Opening up.

Bachelor Nation got to know Alicia Holloway as she looked for love on Season 25 of “The Bachelor.” 

Since then, she has been keeping followers updated with her life as a professional ballerina in New York City and sharing more details about her adoption story. 

The Bachelor Nation alum has been open about her experience growing up with adoptive parents and eventually learning about her birth family.

And this week, she exclusively told People magazine about the moment she found out her birth family thought she was dead. 

Alicia explained that after years of not knowing her birth parents, her dad eventually revealed the name of her birth mom right before her 18th birthday. She also learned that her adoptive parents had been secretly sending letters to her birth mom every six months to update her on Alicia’s life. 

Shortly after, the Bachelor Nation alum arranged to meet her birth mom the day before her 18th birthday. After asking a series of long-awaited questions, Alicia received one answer that altered the way she viewed her story. 

“I asked her if her family knew about me,” Alicia said. “And she told me no, that she had told them I was stillborn.”

Alicia expressed that while heavy to realize, it ultimately didn’t affect her the way she thought it might. 

“Yes, that’s heavy… But I found that out at 18. It didn’t affect my life in the way people think,” she shared. “That was traumatic for her, not for me… I had my family. I had the best parents and the best friends. I was whole.”

Alicia gave grace to her birth mom and the two eventually reached a place where they were able to discuss what truly happened, leading Alicia to form new connections with her biological siblings on her mom’s side. 

“I believe people just do what they think is best in the moment,” she reflected. “I’m not saying it was right, but I can’t be angry at her.”

Alicia also revealed that during the COVID-19 pandemic, she found her biological dad on social media and the two were able to form a connection as well. She has since grown close bonds with him and her siblings from his side. 

“The amount of love I've received from every angle is overwhelming,” she shared. “I thought I was already loved as much as a person could be — and then it just kept growing.”