Passing the torch! Hannah Brown gave Matt James advice before he left to shoot The Bachelor in Pennsylvania in last month.
“My biggest thing for him is just, like, remember who you are,” Brown, 26, told fellow Bachelorette alum Kaitlyn Bristowe on the Tuesday, October 27, episode of the “Off the Vine” podcast. “These are your choices, it’s your life. Prepare.”
She recalled telling the newest Bachelor lead to “write down what you want in a wife, what type of life do you want, so that when you go on these dates, you can look back and be like, ‘Is this lining up or was that just a magical date because there are fireworks and the horses and the violinists?’”
The season 15 Bachelorette met James, 28, through Tyler Cameron, who was her runner-up on the reality series.
The former Miss Alabama explained that the two didn’t immediately hit it off, but now she considers him one of her best friends — and is protective of his heart.
“It’s been such a good relationship to know that the boundaries are there and the respect is there and it’s all good,” she said of her relationship with James. “It’s awesome. I told Tyler, ‘I one thousand percent stole your best friend. I mean, we can share, but I’m not kidding that we share.’”
The former Dancing With the Stars champion also sent the former college athlete two books and a journal to help him write down his thoughts throughout the process, which is what she did when she was on The Bachelor.
“I’ve never known somebody on the show beforehand like this and actually cared for his heart and want him to just be happy after this,” she revealed. “There’s a reason that we’re both in each other’s lives.”
Brown left a message for James in the notebook, saying, “Just make sure she likes me and she’s OK with me being your BFF.”
Before he began filming his season, the ABC Food Tours founder, who was part of Brown and Cameron’s quarantine crew in the summer, gave each of his pals a shout-out on social media.
“@tylerjcameron3 what a crazy 6 months, I love you brother, wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you an [sic] your mama,” he wrote in September, referencing Cameron’s late mother, Andrea Cameron, who died from a brain aneurysm in March. “Oh & I’ll be back, with a plus one.”
The Wake Forest University graduate added: “Last but CERTAINLY not least.. Happy (early) Birthday Breezyy @hannahbrown.”
The North Carolina native was announced as the franchise’s first Black male lead in June, after he was previously announced as one of the suitors on Clare Crawley’s Bachelorette season.
James is currently filming season 25 of the ABC series at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Pennsylvania.
The new season of The Bachelor is expected to premiere on ABC in January 2021.
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