Bachelor Nation Is Divided on Bachelorette Hannah Brown: Rachel Lindsay, Nick Viall and More Weigh In

Credit: Ed Herrera/ABC via Getty Images

Bachelor Nation Is Divided on Bachelorette Hannah Brown: Rachel Lindsay, Nick Viall and More Weigh In

A (Bachelor) nation divided! Several former stars of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette have voiced their opinions on season 15 lead Hannah Brown — and the reactions are mixed. Back in March, ABC named the 24-year-old Alabama native the Bachelorette after she competed for Colton Underwood’s heart on season 23 of The Bachelor. After struggling to feel comfortable in front of the camera during her first date with Colton, Hannah was forced to open up to the former football player about her pageant past and one-time friendship with fellow contestant Caelynn Miller-Keyes. While she dropped the L-word, Colton ultimately sent Hannah home during week 7 after she met his parents. During the live After the Final Rose special on March 12, Chris Harrison confirmed that Hannah was the new leading lady. [jwplayer CpSueE0M-l3ahXupL] “I would love to have that opportunity to meet somebody. That’s the desire of my heart – to be married and to have a family,” she told Us Weekly exclusively ahead of the announcement. “I think that can happen on a television show or at a coffee shop and it’s going to happen for me someday. I’m not going to keep putting a timeline on it, but it’s gonna be somebody who chooses me and I’m gonna choose them back too.” Two months later, Hannah’s season of The Bachelorette premiered. While she gave her first impression rose to Luke Parker, Peter Weber quickly became the fan-favorite, according to Twitter users’ reactions. Hannah, for her part, declared on several occasions during the premiere that she is ready for the journey. “I know who I am to my core,” she told the camera. “I want my time as the Bachelorette, my experience here to feel different because I am different.” Tell Us: What do you think of Hannah? And scroll through to see what your favorite Bachelor and Bachelorette alums think of season 15:

Credit: Ed Herrera/ABC via Getty Images

Bachelor Nation Is Divided on Bachelorette Hannah Brown: Rachel Lindsay, Nick Viall and More Weigh In

A (Bachelor) nation divided! Several former stars of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette have voiced their opinions on season 15 lead Hannah Brown — and the reactions are mixed. Back in March, ABC named the 24-year-old Alabama native the Bachelorette after she competed for Colton Underwood’s heart on season 23 of The Bachelor. After struggling to feel comfortable in front of the camera during her first date with Colton, Hannah was forced to open up to the former football player about her pageant past and one-time friendship with fellow contestant Caelynn Miller-Keyes. While she dropped the L-word, Colton ultimately sent Hannah home during week 7 after she met his parents. During the live After the Final Rose special on March 12, Chris Harrison confirmed that Hannah was the new leading lady. [jwplayer CpSueE0M-l3ahXupL] “I would love to have that opportunity to meet somebody. That’s the desire of my heart – to be married and to have a family,” she told Us Weekly exclusively ahead of the announcement. “I think that can happen on a television show or at a coffee shop and it’s going to happen for me someday. I’m not going to keep putting a timeline on it, but it’s gonna be somebody who chooses me and I’m gonna choose them back too.” Two months later, Hannah’s season of The Bachelorette premiered. While she gave her first impression rose to Luke Parker, Peter Weber quickly became the fan-favorite, according to Twitter users’ reactions. Hannah, for her part, declared on several occasions during the premiere that she is ready for the journey. “I know who I am to my core,” she told the camera. “I want my time as the Bachelorette, my experience here to feel different because I am different.” Tell Us: What do you think of Hannah? And scroll through to see what your favorite Bachelor and Bachelorette alums think of season 15:

Credit: GP/Star Max/GC Images/Getty Images

Krystal Nielson

The former Bachelor villain is a big fan of the current lead. "I love Hannah. Oh, my gosh, I love this season," she told Us in June. She's even psyched for the upcoming Bachelor in Paradise due to Hannah's men: "And I have to say that I get excited for Paradise, because there are so many good personalities going in."

Credit: Michael Stewart/Getty Images

Andi Dorfman

The former Bachelorette opened up to Us in June in which she gushed over Brown being a great choice for the show. “I think they went with a girl that was there because she actually wanted to find love and not for anything [else] at all,” Dorfman told Us. “So I really appreciate her and respect her for that.”

Credit: Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images

Becca Tilley

The former Bachelor alum is rooting for Hannah. "I don’t think she needs any advice, she’s doing a good job," she told Us in June. "I think she’s very true to herself and what she believes and I would keep saying keep doing what you’re doing."

Credit: Paul Archuleta/Getty Images

Wells Adams

"I think the show’s really good. I was candid about it early being like, I don’t know if she’s going to be a good Bachelorette. I was like team Caelynn, but I must say that Hannah B’s pretty badass," the Bachelorette alum and Bachelor in Paradise bartender told Us in June. "I’m liking what I’m seeing. She’s super self-deprecating, but also owning it in a weird way. She’s able to walk that fence. She’s doing a good job of that, I think."

Credit: Craig Sjodin/ABC via Getty Images

Rachel Lindsay

The Bachelorette season 13 lead was one of the first members of Bachelor Nation to admit that she wasn’t a fan of Hannah. 

“It’s nothing personal,” she told Us in March. “I separate the two: friends and [The Bachelor]. I think Hannah B. is very, very nice. If I was 23 and in that house, I would have the time of my life. If she happens to find love, that’s great! But she wasn’t my first choice or my favorite.”

Earlier that month, Rachel told Us that she didn’t “trust” any of Colton’s contestants to star on the spinoff: “Usually, when you get down to the top four, it’s drama-free. … I can’t see any of them being the next Bachelorette.” 

Credit: Manny Carabel/Getty Images

Corinne Olympios

Corinne called ABC’s choice “random” during an exclusive interview with Us in May. “It’s, like, there’s nothing there that would have made me be like, ‘I need to see her again on TV. I need to see her find love,’” she explained. “Like, she wasn’t even someone that I was like, ‘I want her to find love.’”

She added: “Am I interested in it? Absolutely not. Will I watch it? Absolutely yes.”

While the Bachelor in Paradise alum told Us that “anyone” would be a better Bachelorette, Corinne clarified her point later that month: “It’s not that I would have preferred anyone, it’s just, that, specifically, was random.” 

Credit: Greg Doherty/Getty Images

Nick Viall

The “Viall Files” podcast host defended Hannah after Corinne’s diss in the comments of Us’ Instagram post on May 10, writing, “Hannah is going to prove many people wrong.” Days later, he expanded on his thoughts in a statement to Us.

“I am a big Hannah fan, so regardless of who criticizes her, I’m going to defend her,” the former Bachelor began. “I thought she was the perfect choice when she was announced; I still think she is the best choice; and I absolutely believe she is going to prove her critics wrong.”

Nick concluded: “Her authenticity may at times come across as a little unpolished or messy, but I personally think it’s great. The world need more of authenticity like Hannah’s.”

Credit: Tony Barson/WireImage

Hannah Godwin

Hannah G. had her fellow season 23 contestant’s back. “I think everybody can have their own opinions. Me personally knowing Hannah B., I think she’s amazing for it,” she told Us in May. “I think your No. 1 intention being the Bachelor or the Bachelorette is to have the best intentions going in and really wanting this end goal of finding somebody really, really great. And I know Hannah has those [intentions]. Do they know that about Hannah? No. But I think when we tune in this season, we’ll be able to see that.”

Credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

Cassie Randolph and Colton Underwood

Colton told Us exclusively in April that he believes his ex’s season will be “very entertaining,” noting that she needs “somebody who's a straight shooter and honest.” 

“If anybody ever lies to her or deceives her, he's gone for sure,” the former Bachelor explained.

Cassie, who won Colton’s season, added that she is “excited” to watch the show. “I think it's going to be a good one." 

Credit: Gary Miller/Getty Images

Ben Higgins

The Bachelor season 20 lead told Us in April that Hannah wasn’t “prepped” for the role.

“Like, I don’t think she expected to be the Bachelorette, nor did she desire to be the Bachelorette after her season,” he explained. “So, this is all kind of a shock, which makes it really fun because it’s kind of, like, watching any one of us that would be placed in this crazy environment. So, I’m really excited for her season.”

Ben added that Hannah should be “unapologetically” herself. “She has quirkiness [and] this funny sense of humor. She, like, makes weird facial expressions and says weird things at times,” he said. “And that’s a really endearing quality that I hope she doesn’t lose. [I hope] she doesn’t try to become too much of the model of a Bachelorette and just stays true to herself.”

In June, the former reality TV star weighed in on Hannah's turn as the Bachelorette: "One thing weird about her season is I think you’ve gotten to know these men very quickly, where previous seasons, it feels like, the first three weeks, everybody’s perfect and everything’s going well. But it feels like right now, her men are really showing their true colors." He then provided the Alabama native with some first-hand advice: "What I just ask for her is to hold on. Once you filter through kind of the garbage, like, really good things kind of shine, and she’s going to start seeing that."

Credit: John Fleenor via Getty Images

Kaitlyn Bristowe

The Bachelorette season 11 star has sent mixed messages about Hannah. Kaitlyn made headlines for saying that she doesn’t deserve the role during her May 12 appearance on LadyGang, but she later clarified she was “just saying that because I don't know her yet." 

Days later, Kaitlyn told Us that she thinks the season will be “entertaining.”

“They don't call her Hannah Beast for no reason,” the “Off the Vine” podcast host told Us on May 18. “I think she is going to be ... just speak her truth and put these guys in their place, and that's … We haven't really had a Bachelorette like that.”

Credit: Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for boohooMAN

Caelynn Miller-Keyes

Despite their rocky relationship, Caelynn is rooting for Hannah to find love on the show. “There was a time when Hannah and I were really close, and I was dating a guy that I thought I was gonna get engaged to, and we broke up, [and] she was talking me through that,” the former Miss North Carolina told Us in March. “And she talked about her breakup and how she was gonna get engaged, and if she was at that place a year ago, I feel even [more] strongly that she’s there more so now.”

Caelynn added that she’s “super happy” for Hannah. “She’s hilarious and completely herself, and I think we’ve never had a Bachelorette be so entirely herself,” she said. “It’s gonna be a different season just because you’ve never seen someone be so vulnerable and so authentically themselves.”

Credit: Jeff Christensen

JoJo Fletcher

“I've never met Hannah before, I've just seen her on Colton's season but getting to see her in this Bachelorette role was so amazing,” the former Bachelorette told Us in May. “I feel like I love the fact that she has stayed true to who she is and, she owns her quirkiness and owns those awkward moments. I thought she did amazing. I think she's going to be an amazing Bachelorette. The guys I'm not so sure about.” 

Credit: Tiffany Rose/WireImage

Molly Mesnick

The former Bachelor star, who won Jason Mesnick's heart in season 13, told Us in May 2019 she is a big fan of Hannah. "I think she's really sweet. She has this really quirky, authentic personality which ... I know some people are criticizing her for it, but I think she'll end up being one of the greatest Bachelorettes ever, because she's just kind of honest and true to who she is. So important." She continued, "In this society we live in today, everyone is filtered and trying to be perfect and always so ... their best self. Hannah is someone who doesn't. She'll just be herself."