Opening up.

Bachelor Nation fans saw Brooklyn go on a one-on-one date with Zach last week when “The Bachelor” was in the Bahamas.

During the night portion of their date, Brooklyn opened up to Zach about a past long-term relationship of hers where her former partner was abusive.

Now, Brooklyn stopped by the “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast, where co-host Michelle Young commended Brooklyn for her bravery in sharing her story.

Michelle asked Brooklyn if she was nervous at all for the one-on-one date knowing this was something she might want to share with Zach.

Brooklyn said, “I was super excited to have a one-on-one date, but in the back of my mind was me wondering if I was ready to share with him and if he was ready to hear my story. I didn’t want him to feel like I was trauma dumping on him or anything. I feel like sharing about my past relationship with any new relationship is very important. It’s not something I’ve really been able to do in past relationships just because it’s shaped me to who I am.”

Michelle applauded Brooklyn for sharing such a difficult part of her past because she knows it’s not easy to have those conversations.

The co-host also asked Brooklyn if she was nervous about how Zach might react to this part of her past.

Brooklyn said, “I definitely did have worries and reservations going into the conversation about sharing with him. I didn’t want me sharing with him to make him think that I’m still dealing with this or that I’m not healed. That’s not the case. I definitely feel like I’m healing every day and I choose to continue to heal every day after a situation like that. I was concerned that he would think that I still needed time to work that stuff out, but that was the complete opposite of how he handled it and how he reacted.”

Brooklyn went on, sharing how Zach made her feel so comfortable with how he reacted to her story.

She said, “Zach was very receptive. He was not just saying gotcha, but I could feel that he hurt with me, not that I wanted him to hurt. It just showed that he cared and that he was listening intently and that he was hearing everything I had to say and taking it seriously. He didn’t ever take it the way I thought he might’ve. He understood that I went through something that was really hard and that I have made an effort to heal from that and I’m continuing to make that effort. He handled it with such grace and was so receptive that I completely forgot about all of my worries at the time by the end of the night.”

Michelle asked Brooklyn if opening up to Zach made their connection stronger and Brooklyn said it absolutely did.

“It truly was a weight lifted off my shoulders. It was a cloud lingering over me, but I feel like after that my connection with Zach just skyrocketed. I felt so heard and secure and safe in where I was with him. Sharing something like that, you have to feel safe to share that, and I really did,” the Bachelor Nation star said.

Brooklyn added, “I really feel like our relationship blossomed a lot more than I expected after that. I continued to feel safer and safer in our relationship and knew that I could share anything with him. If I can share that, I can share anything.”

And it wasn’t only the support from Zach that Brooklyn felt. She got emotional when talking about the support from her fellow cast members and fans who have flooded her DMs with love after last week’s episode aired.

Brooklyn said, “The support and the love has been overwhelming in the best way possible. I have had a lot of people reach out to me and thank me for sharing because I could help someone. Other women who have been through similar things also shared and said thank you. They said that I showed them things do get better and you can heal and be brave.”

She went on saying, “It’s so hard to respond to everyone. I had at least a thousand messages that I’ve seen. It’s been incredible that all those people feel like they can share with me. If I can help just one person by sharing my story, if it can benefit them somehow some way, then that’s the reason God had me go through it. I don’t know, but that’s what I’m going to tell myself. I’m so thankful for the outpouring of love and support I received.”

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential.

Check out this week’s resources and the full episode of “Bachelor Happy Hour” below.

Resources: Speak Up and You Are Only Just Beginning