Hannah Brown came to Heather Martin‘s defense, via Instagram Stories, after the 25-year-old blonde didn’t receive a warm welcome from the women competing for Matt James‘ heart during Monday night’s episode of The Bachelor. Heather, who showed up without Matt’s knowledge, initially appeared on Colton Underwood‘s season of The Bachelor in 2019. Her unexpected arrival visibly frustrated some of the women — especially Pieper James, whose one-on-one time was cut short due to the turn of events.
“Lord bless the girls that are mean to my Heather,” Hannah, 26, said in a video on Instagram, while watching Monday’s episode. “That’s all I have to say. That’s all I’m gonna say!” Hannah also shared a throwback selfie of the pair, who met while competing on Colton’s season (23).
Hannah and Heather remained close friends despite the San Diego native quitting Colton’s season early — and their friendship survived through the former Miss Alabama’s stint as The Bachelorette. Though, Hannah didn’t end up with any of her suitors. In January, she confirmed her romance with model Adam Woolard.
As for Heather? She’s hoping to find her husband in Matt, although she just entered the picture… romantically. The two actually met one another prior to filming Matt’s season through Hannah and her season’s runner-up Tyler Cameron — who’s BFFs with Matt. It’s a tangled web, we know. Hannah and Tyler remained close after her season of The Bachelorette, and they even quarantined together, along with Matt, in Florida when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit the United States in March of 2020.
“I have met Heather before [but] I had no relationship with her,” Matt told Us Weekly after Heather crashed his season during week 6. “But she does have a relationship with one of my good friends Hannah Brown. I was just as shocked to see her as everyone else was when she arrives, and I think it makes for a very interesting conversation.”
During Monday’s night’s episode, Heather explained that it was Hannah who encouraged her to shoot her shot with Matt. “Hannah came to my house and she just spent time with Matt in quarantine, and when she landed, she said to me, ‘This guy is the perfect match for you’,” she explained. “Hannah is one of my very best girlfriends. She loves Matt so much. Her telling me that meant something.” Heather later told host Chris Harrison, “I couldn’t let him get engaged and not meeting him or not try my best.”
The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Be sure to check back at HollywoodLife for weekly recaps!