Former The Bachelorette lead and current Dancing with the Stars competitor Hannah Brown has opened up about her experience on reality television, and how she feels that producers may try to exploit her emotions in an attempt to create a narrative for their shows.

Brown’s season of The Bachelorette was one that every fan of the franchise will know, and one that you likely heard about in the lunchroom at work every Tuesday even if you didn’t watch it. The former pageant queen’s season introduced us to conservative villain Luke P., as well as the beloved Mike Johnson and Tyler Cameron, plus we were introduced to the next bachelor, Peter Weber, thanks to season 15. Of course, we also can’t forget about Brown choosing Jed Wyatt as her finalist, but breaking off the engagement after it was revealed that Wyatt was in a relationship when he came on the show. Needless to say, it was an emotional season for Brown and she was open with her fans about the mental toll the process took on her, but now she’s talking about the worries she has surrounding television producers and their ability to fabricate stories or distort narratives.

In Brown’s weekly Dancing with the Stars diary for Bustle, she wrote about how going through emotional experiences on television has made her cautious. She acknowledges that on reality television shows there are producers, and those producers are “trying to tell my story,” but sometimes she feels that the producers are “trying to tell a story to make [her] life into a story that they want” which is a common qualm that viewers have about reality tv; how do we know what drama is legitimate and what is manufactured? The Bachelor Nation alum goes on to talk about how much she “hates” being fed lines or being encouraged to say certain things because it “feels slimy” to “see my name and thoughts being given to me as sound bites.” Brown writes that even if the soundbites or lines might be things that she’s feeling or thinking, she wants them to “come from the heart,” not from a producer. She finishes by talking about the past year and how it has made her “sensitive to [her] emotions being exploited.”

Brown is someone who has always been open with her life both on television and on social media, which she says is “my gift, and sometimes curse.” It’s part of the reason that the Alabama-native was able to win over the hearts of Bachelor Nation despite the initial concern from fans that she wouldn’t be able to carry a season of The Bachelorette. Viewers quickly connected with her struggles & insecurities; they saw what a genuine person she is, and she is now considered to be one of the most popular leads of The Bachelorette to date. She is also the only lead of the dating show to have not placed in the top four during their time on The Bachelor (Brown was eliminated in 7th place on Colton’s season.)

From the pageant world to the reality TV world, viewers can’t get enough of Brown and she has everyone from fans to Bachelor Nation alum rooting for her and partner Alan Bersten to succeed in their quest to win the Mirror Ball trophy. She may not have found love on The Bachelorette but she’s found a love of dancing thanks to Dancing with the Stars, and though Brown hasn’t talked about what her next steps will be, we have a feeling this won’t be the last we’re seeing of Hannah Brown on our television screens. Maybe her next project will be that TV talk show she’s always wanted to host? Kris Jenner works hard, but Chris Harrison works harder - the Bachelor Nation father-figure can make anything happen.

Next: Dancing with the Stars’ Peta Murgatroyd Reveals She’s Now a US Citizen in Emotional Post

Dancing with the Stars airs Mondays at 8pm EST on ABC.

Source: Bustle