Bachelor Happy Hour - Brooklyn Opens Up

Episode Date: February 21, 2023

Brooklyn joins Michelle this week for an honest chat about her budding connection with Zach and the heart-wrenching conversation they had during their one on one in the Bahamas. Brooklyn shares how it felt being vulnerable with Zach, and how Bachelor Nation has been supportive of her since their conversation aired. Plus, Brooklyn opens up about the disappointment that came with Zach’s positive COVID test, and how she was there for Charity when her one on one was cancelled.Don’t forget to rate and subscribe so you never miss an episode.See omny.fm/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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defend your constituents. And there's life. after Congress. Make sure to listen to this episode of Politics on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What is up? Welcome back. Happy Hour listeners.

This is Michelle Young. I'm going to be your solo host today, as Becca could not make it. So until she returns next week, I'm going to be holding down the fort. I'm so excited because we are having our guest, Brooklyn, on today. I have so many questions to ask her about her time in the rodeo,

about this huge week that she spent in London while Zach had COVID. But before we bring her on today, I'm going to fill you in with some things that I've been up to. I've been so excited. I've been teasing a lot of the different activities, different organizations, different launches that I have coming up. And I'm so proud to officially announce that my website, Michelle Young Official.com, is actually launching.

And by the time it comes out, it's actually going to be launched. But again, that's Michelle Young Official.com. It's going to showcase all the different foundations, organizations, nonprofits, campaigns that I am running in the next year. It's going to focus on showcasing all of those due diligence, all those giving back events that I promised so much to my followers and that I've tried to involve fans and followers with becoming an impact alongside of me and so please make sure to go check that out but before we bring in

Brooklyn we have to recap last night's episode there was so much that was happening and as I was watching first I have to start out by saying I'm truly enjoying watching Gabby and Zach in their connection together it seems like one of the most genuine connections on the screen honestly as a viewer as somebody who has gone through it with all the cameras around i feel like i forget that this isn't even a tv show when i'm watching them together and absolutely loved their whole royal perfume creation date gabby i'll say one of my favorite piece parts about gabby is just she's quirky she seems down to earth as they're trying out these different perfumes you know you're in a royal setting it's like a high classy setting it's like a high classy setting

And this girl is labeling these scents as sourpatch Christmas tree with a little bit of marijuana, body odor, whatever it is. Leave it to Gabby to bring everything back down to earth, regardless if we're in London, regardless if we are running around with the Royal Corgi's. But I will say that I truly, truly do love watching their connection. My only question, and I'm so curious, this is maybe something that I should ask on my social media story. story, but happy our listeners. Zabby, the scent Zabby for Zach and Gabby, nobody ever gave an description of what that scent would be like. So I'm truly curious with you guys. Let me know, as I post this on my store, give us some feedback. If you had to figure out or guess what the perfume scent of Zabby would be, what would it smell like? Let's be honest, but also let's be

nice. Okay. Moving forward, I will say this, Gabby, she was the one who got the fashion date. I'll say it's so, so tricky to watch these dates. I feel like there's a fashion date every single, every single season. And as a person who's been on that couch, while somebody is, you know, receiving the dresses and talking about all these different experiences and this glamorous, like, fashion show cutesy date that we all really want and dream of as we're little girls it's so uncomfortable to like put yourself back in that position and to truly feel those so I did feel for the girls there's also got to be some type of statistic and correct me if I'm wrong but there's got to be some kind of statistic that goes back to the person who gets the shopping date

nearly always makes it to the final four, if not wins. Rachel Kirkconnell, Susie, I believe Susie and Clayton were on their date, right? Becca Coofran, she was on the shopping date. So honestly, this might be a small little insight of who's taking home the final roses season. That's just my guess. But anyways, I want to know, I want to know what you think. I want to know what you think about Zabby.

I want to know what you think about this whole concept of flexing this fashion date in front of all these other women, but also doing it and also enjoying yourself as well. I will say that at the end of the episode, or actually at the end of the one-on-one, let's talk about that first. At the end of the one-on-one, Zach and Gabby, they truly look like, I thought they were going to say, I love you. they didn't, but I truly thought and felt everything that they were saying to each other. Moving into the rest of the episode, it was pretty obvious for me watching that at the start of the date when Zach didn't show up and he didn't show up and surprised the girls as they were exploring London, you could totally see that the weather just completely coordinated with how the women were feeling. I felt for them on this day. It's really hard because it's an experience

that you want to be grateful for. You're traveling the world. You're falling in love. There's so many exciting things that are happening. But also, on the flip side, to be in this position, you have to give up so many different aspects of your life. You have to give up talking to your friends and family. You have to give up work. You have to give up school. You would totally put your life on pause to be here for this person. And so to go through this, to to really have to have a sharp learning curve of what being on this show is like to stay vulnerable, to navigate drama, to figure out your own feelings, to overcome. Honestly, just the physical and emotional aspects of this environment is truly a difficult thing. And so to watch those girls

today really get amped up to seeing Zach. They're in London. They're excited. They're finally on the road, they're traveling all these to a new location and Zach gets sick. But for these girls to then go throughout the whole day exploring, overcoming it, lifting each other up, getting their just attitude and overall morale back up to only then come back to a cocktail party that is not going to happen because Zach tested positive for COVID. So just I truly, I feel for these women, it was a rough go. It was exhausting. And honestly, I can understand why just all these different women are having the feelings that they're having. And it's a mix of emotions of really being frustrated with putting your life on hold for this person, feeling worried for

this person, but also feeling exhausted. As we move in, I will say, when just Jesse came in and he mentioned that this is the first time in history that something happened. It's probably the first time that I believed this phrase. We've all heard it before. Historically breaking, something that's never happened before. That's a common, common phrase in this franchise. But I can attest that this truly is the first time that a rose ceremony, excuse me, a rose ceremony was taken place virtually. which I think we all thought was out of the question as we've somewhat navigated out of

COVID and for these women to have to get dressed up for Zach to honestly kind of a sweetheart with the fact that he was willing to set up and put all of these different cameras and I can only imagine all the coordination that that coordinating that took place with having to to have Zach do all of that setup himself. I do remember briefly speaking to some producers about that actually happened, like that he was actually in charge of setting up all of his camera work. Because what they didn't want to happen

is they didn't want him to spread COVID to any of the other camera people to any of the other producers. And so they truly were like talking to him through Zoom to be able to get him to set up all the mics, all of the cameras, all the different footage, all the different tech pieces that go on behind the camera so that they could take part in this virtual rose ceremony. So as these women, I can see on their faces, as these women were notified that this is going to be a virtual rose ceremony, I feel like some of them Actually, no, I'm not going to say some of them.

I feel like most of them put a smile on, but also I think a lot of them really felt the fact that not only might you not receive a rose, you might now actually get sent home virtually. And as if earning a rose or not, sorry, as if not earning a rose is bad enough to, Get dumped. Take it from somebody knows. Get dumped over the phone or over FaceTime or over Zoom sucks. And especially, I can't remember who said this, but I do remember one of the girls saying that as these decisions were made, you don't receive that piece of closure of like hugging somebody goodbye, like that physical touch. I don't know about you guys, but I'm very much like. like talking something through like after a breakup or having that piece of closure is something that's already really tough to gain in this situation because you don't get to have a conversation. You don't get to be able to like sit and sort things out when you're at like this early in the journey.

And so that in itself is already difficult, but to now get sent home through a man speaking. to you on a screen who you put your life on pause for to not hug him, to not do any of that and to just get sent home across the country. That's pretty tough. That's pretty tough. So I do feel for the girls who didn't receive that closure, but what can I say is showbiz and props to Zach for pushing through because not feeling well having COVID, having to actually navigate that situation when you truly can't be in the same room as anybody else because you don't get anyone sick it's the best that you can do so it definitely gave a plot twist there was a lot of different interesting events that took place in last night's episode but what is even more

interesting moving forward or what I'm even more excited about is not so much what took place in the episode but who we're having on our episode today and so we are going to bring in Brooklyn. I have all the questions for her. There's been so much that she's been outspoken for, and I'm so excited to get down to the bottom of it. Let's bring her in. Welcome, Brooklyn. Becca is so sad that she couldn't be here today. She's really looking forward to talking to you. So you're stuck with me, but we're still going to get down to the bottom of everything and completely just talk about everything that got to you to. this point, everything that has happened so far on the episodes, and also have you give us a

teaser. But first, how are you? I'm doing great. I'm just so excited to be here. This is just awesome. Is this real? Is this really happening? It's real. Where are you located right now? I'm in Dallas right now. My grandma just had a knee replacement, so I came down to help out as best I could, but she's doing good. So, I'm not sure. Oh, that's so sweet. That's so nice of you to help out family with everything. So we're going to dive into everything, okay, because I have so many questions for you. But first off, how did you come about to being on this show? So I have been a huge fan of the show. I mean, since I was young, I know growing up, my mom watched the show, and I've always watched it. And then in college, like, we'd have a bunch of girls' nights

together and we'd all watch it. It's actually funny. We, you know, always joked, oh, Brooklyn, like, you should do it, you should do it. And I'm like, okay, whatever. Like, you know, just kind of blowing it off. And I want to say it was Peter's season. We were watching the finale. And I was at a friend's house, my friend's summer. And we all were in like prom dresses, old prom dresses. We like dressed up like a rose ceremony.

And I posted it on Instagram and I was like, catch us on the next season of The Bachelor. Like just joking. No. And it was, I mean, it went all over my hometown. Everyone's like, oh my God, Brooklyn's going to be on The Bachelor. I was like, guys, no, it's just a joke. It's just a joke. And then four years later, here I am.

Um, but, you know, like I said, we'd always joked about it. And I had some friends that nominated me. And then, um, they're like, you should just go ahead and apply yourself. And I was like, okay, fine. Like, we'll, we'll see what happens. And I did. And then, um, almost a year later, I think, um, casting reached out to me. And it's just been full send ahead ever since. Okay, wait. So one, I love the fact that you and your friends got so into it that you wore your prom dresses. Two, I kind of wish that you. you would have, did you bring the dress on the show? I did. You did? Or the second row ceremony. The black. Wait, what color was it? It was like the black one that was cut out, like was sheer kind of like on the sides.

The one I wrote. Oh, my God. That's so symbolic. I know. That's so symbolic. What a turning of an event. That's amazing. Totally meant to be.

A hundred percent. Okay, wait. So you applied. You said over a year ago. So like this was a process. Like this actually took some time. time. Yeah. Yeah. When I got the call, it was like an LA number and I was like, I didn't answer. I was actually in California at a work training and I didn't answer. I was like, okay, this is a scam phone call or

something. And then I got a text and I was like, maybe I'll call back and see what this is about. So I was like, I'm not a scam. Interesting. Whoa. Okay. Wait. So you applied and then a year is a long time. So like they reached out a year later is when they reached out. You said, right? Yeah. So did you during that time at what point where you're like okay i'm not getting a call back or i'm like do you start dating in between that do you how'd you deal with that and then all of a sudden 12 months later they're like hey we want to interview with you with about coming on the show yeah i actually i mean honestly i kind of had forgot that i applied because i was just like oh like it'll never happen like whatever you know just doing it kind of to make my friends happy even though like i definitely

wanted it. I sort of dated around here and there, but, you know, nothing was really working for me. And I just wasn't really into anything or anyone or didn't really want to try the apps either. So it's honestly just like using that time as kind of getting to know myself again and basically healing and just kind of spending time to myself selfishly. So I didn't think too much about not getting a call back. And then when I did, I was like, this, I was at a good place. I was like, this, I think this is it. This is for me. So I was all in. Oh, my God. Okay, wait. So when you get this call, you are brought out to L.A. on AFR. So, like, to jog everybody's memory, Brooklyn was one of the women who was basically got to come on the AFR show and meet Zach

ahead of everybody else one like did you know that it was going to be Zach and how much ahead of time like how much time did you have to prepare to actually once you like got on the stage physically gone on the stage yeah so I did not know for sure if it was going to be Zach but um beforehand you know my mom's Googling everything she's looking up spoilers as much as she can and she's sending me all this stuff and she's like I really think it's going to be Zach and he was definitely who I wanted it to be and I was like, okay, like, don't get my hopes up, mom. Like, I love the enthusiasm, but it's not get our hopes up. But it was definitely in the back of my mind the whole time until they finally told me.

So then I was super excited to find out with him because I watched the previous season and really just felt drawn to him. I really liked what I saw on top of him just being good looking. And then as far as getting ready, we had a quick walk through. It was kind of like, surprise, here we go. And I was like, oh, my, I mean, if you're. remember watching against I was a little nervous but um so worth it so glad it happened and I feel really special that I was chosen for that um it was incredible how would you say what you like the the characteristics that you knew about Zach before stepping on that stage like the things that

drew you to him how would you say that like he was different than the men in the rodeo dating scene. Oh, tricky question. I feel like with Zach, he definitely knows what he wants. He doesn't really question himself or, you know, what he wants. He's very emotionally intelligent and is able to have, you know, those harder conversations, those serious conversations that not a lot of men have that emotional capacity, I guess you could say. So I really liked that about him. And I really liked how sure he was with what he wanted and who he was. It says a lot about a person and I really admired that. I love that. Actually, that seems to be a very common answer, just perception of Zach that he truly like came into this. We didn't know a lot about him necessarily, but that he

really actually knew what he wanted in a partner and had the confidence or intention with that. So that's one thing that I can admire. But how is there, is there a rodeo dating scene? because I know that our listeners are going to want to know. That has been like one of the biggest like focuses, what all the buzz is about. Everybody's so curious about your rodeo life. And do you get really sick of people asking questions about it? No, no, I don't get tired of asking questions about it. I love it.

It's, you know, who I am. It's a lifestyle. I love everything about it. I would definitely say, yes, there is a dating scene in the rodeo world. It's a small world. So pretty much everyone knows each other. A majority of us all grew up together. I've actually really never dated anyone that's rodeo just because then I'd have to go with them to the rodeo.

Oh, I never thought about that. It's like dating in a small town. Oh, for sure. Like everybody, does everybody date each other? Hey, that's how I was going to say, does everyone date each other? I'm like, that sounds like, sounds like a bachelor. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

Well, did you get any advice from any of your friends? I know that you said that you guys really were like true Bachelor Nation fans before you were on the show. Did you have any advice or did you come into it with like any strategies just because you did know a little bit about how things work? So I was pretty quiet about actually coming on the show. I didn't really tell many of my friends. I told some of them like as in two. and then my family so as far as advice i mean it was kind of you know you're typical just be yourself but like that one is a big one to me i think you know especially with such a short time to get to

know someone you have to truly be yourself like right out of the gate for someone to get to know you um so i really took that one and ran with it i feel like um but as far as like my big like bachelor fan friends um they had no idea okay guys they saw me on the live show and when i finally got my phone back. They were like, oh, my God. I was like, oh, I'm not going to bother texting back now. It's been too long. So you went straight from the live show to filming. Yes. Is that right? Wow. What a turn of it. That's crazy. So how much time passed where like you have your first night and you meet this man, the man that you actually wanted to be the bachelor, and you have this interaction. Did you feel a spark? Like, I'm sure you were nervous. But

what did you feel like when you were stepping up on that stage um i was definitely nervous i it was a blur honestly i feel like i almost like blacked out and barely remember it i had to go back and rewatch it but like once the dust settled and i like caught my breath um took deep breaths and thought about everything i did definitely feel a spark i mean i was terrified i was the first to go up there um and it was almost like a surprise but once like i said once i kind of let the dust settle and everything calm down. I just, I definitely felt drawn to him and I felt the connection. So, I mean, you know, you can, you can tell when you first meet someone if you think there's potential or not, and I definitely felt there was. I felt safe and secure and comfortable talking to him,

even though I was absolutely terrified. So I think that was important that I felt that moving forward. Yeah. And then first night, was it a little bit easier to step out of that limo just because you had met him before? Or was it even more nerve-wracking? Because, I mean, you could have this fear of like, what if he doesn't remember me or, you know, what if our interaction goes differently? What were your, like, actual internal emotions or thoughts before stepping out of that limo? I was definitely still nervous. However, I kind of felt a calming sense just because, you know, to me, seeing a familiar face helps me. And I was hoping, like, him seeing a familiar face, even if he didn't remember my name, would be calming.

to him, and because I know he's going through all the emotions, too. I wasn't too worried about if he remembered who I was or not, which he did, so that made me feel a lot better. Good job. Sack. I was, I was a lot more relaxed than the first night, I think, but I was still crazy nervous. Because it's one of the entrances. These are iconic. They were, and it's back at the mansion. Like, it's, right? I can't even imagine. I cannot even imagine. I cannot even imagine. but kind of nice to have like a little bit of the first type of nerves like the blackout nerves that we all don't think we're going to get and then we we get no matter how comfortable you are in front of like cameras lights anything there's no way to avoid that i don't know anybody who

remembers their entrance yeah like i luckily i got to remember my entrance because i already blacked out on stage exactly perfect i love that so okay so we really do get to see you and Zach's connection take like form right off the bat and you get to go on this one-on-one with him in the Bahamas and there's all this like building up and then I would say that it kind of not doesn't take like a back seat but we just don't really see the connection as much there after that how would you describe your connection with Zach during that time I definitely feel like our connection, you know, building up to the one-on-one, was steady. And then I feel like once we had our one-on-one, I felt so comfortable with him, being able to share and be so vulnerable with him, that it took a complete, like, skyrocket.

You know, being so vulnerable with someone like that and it being received so well is very important in any connection, but especially in a romantic relationship. So feeling that I did feel the connection move a lot faster, a lot further, but in a good way and definitely in the right direction. Yeah, I want to definitely give you some time to kind of like dive into just the conversation that you had with Zach as much in detail or little as detail as you are comfortable and you would like to. You know, going on that one-on-one day, everyone kind of knows like the day portion is. we're like this adventure and this fun piece. And then you know that the night portion is kind of where you have the more serious conversations. Was that something that like waking up that morning or just or I guess after figuring out

that you're going on that one-on-one? Is that something that was in the forefront of your mind of this is something I really want him to know about me right off the bat? Yes, absolutely. You know, I was super excited to have a one-on-one. But like he said, like in the back of my mind was, am I ready to share this with him? Is he ready to hear this? Like, I didn't want him to feel like I was trauma dumping on him or anything. But I feel sharing about my past relationship with any

new relationship is very important. It's not something I'd really been able to do in past relationships just because it's shaped me to who I am. And it gives him just a little bit more information on why I am the way that I am and how I handle things, how I see things in my perception of you know relationships moving forward so it was on my mind um it was you know that's a lot of what I thought about was like okay the day is so much fun I'm having a great time but then it was like lingering cloud it's like oh my god like I knew it was I felt comfortable and I felt safe doing it but I was like is this going to be too much is this you know is this really what I should do at this point um but you know it flowed so naturally that I was happy

everything happened the way that it did, but it was definitely on my mind of, is now the time. Yeah, I will say that I really do applaud with how you handle that entire situation. And you use the words trauma dumping, right? And like, that's a huge phrase, I guess you can call it, that it's not even so much the contestants use it, but like the viewers use it. That's somebody who's watched the show, like you said you have. it's like you really do hear these stories and it kind of like can seem to viewers that it's trauma dumping but what's so hard is that for us walking in and having these conversations for

something like you was having these conversations you almost have to like your relationship moves so fast and so serious and it's so real and it's for an engagement and so it's like it really does put you in a position where you have to be confident or courageous, I guess, and brave enough to have these conversations because you are doing it in front of the camera, which, one, incredibly vulnerable. It's an incredibly strong thing to do and to talk about and to kind of just really put your life out there and the struggles that you've had and really, like, connect with not only Zach, but a lot of other people who are watching the show and who have been through similar things and to not even just like watch. you speak about it and to watch you connect with Zach about it and to see Zach respond to you and just to see a healthy conversation around past trauma was something that was really just even impactful for me to watch. So truly like I I really do applaud you for how you

handle the situation, how you spoke about that. I know that's not easy. I know it's always kind of trying to navigate when the right time is to have those conversations. But in my book, if it's something that you need to talk about, it's the right time. And like, it's, right? If it's something that's important to you, it's the right time. Shit, regardless if you're jumping out of a plane, regardless if you're whatever you're doing, whatever you're doing on an adventurous date in the Bahamas, like, if it's something that's weighing on you, especially in a situation where it's a serious relationship, engagement, commitment, like, talk about it. Yeah. So, yeah, very much, very much so. So,

you guys have this conversation and how did you feel about how Zach responded? Because I like I kind of gave my opinion with with how he handled it. But what did you have worries about talking about this? Did you have worries about how it was received and like has it been received differently maybe in the past and other relationships? Yeah. I definitely did have worries and reservations going into it, sharing that with him. You know, I didn't want me. telling him that to make him think, oh, I mean, like, she's still dealing with this or she's not healed. Like, that's not the case. Like, I'm, I definitely feel like I'm healing every day. It's kind of a you have to choose to continue to heal every day after situations like that and with other situations as well. Um, so I was concerned that he would be like, oh, maybe like she still needs to like work some stuff out. Um, but that was the complete opposite of how he handled it and how he reacted. He was very receptive. He was, I mean, you know, not just like oh okay gotcha yeah he was you know i could feel that not that i wanted to hurt him but that

he hurt with me not like i said i don't want anyone to hurt or anything and i didn't want him to hurt too but it just showed that he cared and he was listening intently and that he was hearing everything i had to say and taking it seriously um he didn't ever take it the way i thought where he was like oh gosh she's still healing he understood that i went through something that was really hard and that I have made an effort to heal from that. And I am continuing to make that effort. So he handled it with such grace and was so receptive that all of my, like, worries at the time, I completely forgot about them at the end of the night.

That's really, I'm very, very happy to see that. And honestly, that came through the screen, just you would kind of almost just see your body language take like a deep, breath after you had talked like spoken about it even like regardless of how it went just a deep breath of like this is something that I've been having like weighing on you not even dealing with or holding on to but it's like something that's been weighing on you that you've kind of had to like navigate through and it seems like your level of trust kind of skyrocketed would you say that like the relationship what was like the feeling I guess at the end of that night or after that conversation and how it went how do you feel? How do you feel?

like your connection changed after that. Like you said, it truly was a weight lifted off my shoulders. And even still, it's just a complete weight lifted off my shoulders because like I said, it was a cloud just lingering over me. But I feel like after that, like I said, our connection to skyrocketed. I felt so heard and secure and just safe and where I was, you know, sharing something like that, you have to feel safe to share that information. And I did. And then I really feel like our relationship blossomed a lot more than I was expecting, because like I said, I didn't know what to expect going in, but I continued to feel very safe in the relationship and just felt safer and safer. Like, I could share anything with him. I mean, if I can share

that, I can share just about anything. Yeah. Did you, after like, sharing that just, I'm curious of just social media and just, you know, having a platform or just putting yourself out there. that vulnerable position in the public eye. Did you receive support? Did you have people who really like either reached out to you or just related to what you had gone through? Yes, absolutely. The support and the love has been overwhelming in the best way possible.

I have had a lot of people reach out to me and, you know, even if they didn't relate, just saying thank you for sharing, like you could help someone and then other women that have been through similar things, just sharing and saying thank you, you know, you have showed me that you, things do get better, you can heal, you can be brave, just stuff like that. And it's so hard to respond to everyone because I'm serious. I've probably had at least a thousand messages that I've seen. And it's been, you know, just incredible that they feel that they can share with me, which of course, anytime anyone ever can. But that, you know, like I said, if I can help just one person, if me sharing my story can benefit at least one person somehow

some way, then maybe that's the reason God had me go through it. I don't know, but that's what I'm going to tell myself. So if I could help one person, I'm thankful. And I'm so thankful for just the outpouring of love and support I've received since doing that, because that was big. It was. Yeah. I'm scared. I'm going to get, I will get emotional right there with you. As I can see you're getting emotional now just talking about it but it's in such a such an empowering way and I really am like I know we don't haven't known each other for all of what 30 minutes we've been talking right I really am though proud of you just from woman to woman to to doing that and there's a lot of people who've been through different things you know that that they haven't been

able to share that and for you to kind of set that um Open that door. Just give that reminder of people that it's okay to have those conversations is so powerful. And I know that charity, you and Charity are really close. We had her on last week. And we spoke a little bit about your friendship with everything because you can just see that y'all connect. You get each other. And she told you just how proud she was of you for telling your story. Were the other, like, how was the support with the other women in the house once you had opened up? because you know yeah the support with all the women was incredible i mean we had a great group of girls um everyone there was just incredibly supportive in all aspects um by opening up about that you know i think i've heard from every single woman in the house um just telling me they're proud of me thanking me for doing that for other women um and just being there you know just saying like i'm proud of you or just being a shoulder to cry on an ear that to listen anything like that so that support during filming and after from all the women has been

incredible um definitely like you said charity's my rock like she was grace through the whole thing so i was super thankful to be able to really confide in her and dive a lot deeper with her in a lot of these conversations but especially that one and i mean not just because of her profession but just her how incredible she is she really helped me you know walk it walk through it talks through it. It was wonderful. It was amazing. And I'm beyond thankful for everyone, but certainly beyond thankful for charity and our friendship. Yeah, absolutely. What would you say to other, I'm not going to even say women, I'm just saying other people in general who might be going through a healing process similar to yours or might be going through a similar

situation. Yeah. Something I would tell anyone in this situation, or in my past situation, healing, anything like that is you are strong, you're courageous and you're worthy of love, first of all, first and foremost. But that to remember healing is not a linear journey. You'll have good days. You'll have bad days. And you can't dwell on the bad days. Every day is an active choice. Even, you know, the hardest part is leaving, truthfully. Even after that, even after you've left, the hardest part after you've done the worst of it is leaving is just choosing to love yourself every day, know your worth, and to keep moving forward. It is possible and it is so worth it. But I would just encourage everyone to, in my situation or a previous situation or healing,

to just keep the strength and keep being strong and choose yourself and not to dwell, not to dwell on any of the bad days. There is life. Cool. Healing's not linear. I absolutely love the way that you put that. And we are going to switch gears into our group date. But before we switch gears, just because I know that these situations are so important and conversations are so important to have, is there anything else just that you want to get off your chest about this conversation or advice or anything related to this journey that you, this healing journey that you've gone on before, before we do that? I mean, I think we've covered, you know, the meat of it all, you know, that it does get better. You can get out of it. Healing's not linear. Those are the most important parts, but that you don't have to do it alone, you know. It's hard reaching out for help.

It's, you know, like I said, I was embarrassed, but you shouldn't be embarrassed. Reaching out for help is the best thing you can do. So just get straight to it. Truly an inspiration. Thank you for sharing that, Brooklyn. So we are going to switch gears on to a little. bit of this group date experiencing this magical city with Zach, right, in London, all these other things that are going on. But before we go on in the group date, what are your thoughts on

you're sitting on the couch with all these women, right? The infamous couches that happen and take place and the anxiety and stressors of sitting on the couches as we wait for the date cards. What were your thoughts or what are your thoughts at this point with the other women shedding tears over not getting that week's one-on-one? Totally understandable. You know, I had my one-on-one, so I knew I probably wouldn't be getting another one that week. But I understand because it's so easy to compare your journey to someone else's. And it's so easy to get in your head and think, okay well there's so much further ahead than me because they've already had a one-on-one and I'm getting left behind what if he's not into me it's just so easy to spiral so I

totally understand other women being concerned being upset that they haven't got that one-on-one yet but it's valid totally valid to feel that way I think it's so such an important reminder with what you just said just to viewers in general of it is so easy to spiral you could be walking into this environment as the most confident, level-headed person. And it's just like you're in a room full of emotions constantly. And whether you're not necessarily putting that out, like you're still absorbing other people's anxiety and stress. And you don't have your normal support system near you. You're still trying to figure out what this whole, like what the hell is actually going on in this entire world. Like there's so much that is taking place that it's like,

I think a lot of people at home are like, well, she's crying over nothing. Like, you just met him and all these other things, but it's such an intense moment. Yes. It's like, it's constantly such an intense moment. Like you said, comparing. There's constant comparisons. How did you handle that mentally for yourself with not letting your mind spiral? Or what did you do to kind of like reel yourself back in when you really felt yourself, like feeling the weight of everything?

You know, it was hard. There was some days that I would spiral more than others, but in order to just kind of keep myself sane and grounded, honestly, a lot of it was me and Charity talked it out a lot, but a lot of it like with myself, I had to just continue to remind myself that comparison is the thief of joy and that my walk is different than everyone else is. I can't continue to compare myself in any way relationship wise. I mean, we're in a room full of beautiful, smart women. I can't compare myself there either. Um, so it was a constant reminder, um, and beg on like affirmations. So constantly reminding myself, affirming myself and just trying to kind of take myself out of the stress and, you know, find a happy place and remind myself that me and Zach do have a good connection and be confident in what we do have and what I know. Because what one person says, you could take it completely out of context of like what they're actually saying. They could actually be saying, it's kind of on the rocks but it comes across to you like oh my god like i already know i'm the

one so like i think just reminding myself that my journey is not theirs was the biggest grounding technique i used yeah okay wait i'm big on affirmations what's like one of your go-to affirmations um i think definitely it's like i'm strong you know it's so simple but yeah it's simple but you know you take it however you need it apply it wherever you need that's why i like that one right right okay so we know that the group date obviously didn't go quite to plan but it seems like you ended up having like at least a little bit of fun can you tell us about how the day went yeah we had a great time we had a lot of fun it was really disappointing you know the way things played

out but um knowing that Zach still wanted us to have a good time was really refreshing and kind you know he could easily have been like sorry like y'all just chill just hang out at the hotel but no he wanted us to have a good time so that was refreshing but we had a great time you know it was a lot of fun to get to bond with all the women even more than you know we already had um but also kind of taking the pressure and like the awkward part out of a group date because you know on group dates it's it's so strange because like we're all friends and we're rooting for each other but also we're like okay she just talked to him twice like come on like we get I mean, you can't help but to get jealous.

So it's kind of mind that we got to take that out and just really have fun with each other without the claws. There are so many like implied rules of respect. I think like amongst the cast of just how to handle it, like fight for what you want, but also like handle it respectfully as possible. I know that the girls, I can't remember who said it, but someone was like, I was constantly waiting for Zach to pop up. At what point did you realize like this man's not showing? up on the state? I was skeptical from the get-go. When we first got the note, everyone, I mean,

I was like, there's, I mean, it sounds like he's not feeling well. There's no way, if I'm not feeling good, count me out the rest of the day, because I'm going to milk it, honestly. I don't do well when I'm not feeling good. But we're sitting at the cocktail party, and it had been long enough, and I was like, okay, we're getting stood up on national television. Not that it was his fault, but I was like, oh, yeah, this isn't happening. So it was probably, it was during the cocktail party, but I was like, this is definitely not happening. So a little disappointing, but, you know, what can you do? It also doesn't necessarily, like, look good on his part at that point.

So it's like, you can, like, yes, you guys are feeling stood up. But at the same time, I was like, this looks bad on him, not y'all. Yeah. Yeah, but, I mean, I know there's so many factors that go into it, but I was kind of like, okay come on like you could have told us something sooner but i also understand there's so many factors that play into it and i know he'd probably tried his best to make it um yeah just didn't go in his direction didn't fall in his favor this time or okay so i have to ask did anyone get the beef eater to flinch yeah we did um i'm not exactly sure who or how but finally we cracked him

he was probably just sick of us and like okay get him out of here like if i move and If I flint, will they leave me alone? Oh, my gosh. I was so surprised. Like, was it, was it an actor? Or, like, legitimately? I don't know. I mean.

Because I'm sitting here watching it. Like, he's going to get scolded. Can you get fired? Like, is that a thing? I was like, can you just make this poor man lose his job? Did we just get him fine? Is he going to jail? Right?

So, who is someone's, like, twerking in front of him? Oh, my gosh. This poor man. Yeah. we I mean we tried everything we pulled all the tricks out and then I'm gonna hope he's an actor but if he's an actor I mean he's like major skills of not flinching like honestly he did a good job like he yeah he showed a little bit of personality which like that's not the worst thing okay so don't I hope he doesn't get in trouble for this of course we just like draw more attention

to him I know but okay so you guys do end up making like the best of the day like you do turn it around you do like take a moment to pause and realize where you're at and you know like make the best of the opportunity end up laughing enjoying each other's company but then that night going into that night now knowing how it played out and like unfortunately Zach's not able to make it that evening did you feel like between that period like there's a weird period of time where you like go on a group day and then you like run back and you're like eating and getting ready and like figuring out what you're going to talk about that night did you have any idea or feeling that he was not going to be making it to the cocktail party or the after

party yeah i kind of had a guess that he might not be coming just because like i said he wasn't feeling good and if i'm not feeling good i'm not coming either but i was also like surely he's coming because he wouldn't have us get ready i mean i'm sure he knows how long it takes women to get ready he probably wouldn't have us ready for him not to come so i'm sure with that in mind he tried his very best to make an appearance it just couldn't happen but I did kind of have a rough idea maybe this isn't happening but I was going to go find out anyways because I was hoping it would I love that I love that energy what was the energy though in the room after hearing the news news just the news that he was not going to be there you went the full day

hoping to be able to see him like kind of mustering up more energy that you you had like whatever energy you had left to get ready for this after party and then it doesn't show up again yeah at this point you guys don't know that it's COVID right we didn't know at that point um you know we kind of took our guess just because like if it was a cold or something we were like oh he would just be like don't kiss me or something like that but we kind of guessed it was something more serious because he wouldn't just not show up for something small um the energy in the room though was very um a little mixed it was like heart like you could tell people were just like really bummed and super sad but you could also tell some girls were like genuinely pissed off which is

understandable and i felt both ways i was super sad i was we were all concerned for him we were like okay well this obviously has to be something big i hope he's doing okay i hope you know it's nothing serious um but we were also just really just let down yeah no i totally get that And it's like, it's such a different dating situation because if you were just normally dating at home, you can see them whenever you want, you can text. Like normally if somebody cancels a date and they're not feeling well, like you're either talking over texting still or like, you know, okay, you can reschedule for the next day. But this is a situation where you don't know the next time you're going to see him. Absolutely. Yeah.

And then the relationship can just abruptly end. So like there's a lot that's on the line here. Definitely. Yeah, that was, I think that's also something that went through all of our minds. It's like, we can't really check on him, you know. We can't call and be like, are you okay? Or he could have, you know, in a normal situation, he would have been able to text us or call us and be like, oh, hey, sorry, like, I'm not going to make it.

And here's why instead of a note, like a message in a bottle kind of thing. Okay, so you have, you have charity then who's in this position where she, this girl, this poor girl already knows that she's going to get her one-on-one date the next day. she's been so excited like her name wasn't on the group date card that feeling of like i finally going to have this time and then what was going through her mind like what did she did she talk to you about or how did you feel for her just with her not knowing what the one-on-one was going to look like is it going to even take place yeah it was um i mean she was visibly upset rightfully so i was upset for her you know it's still that weird situation like that's my very best friend

And I want, you know, to see her go on her date, but it's like we're still dating the same man. But I really didn't even focus on that at that moment. Honestly, I felt so bad for her because she'd already had one moment snatched away from her previously. COVID just snatched this moment away from her. And I was like, okay, well, I hope she gets everything and more because, I mean, she's had a rough go. You know, like I said, she was upset. We were all upset for her. she didn't know, you know, if she was going to get the next one-on-one, she didn't know if it was

going to be guaranteed or if how things were going to work, you know, if she was going to get skipped over. None of us had any idea. But like I said, she had moments snatched, so it really sucked to see it happened two times in a row. Only because you run up the word snatch, and I've been wanting you to ask, I've been wanting to ask this, because you're, I love, I love how blunts you are. you just speak it you say it with like unapologetically yourself okay this moment where her moment gets snatched right where she gets the group day rose can you enlighten us on your perspective of what happened during that we're going to go a little bit back in time yes um yeah it was just kind of one of those moments i don't i mean looking back on it it's just one of the

I was like, what are you thinking? Like, what is going on? Um, you know, she was anyone who ever gets the rose is deserving of that moment. But like, especially her, she's been honestly, she was everyone's rock there. She kept everyone grounded literally. Um, you know, she was a voice of reason. And then to just have that disrespect thrown at her, I was like, that's not going to work. We're not going to have this. Um, so, you know, like you said, I am pretty blunt. I'll just say what I'm thinking. There it is. I'm not going to, you know, keep, I mean, I kind of didn't want to keep just, like, driving home the point. But I could see she was visibly upset and was like, now's not the time. Let's read the room.

I said what I said. There it is. Let's move on. And let's support charity as best we can because that was not right. I'm over here laughing so hard. Okay. Did you, do typically cost? Yeah.

Okay. Honestly, you said, what we all were thinking. So thank you for that. And you said it very bluntly, boldly, with dictation and that's that. Amazing. Well, okay, so you're going into this rose ceremony now. Jesse tells you that it's your break in history. It's going to be the first virtual. Don't you love any time he says that? This has never happened before. You're like, oh, shit, what's coming next? Like, really, does it? It's so, it's so anxiety provoking. I'm like, oh, God, what are we doing now? But you learn that the cocktail party is going to be virtual at this point. What were your thoughts on talking to Zach? There's screen. Honestly, my first thought was social media is going to have a heyday with this. They're going to have a lot of fun. True. True. I was excited.

that you know we were able to make it work somehow and get to talk to him um i was a little curious on how it was going to work as far as like stealing like um what do you am i supposed to like get in an argument with an ipad like it was just oh my god wait how did that work um basically we just were like can i steal the ipad i mean zach like you know i mean it was like stealing like normal um you would interrupt as you normally would it was just on an iPad and just a little awkward but worth it because like I said at least we get to talk to him um so honestly good memories yeah we we loved it was it was a little spice up I did love I did love that but of course you got a rose we'll be heading into next week with hopefully an in-person Zach this time but we aren't sure where you all are headed next but can you tease a little bit of what is to come I will say expect the unexpected. Ooh. Okay. I like that. I think, okay, I like that. Hey, honestly, there's always plot to us here. Can't expect anything less. But we're going to move into a game, Brooklyn.

It's called Rapid Fire Questions. I've truly enjoyed getting to know you. This game is to allow our listeners to get to know you even more. So I'm going to throw a quick question in your way. you're going to give like a one word response or a phrase it's rapid fire back and forth you don't have to give any explanation and we'll rattle through them are you ready i'm ready okay are you an early riser or a night owl a night owl early riser okay what is the best dating advice you've ever received as cliche as it is just be yourself absolutely what is your go-to pizza order pineapple pepperoni oh you're a pineapple on the pizza girl okay i i wouldn't have guessed that what is one word your best friends would use to describe you um loyal okay what is your favorite

curse word probably the f word i love how you don't say it now perfect we know what you're talking about what is the most played a song or artist in your library Probably Morgan Wallen. Oh, favorite song? It depends on the day, but Broadway girls, that's just like gets you pumped up. Okay. Favorite cocktail? French 75.

Oh, okay. If you could be any animal, what would you be? I would be a unicorn. It's not real. Unique. Fairy tale. What is the current screensaver on your? your phone. I always get nervous asking this one. Right now, it is me and a friend from like four years ago

going to a music festival and it's like overly edited. There's like unicorns and purple clouds and everything everywhere. Oh, I love that. If you could visit one place in the world, where would you go? Greece. Okay. And last one, if you had to describe the season of the bachelor in one word or phrase, what would it be oh that is a good one um oh i know you can take a minute this one this one trips people up that's i mean it's a good one but um i would say like supportive you know like the women support each other then zack supports us um it's very supporting supportive wow i will say that's been like a common theme throughout this from Zach and from the other women of just like everybody's support now for each other.

All right. Well, next we're going to move into our resources segment. I cannot speak today. Resources segment. So basically what we've been doing is we've been providing resources at the end of every episode to really challenge our listeners to taking steps forward, doing our education, doing our unlearning of different anti-racist behaviors just after everything that has taken place. And so I'm going to start with the resource that I'm just going to talk about.

I'll tag on my highlights, my story on Instagram, and then I'll hand it off to you to do the same. Okay. So I'm going to go with, I recently listened to a podcast. It's called Speak Up. And it's basically this podcast platform that really focuses on handing, like the mic to different groups of people. And it goes off of the theme of not being afraid to take up space and making sure that you are being your 100% self, whether that's the LGBT community, whether that's women advocacy, whether that's a person of color.

It really does just emphasize like an unfiltered conversation every single week that challenges different social norms and challenges different thought patterns. And I'm trying to think of like how to how to fully describe it. Unfiltered and raw and uncut is what I will say. And so it's different. And what I really appreciated about it is that sometimes like we see being uncomfortable as a very like bad thing. I think it's bad to be uncomfortable. but there are some situations, especially like when you're unlearning behaviors, when you're channeling yourself to be a better person, you should be uncomfortable and to really like push getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. And this is the podcast to do that. I will tag it.

It's on Spotify, Apple Podcasts. I think it's on a lot of other podcast platforms as well, and it's called Speak Up. So do you want to take it away? Yes. So I have followed. Her name is Morgan Harper-Nichols on Instagram for a long time. She is a woman of color. She posts a lot of self-love, self-help poems and like with her art on there. She's also very open about her ADHD and her autism and also being a woman of color. She has books. She has TikTok.

Why? I believe she has TikTok. She has her books, TikToks. Her Instagram. I'm a huge fan of hers because all of her, it's, It's just very short and to the point, but also gives you the good point. You know what I mean? Like it's very authentic from her, from her heart. And I love everything she has to say. I just ordered her book. It came out on, I don't have Friday. No, Tuesday. It came out Tuesday.

I ordered her book. So I'm really excited to read about that. And I just really like what she stands for and how she's very open about everything. Because I think that's important is to be open, vulnerable. And like you said, have the conversations and say the things that need to be said. even if it makes someone uncomfortable yeah what is the book title called if you don't mind i'm sure our listeners will want to know yes let me remember at the top of your head um you were only just beginning and it came out of valentine's day so i just ordered that so you can't wait to get it she's she's um i follow her on tic talk and she's just like radiates positive energy like she really yeah really authentic as well does it in a very authentic like unapologetic way so thank you for that

resource and lastly one of the best parts of the podcast are rose and thorn and so really what you're going to do is just kind of tell us or share a rose and thorn from everything that has taken place up until this point and it can be um doesn't have to be like last episode but rose something positive or like something you hold close to your heart and the thorn and it It can be something awkward, uncomfortable, a downfall throughout the episodes till we're in London here. Okay. A rose. I mean, it goes without saying a one-on-one would definitely be a rose.

But I definitely think my relationship with charity just blossoming from the beginning is definitely another rose in my book. A thorn would probably be when I fist-bumped Zach after he said, you're a good kisser. And I fist-bumped the poor man. That's a thorn. I'm like, oh my God, I did that. That's my thorn. Dang. Okay. But honestly, it was so genuine. I've just, like, always done stuff. I'm awkward, okay? Like, I've always done goofy stuff like that. And, like, I didn't mean it bad. Like, friends own him or anything. Like, that's my way of showing affection. Right. But, like, okay, you know, you know those cute moments when you're watching, like, rom-coms?

and it's like these quirky moments that either like the girl or the guy has or just like whoever's in the show that was like that moment and it's like when you're sitting and watching it it's like oh it's like to feel good like genuine relatable like it's not all perfect you don't have you know it's just awkward yeah i just remember when that like when i did it was like oh my god it's like well maybe you won't make it in and then oh it definitely made it in there it is there it is My family and friends that were watching with me were rolling. I was like, there we go. Were there any memes or guess?

I haven't seen any. I mean, I've seen a couple. I guess I've seen a couple. Someone said like awkward turtles unite or whatever. And I was like, yep, there we are. Yes. It lives on. It lives forever.

Well, Brooklyn, it's been such a joy talking with you. I can totally see why you in charity are so close. Really positive vibes. Such great energy. such great loyalty and just with you and everything that you stand for, everything that you've been through and everything that you're advocating for. Thank you so much for continuing to do that and kind of being that spokesperson or being that person that people back at home on the couch or people who are watching or listening can kind of look to for guidance or to feel understood

when they might not. So thank you for everything you're doing and thank you for being blunt. Any time. Saying it how it is. Thank you so much, Brooklyn, for being here, being so honest and raw with everything that you shared. And thank you, Bachelor. Happy Hour listeners for being here. New episodes of The Bachelor air every Monday at 8.7 Central on ABC and stream next day on Hulu. And don't forget, casting is now open for men to date the next Bachelorette. So if you are single or know someone who is single, go to our website to nominate or apply. at bachelornation.com

slash apply. Also, make sure to hit us up on social. You can follow us at Bachelor Happy Hour on Instagram, and from there, you'll find everything you need to know to follow us on Twitter and TikTok. Prime members, you can listen to Bachelor Happy Hour, ad free on Amazon Music, download the Amazon Music app today,

or you can listen ad free with Wondry Plus and Apple Podcasts. But before you go, tell us about yourself by completing a short survey at Wondry, dot com slash survey. Thank you, everyone, and see you next week. Cheers. My boyfriend's professor is way too friendly, and now I'm seriously suspicious.

Wait a minute, Sam. Maybe her boyfriend's just looking for extra credit. Well, Dakota, luckily, it's back to school week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon. This person writes, my boyfriend's been hanging out with his young professor a lot. He doesn't think it's a problem, but I don't trust her. Now he's insisting we get to know each other. but I just want her gone.

Now hold up, isn't that against school policy? That seems inappropriate. Maybe find out how it ends by listening to the OK Storytime podcast and the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, host of the Psychology Podcast. Here's a clip from an upcoming conversation about how to be a better you. When you think about emotion regulation, you're not going to choose an adaptive strategy which is more effortful to use

unless you think there's a good outcome. avoidance is easier. Ignoring is easier. Denials is easier. Complex problem solving takes effort. Listen to the psychology podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jamel Hill, host of the Sports and Politics Podcasts, and on the latest episode of Spolitics, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries joins me for a candid conversation about the state of the Democratic Party. What do Republicans say to you privately that they won't say publicly? Many of them are in fear of their political leaders. lives. We continue to say to them, you were elected to defend your constituents and there's

life after Congress. Make sure to listen to this episode of Politics on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast.