn about yourself while writing this book?

HB: It’s been so interesting hearing everyone say “Oh, my gosh, this book is my favorite.” It was a reminder that my instincts are good, even while still being new at this, and that I can trust myself when it comes to my creativity. I have this wonderful team of people who have been doing this for years, and I bring a natural instinct and new perspective that I can be confident in sharing.

ED: Thanks for being so open about what you’re going through emotionally, too. Anything else you’re taking away from this current time of life?

HB: Anything that I’ve done in my life, I have been scared to do. I have not had one thing I felt was easy.

I feel the same way now as when I performed for the first time on Dancing With the Stars. I had this same feeling when it finally sunk in that I was going to be the Bachelorette. I had this same feeling in some of the most memorable moments of my life, and it was beautiful on the other side. So for anybody in this season, it’s OK.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.