Exclusive
A Candid Conversation With Jenn Tran About Love After ‘The Bachelorette’
Jenn Tran is getting her confidence back. After a heartbreaking end to her journey on The Bachelorette, the 26-year-old is ready to move forward into the next chapter of her life — and she’s dancing her way into it. Mere hours after the live Bachelorette finale, when Tran confronted her now ex-fiancé Devin Strader, she joined the cast of Dancing with the Stars Season 33.
The past couple of months have been a whirlwind for Tran, to say the least.
In an exclusive conversation with Swooon, Tran looked back on her journey as the Bachelorette and revealed how the experience changed her outlook on love. She also discussed her friendship with Jonathon Johnson and what’s next for her once Dancing with the Stars is over.
When looking back, how has the experience of The Bachelorette changed you?
Jenn Tran: In so many ways. I think the biggest lesson that I’ve taken away from The Bachelorette is that vulnerability is so important. I think when I was growing up, it was really hard for me to be vulnerable in a lot of ways and also just doing it on such a public scale now. I wasn’t always so open with my emotions and my feelings, but seeing the reaction that I got out of just being myself and showcasing my insecurities and my fears and seeing that so many people can resonate with it made me feel a lot less alone, and made me happy that I can make other people also feel less alone. I think there’s a lot of power in being able to be vulnerable with your emotions and sharing your heart with other people. It has really helped me cultivate some really close relationships with friends and family, even more so after The Bachelorette.
How do you feel about being an empowering figure for Bachelor Nation fans, especially women?
Tran: It’s unimaginable the support that I’ve been getting, especially from so many women just resonating with my story and all the insecurities that I’ve been through, in the situations that I’ve been through, and the men that I dated. Growing up, when I was dating, I felt very alone in everything that I was going through, and in my fears and insecurities and the guys I was choosing and whatnot. To be able to have a community of women come together and be like, “Hey, I’ve been through that, too, and I’ve made it through the other side, and I resonate so much with all the lessons that you’ve learned,” there’s so much strength in going through what we’re all going through. It just feels like a community that I didn’t know that I had, and I’m so grateful for it. I’m so happy that other people can feel that community, and other people can talk about my story and resonate with it and be like, “This is what I was feeling, too, and now I can learn from it.” It feels so empowering to be able to do that for a lot of people.
How do you feel about going back to dating in the real world after The Bachelorette?
Tran: I honestly haven’t thought about it. I guess how I feel is that I’m not ready to date at all again. There’s been a lot on my mind right now. I’m really just focusing on myself and Dancing with the Stars and pouring energy into myself and just doing the best that I can right now because dancing is so important to me. I’ve always wanted to learn, so I don’t want any distractions, and I don’t really feel like my heart’s in the right place right now to start anything new in the first place. I’m really just focusing on myself.
Have your views on love changed since The Bachelorette?
Tran: I learned so much on the show about what I want and what I need that I do think my views on love has changed. I’m not in a place where I feel ready to fall in love again, but once I do, I know that I’m going to be looking for different things and will be more cautious with it for sure. I think timing and building that trust and building that love is everything.
Have your needs changed in what you would want in a partner?
Tran: In a lot of different ways, yes, but at the end of the day, I think what I’ve always said I wanted is someone to show up for me in the most difficult of time. That’s such a key factor for me that I still haven’t found in a partner yet, and that’s always something that’s been missing in every partnership. So that’s definitely huge. But for sure, my views and things I want have changed, and I think with the most recent relationship, I learned so much from it. For me, it just shows that I need somebody who can stick through the bad times, and I need somebody who can prove their trust to me. It takes time to build that trust.
Sasha Farber and Jenn Tran on ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ (Disney / Christopher Willard)
What does your future look like after The Bachelorette and Dancing with the Stars? Do you think you’ll go back to school?
Tran: Funny enough, I just had a meeting with my advisor from PA school this morning and just figuring out when I’m going back. I’ll be going back in January, and I just have to get some things together for that to make sure it’s a smooth process. But I’m definitely looking ahead to finishing school. I finished about a year and a half now, so I have another year. I just want to get my degree. I don’t know yet whether I work full time, part time, whatever it is, but I know that I’m so passionate about it, and I want to finish it.
That’s such a great testament to your goals. Your life has changed so drastically, but your core values haven’t.
Tran: That’s the thing. When I’m thinking about a relationship, I need somebody who is going to be happy that I’m going back to school and happy that I want to achieve these things for myself. In a lot of relationships I’ve had, people haven’t been super supportive of the things I want to do with my life because I have a lot of different interests, and I like to do different things. I’m not just good at one thing. I am very multi-faceted, and I want someone who’s going to be able to handle all those parts of me.
How has Dancing with the Stars helped you in the wake of everything that happened on The Bachelorette?
Tran: It really is helping me rebuild my confidence every week after I learn a whole dance, and I get to perform it on stage. It might not be perfect, but just seeing the progress and knowing the progress that I’ve made from the week before, it’s so empowering to be able to learn a new skill and to challenge myself every day and know that I’m doing so much better than I was the day before. It’s been such a healing experience. There’s growing pains every day that I’m here, like, today I was having a day rehearsal just because I don’t feel super confident. I felt so bloated. Dance is all about the way your body moves, so I was just feeling so unconfident today. But I know that tomorrow I’m going to feel better. It’s about just pushing through those feelings and realizing it’s okay to have a bad day.
How has it felt having Jonathon’s support after everything?
Tran: Honestly, I couldn’t be more grateful for Jonathon. He is just showing up for me in every way possible. It’s been so good to have such a rock of a friend here in LA. We get to see each other often, and it’s been really nice. I didn’t get a fiancé out of this, I didn’t get love out of it, but I got a really good person out of it, and that just makes me so happy and so grateful for the whole experience.
Dancing with the Stars, Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC
