No sham on the ‘gram! Hannah Brown said that the “happy moments” she posts on Instagram are the real deal after a fan suggested that she’s pretending to be happy on the social media platform.
The conversation started on Monday, August 19, when the Bachelorette season 15 star posted a photo of herself dancing on the beach. “This is the energy I’m channeling this week: stay weird. choose joy. shine girl shine,” she captioned the goofy pic.
Later in the day, an Instagram user commented, “I hope you’re TRULY happy and not pretending for IG.”
Brown, 24, noticed the comment and made her mindset clear. “I’m not pretending for instagram,” she wrote back. “That doesn’t help me or others. I didn’t even say I was necessarily happy — I have happy moments and find joy in those.”
The Alabama native has been under the microscope in recent weeks, after breaking up with Bachelorette winner Jed Wyatt in the ABC show’s season 15 finale and asking runner-up Tyler Cameron out for a date, only to see him getting close with Gigi Hadid on the other side of the country.
But Brown remains philosophical about all the ups and downs. “I love the woman that I’ve become. If I would have changed anything, I might not be who I am today,” she told Us Weekly exclusively during the recent TCA summer press tour. “Anytime you can succeed in it, there’s some adversity. It just makes you the best version of yourself. I think through weakness you become stronger … and I definitely think that I’ve done that, and I really like that girl that I’ve become.”
She has also been candid with her emotions online. Last week, the Miss Alabama USA 2018 told Instagram followers that she is “struggling” with the difficulties of her life. “I have so many blessings to be thankful for,” she explained. “However it’s uncharted territory for me, and it’s been hard to really process what the heck is going on. Maybe I needed [to] write this out to remind myself I’m human and it’s okay to be overwhelmed … life is beautiful, but wild. I think it’s okay to be strong — to know you’re strong — but to still feel weak … I believe that’s when the magic happens.”
Her life might not slow down any time soon, however. Multiple sources exclusively told Us on Monday that Brown will be competing on Dancing With the Stars season 28, which premieres on ABC Monday, September 16, at 8 p.m. ET.
