Spoiler warning for the most recent episode of Dancing with the Stars.
Of all the current contestants showing off their fancy footwork on ABC's Dancing with the Stars, Hannah Brown has arguably had one of the most tumultuous pre-show experiences. As the outspoken star of The Bachelorette's most recent season, Brown was constantly being thrust in the spotlight both on TV and on social media, so one might not have thought jumping into another high-profile reality competition would have been ideal.
However, Hannah Brown revealed on Monday night's episode that being on Dancing with the Stars has had a truly positive affect on her life in the aftermath of The Bachelorette. Here's how she put it following her performance with pro partner Alan Bersten:
I've been through a lot on television and my whole life has been exposed to everybody. There have been ups and downs. I think this is also something that has those ups and down but it has been such a great therapy for me. And I feel like that's what people get to see. I get to come out every Monday and shine.
Obviously, there is a world of difference between competing for someone's heart in romance on The Bachelorette and competing for the Mirrorball trophy on Dancing with the Stars. To me, it seems just slightly less stressful to go in front of audiences to showcase a specific talent, even one as performative as dancing, as opposed to opening up one's emotional core with one hopeful suitor after another. That's apparently somewhere close to how Brown feels about things as well.
For Monday night's episode, Hannah Brown got to find some therapeutic relief in performing a rumba with her partner Alan Bersten, which was set to the tune of Wilson Phillips "Hold On." As part of Dancing with the Stars' Movie Night, the dance was inspired by Kristen Wiig's mega-hit Bridesmaids, though there weren't any fun breakout performances from Melissa McCarthy during Brown and Bersten's dance.
Hannah Brown and Alec Bersten's dance wasn't the biggest one of the night, and it was perhaps questionable for the duo to set up such an aggressively sexual dance with a song that is anything but aggressively sexual. They earned a 21 out of 30 from the judges, but that definitely wasn't the worst dance of the night. Viewers and judges agreed that distinction went to Sean Spicer and Lindsay Arnold's cha-cha, which was as close to a train wreck as it probably could have gotten.
Of course, some fans out there are interested in watching Hannah Brown and Alec Bersten's chemistry together, regardless of what song they're dancing to. Rumors have been flying surrounding the Bachelorette vet's closeness with the Dancing with the Stars pro, considering Brown quickly split with winner Jed Wyatt after it was revealed he'd had a girlfriend before and during the filming that season.
The pair haven't been very up front about addressing the romance rumors, but Hannah Brown joined Alan Bersten to record an Instagram Story Q&A for fans, and the question definitely came up. Rather than playing it off innocently, Brown jokingly called back to her own Bachelorette introduction:
Yeah, we're a thing. Team Alabama Hannah!
Whether it's dancing on TV or secret romances that serve as Hannah Brown therapy on Dancing with the Stars, fans are happy to see the reality star thriving after a season of Bachelorette controversies. Now when will she talk about dancing her way over to Bachelor in Paradise next season?
Dancing with the Stars airs on ABC every Monday night at 8:00 p.m. ET.
