Things are looking up for Hannah Brown! The newly minted Dancing With the Stars champion had her fair share of ups and downs in 2019, but she wouldn’t have done it any other way.
Brown, 25, reflected on rounding out her whirlwind year with “an overall win” as she rehearses with partner Alan Bersten ahead of the upcoming Dancing With the Stars Live Tour 2020.
“This season of my life has definitely had times where I felt like I’ve lost and it hasn’t been what I thought,” the former Bachelorette told Us Weekly exclusively on Monday, December 16. “But overall, the end of this season going into the year 2020, I feel like it was like symbolic of actually being a win.”
The former Miss Alabama and Bersten, also 25, were crowned the winners of DWTS during the season 28 finale on November 25. A few days later, the dynamic duo brought the mirrorball trophy all the way to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to celebrate. “We’re still going off this win,” Brown said to fans in an Instagram Story at the time. “It is the best feeling in the world.”
Nearly one month after taking home the dancing competition win, Brown is still reeling with excitement and gratitude.
“At first I was just so shocked and I think it just had to sink in for a little bit. That’s how I get with a lot of things,” the former reality dating show star told Us on Monday. “As it sank in, just everything was worth it. It wasn’t the smoothest ride, that’s for sure. It definitely had its ups and downs, but it made it all worth it.”
Brown and Bersten’s victory was “the cherry on top” of a dramatic year for the former Bachelorette star. As season 15 of the ABC reality show came to an end, Brown called off her engagement to Nashville native Jed Wyatt after discovering that the country music hopeful, 25, had a girlfriend when he came on the show.
Through all the ups and downs 2019 threw her way, the Alabama native has tried to keep her head held high.
“It was just a great experience and one I’m really thankful for,” Brown explained to Us. “I’m really excited about what this year has to bring.”
The Dancing With the Stars Live Tour 2020 kicks off in Richmond, Virginia, on January 9, 2020 featuring contestants Ally Brooke, Kel Mitchell, Lauren Alaina, Kate Flannery and Sailor Brinkley-Cook.
With reporting by Kayley Stumpe
