Hannah Brown and Adam Woolard.Photo: Hannah Brown Instagram
The story behindHannah Brown’s recent engagement toAdam Woolardcould be the most unconventional of the history of wedding proposals.
Last month, PEOPLE exclusively confirmed thatthe former Bachelorette, 28, got engaged to WoolardatBolt Farm Treehouseon Aug. 24 in Whitwell, Tennessee. And on Wednesday, the couple finally revealed what led to the engagement during an episode of Brown’s popular podcast,Better Tomorrow, explaining that it nearly didn’t happen.
According to Woolard, his proposal had been in the works for a couple of months. But the weekend before that was to happen, Brown had spent some time with her family working on a project on their farm in Alabama, which stirred up some emotions and insecurities for her.
She later told Woolard what she experienced and added that her therapist recommended that she not make any big life decisions at the moment, all of which brought up questions about herself. “I was like, ‘I don’t even know what love is. Are you sure you want to be with me?’ " she recalled, noting that she had no idea this was the week before Woolard planned on popping the question.
That posed a problem for Woolard. “When you were saying this, I was like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me?’ ” he remembered on the podcast. “I was planning on proposing that next Friday. I was like, “Oh my gosh. So I was going through this mental battle adhering to what your therapist wanted you to do and not make any big life decisions. That really stuck with me — ’Well, this is a pretty big life decision,’ So I was like, ‘Do I follow through with my plan or do I preserve her mental health?’ "
Hannah Brown and Adam Woolard, posing at the ‘Top of The Rock’ at Rockefeller Center in December 2021.Santiago Felipe/Getty
Santiago Felipe/Getty
After wrestling with what to do for a day, Woolard decided to tell her about his plan. But his confession prompted mixed emotions for Brown, who initially thought it was a joke.
“I understood him not wanting to surprise me so much that it hurt me in any way. But we talked about getting engaged [before], it was coming at some point. All I probably needed was a, ‘Hey, we had this big conversation. I am planning to do this somewhat soon.’ And that would have been enough prep for me,” Brown said. “But then once he told me the date, I was immediately like, ‘No, I don’t want to know!’ Which I think is fair. That’s the biggest part of it — being surprised!”
Eventually, they decided to postpone the engagement with no pressure. But Woolard wasn’t giving up on surprising Brown.
As they approached the farmhouse, which Woolard had decorated for the special occasion, Brown recognized a favorite song of theirs that was playing and started to realize what was happening.
“I was so shocked. Definitely didn’t see it coming,” Brown recounted to Woolard on the show. “Just like laughing but also being like, ‘You got to be kidding me!’ "
“I thought I was prepared now, so I could look good every time we went out. And this is the one time that I didn’t think anything was going to happen — that I’m wearing clothes that were on the floor three days old and my hair… so I was freaking out about that,” she added.
Woolard took out a three-stone ring and explained its significance as a symbol of keeping God at the center of their relationship. “I got down on one knee and asked you and you said, ‘yes,’ ” he recalled. “And then you started talking about that you just had Chick-fil-A.”
As for the surprise engagement that was supposed to take place at Bolt Farm Tree House the following day, where family and friends were going to attend, Adam said on the podcast that he recorded and edited a video explaining the change in plans that included the previous footage of him getting on one knee to propose to Brown.
The video was later played to the gathering at Bolt Farm, and then afterward, Brown and Woolard walked in to surprise their guests.
“Everything worked out, Woolard recalled on the show.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Brown and Woolard have been together since they first met in 2021. The couplemet on a dating app, and soon into their relationship moved across the country from Los Angeles to Nashville, withtheir shared dog.
Ahead of their relationship, Brown has brought the public along for her search for love, first appearing as a contestant onColton Underwood’s season ofThe Bachelor. Charming the audience and fans, she then becameThe Bachelorettefor theshow’s fifteenth seasonand got engagedJed Wyatt, though broke up with him after she discovered he had been dishonest with her about having a girlfriend when he went on the show.
Last month, Browntold PEOPLEthat her love for Woolard grew as he maintained his “calming presence and big heart.” She shared that he “accepts and loves all versions of me… even the crazy version.”
Woolard, meanwhile, said he admired how his now-fiancée “lives and acts from the truest part of herself despite outside influence.”
source: people.com
