What Happened Between ‘Bachelorette’ Hannah Brown & Jed Wyatt?
Everything isn’t always all roses after finding love on television — and former Bachelorette Hannah Brown knows that all too well. The southern belle famously gave her final rose to country singer Jed Wyatt during the Season 15 finale which aired in May 2019, but the couple had called it quits before the show had finished airing.
Now, with the 25-year-old back on our television screens, crying mascara tears over new Bachelor Peter Weber, it’s time we take a trip down memory lane and remember… what exactly happened between Hannah Brown and Jed Wyatt?
Jed joined the show with ulterior motives
During his first one-on-one date with Hannah, Jed came clean about his decision to join the show. He admittedly wanted to use the popularity of the show as a platform to promote his country music career, but after meeting the pageant queen, he started to truly fall for her and cared less about promoting himself.
“When I signed up for the show, I was so clueless,” he he told her. “I was open to the idea because I love love. I do, I love the idea of it. But my first thought was this is like a huge platform, and I just want you to know the truth. So I came in with that mindset, but every moment that we’ve had has taken that away and shown me that now more than anything I want to be with you.”
“I feel something growing inside of me that I’ve never felt before” he continued. “It’s beyond a show at this point.”
Hannah was already smitten with Jed by this point, so naturally she believed him and gave him credit for being so open and honest about his motives.
Jed hid a major secret
A few weeks after that date, news broke outside of the show that the singer had a secret girlfriend back home. Haley Stevens, who is also a singer, spoke to People directly about her relationship with Jed. He allegedly told her that he was only going on the show to promote his music (just like he told Hannah!) and had every intention of reuniting with her once the cameras stopped rolling.
Only problem? After the cameras stopped rolling, Jed was engaged to Hannah, so he never came home to Haley.
“He wanted a platform. He kept telling me, ‘I don’t want my dad to have to help me pay rent anymore,'” she revealed. “We spent the night together the night before he headed to L.A. He told me [the show] was just an obstacle and we’d be stronger on the other side because of it.”
Watching the show for Haley was difficult. “I was terrified that he would fall in love with Hannah,” she said. “In the beginning I felt bad [watching the show] because I thought he loved me and was faking dating her. But then I thought, my boyfriend could be engaged to someone else. Seeing him kissing her for the first time was the worst day.”
Once she realized that Jed wasn’t coming home to reunite with her like he had promised, she decided to make their relationship known to the public.
Jed took to social media to address the hate
Since he was still competing on the show, he couldn’t outwardly confirm or deny the rumors about Haley Stevens. But that didn’t stop fans from sending him harsh messages and even death threats. After a while, Jed took to his Instagram page to seemingly address what was going on.
“Please know I’m not able to answer right now, but as soon as I’m able to, I will,” he wrote alongside a black-and-white photo of his family. “Until then, I ask that you please understand how much the actions being taken towards myself, my family, the men on the show, and above all, Hannah, are affecting all of our mental and physical health. It goes beyond what is said online. Threatening letters and phone calls have been sent to our homes. My parents and sister are being verbally attacked in public. I beg you to remember what seems like a harmless action is damaging to real people. I want to thank all of you who have reached out or reserved judgement until I am able to speak openly and I can only ask for your patience and kindness until then.”
Hannah and Jed’s engagement fell apart
With the news of Jed’s secret girlfriend circling in the media, the country singer had no choice but to come clean to Hannah — but only after he put a Neil Lane engagement ring on her finger, of course. “Apparently he didn’t really end the relationship become coming here,” Hannah said during the finale. “It’s not what I thought I said yes to.”
Though the couple did try to talk things through, there was nothing Jed could say or do to fix the damage. “To me I ended it in my heart and not verbally,” he said in his defense of his relationship with Haley. But Hannah wasn’t buying it. She placed the engagement ring on the table and ended the relationship.
“I feel like this experience has been taken away from me,” she said.
During the After the Final Rose special, Hannah confirmed that they were officially done. “I have been mad as hell and just questioning what happened but I’ve gotten a lot stronger through it,” she said. “The engagement is over. We are not together. That is not what I said yes to.”
Jed also took the stage to apologize to Hannah, her family, and also viewers of the show. But his apology wasn’t well received.
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