Abigail Heringer stopped by “Bachelor Happy Hour” to chat with co-hosts Rachel Lindsay and Becca Kufrin about her experience competing for Matt James’ heart on Season 25 of “The Bachelor.”

Not only did the stunning Oregon native receive Matt’s First Impression Rose (and first kiss!) but she made history as the first deaf contestant to ever appear on the series. While discussing Monday night’s premiere episode, Abigail revealed why she opened up to Matt about her hearing loss — a topic she doesn’t typically bring up with prospective romantic partners.

“I knew going into it, that night, that I wanted to talk about it just because it’s something I normally don’t really say on a first date — even though it’s a huge part of who I am — with it being a hidden disability and you can’t see my cochlear implant when I’m wearing my hair down,” she explained. “It’s kind of just a scary thing to bring up with somebody when you’re on a first date because you really don’t know how they’re going to take it.”

Abigail went on to say that she has previously “been in uncomfortable situations” with dates who were unaware of her disability. “One time I went to Topgolf and it’s really loud there and I was missing half the things that he was saying,” she recalled. “And I still couldn’t bring myself to tell him, like, ‘Hey, this is my situation.’ It’s just something that I’ve been insecure about in the past. And when you’re trying to be attractive to a guy, airing out insecurities is not always the first thing that you want to do.”

But with Matt, Abigail took a different approach. “Going into this whole process, I was just, like, I’m going to go all out. I’m just going to lay it out there and see how he takes it,” she said. “Is it something that he wants to learn more about? Is it something where he wants to see what a relationship with a deaf person would be like? That’s why I did it the first night.”

The handsome lead was clearly taken with Abigail and seemingly impressed by the level of vulnerability she displayed within their first moments of meeting each other.

“I think that’s why I was riding on such a high, too, because it was something I had been so insecure about,” Abigail said of Matt’s response. “And, so, to open up about it and to not only have him acknowledge it but to actually see it as a really attractive quality, it was just a really special moment for sure. It just kind of came full circle.”

Watch part of Abigail’s “Bachelor Happy Hour” interview below — and don’t forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts to hear more from Rachel and Becca.