The Bachelorette's Hannah Brown Knew She Had to End Things with Jed Wyatt: 'I Deserve Better'
WARNING: This post contains spoilers from Tuesday’s season finale of The Bachelorette.
Hannah Brown went on The Bachelorette in hopes of finding true love — but instead, she was left heartbroken after catching her fiancé Jed Wyatt in a web of lies.
“This is not the future I expected,” Brown, 24, who broke up with Wyatt after she discovered he had been dishonest with her about having a girlfriend when he went on the show, tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story. “I’m going through a lot of emotions right now. I’m mad, I’m sad. And other days I’m like, ‘What just happened to me?’ “
Brown and Wyatt had been engaged for five weeks when she received news of PEOPLE’s exclusive interview with the girl Wyatt had been dating when he went on the show, singer-songwriter Haley Stevens.
“It was heartbreaking,” Brown says through tears. “The foundation of what I believe love is is based on honesty and truth. If he loved me, wanted the best for me, why did he not give that to me? He always said he never wanted to hurt me, but he hurt me worse than anybody else did.”
Continues Brown: “I did feel remorse from him, but I still think he tried to justify that [relationship].”
Watch the full episode of People Cover Story: The Bachelorette’s Hannah Brown, streaming now on PeopleTV.com, or download the PeopleTV app on your favorite device
RELATED: The Bachelorette‘s Hannah Brown Ends Engagement with Jed Wyatt After Learning He Told ‘Half-Truths’
Brown says she was totally unprepared for the bombshell, despite what many perceived as red flags on the show, including when Wyatt himself admitted that he applied to further his music career.
“I was really insecure,” explains Brown. “I knew that no guy was actually there for me because they didn’t know who the Bachelorette was going to be. And I was the dark horse. So, Jed being honest [was] refreshing. He didn’t come for me, but he liked me. And that’s what made me initially start to fall for him.”
RELATED: See the Alleged Love Letter Jed Wyatt Wrote to His Then-Girlfriend Before The Bachelorette
For more on Hannah Brown’s season of The Bachelorette, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday
Ultimately, Brown knew she had to call things off.
“I have been in love with somebody in my past who lied to me, who cheated on me, and I tried to make it work,” she says. “But I’m not that girl anymore, and that’s been something I’ve been so proud of. So, no matter how much it hurts, I won’t allow myself to be stuck in [something] for any longer than I should be. I deserve better.”
RELATED: The Bachelorette Contestant Jed Wyatt’s Ex Says He ‘Ghosted’ Her After Filming Ended
Now, Brown is coming to terms with how things have changed — and still feeling hopeful about the future.
“When the show wrapped in Greece, I thought I had found the perfect ending,” she says. “I thought it was going to be one story, and it ended up a completely different story. There will be some happy days, and some sad days in between, but it’s a journey that I’m blessed I get to have. Y’all haven’t seen the last of me yet!”
