Hannah Brown proved that writing what you know can come in many different forms, especially with her debut novel, Mistakes We Never Made.
The book, which was released on Tuesday, May 7, follows the story of Emma Townsend, a 28-year-old interior designer who finds herself on a road trip down the West Coast with Finn Hughes, a childhood crush and former fling, with whom she doesn’t always see eye to eye.
“I love the Taylor Swift Easter eggs and I tried to add a little of that. I will say there are a [few] Easter eggs in there, but really loosely based on things,” Brown, 29, told Us Weekly exclusively prior to the novel’s release. “I would say this whole book is a book of fiction, and I have not had this experience of Emma and Finn at all, but their feelings and their doubts and the miscommunication between two people, that was definitely inspired by things that I’ve experienced in my life.”
Bachelor Nation fans who are familiar with Brown’s story were definitely able to pick out snippets from the book which acted as real-life inspiration for The Bachelorette alum.
Keep reading to uncover some Easter eggs from Brown’s Mistakes We Never Made novel:
The State School Connection
Brown’s protagonist, Emma, is a Texas native and went to the University of Texas — Hook ‘Em. As Bachelor fans know, Brown was introduced on Colton Underwood’s season in 2019 as an Alabama native who graduated from the University of Alabama — Roll Tide.
Brown’s Former Career Choice
Before becoming a reality star, podcast host and author, Brown was an interior designer. In fact, she still does interior design work. (Brown was recently featured on ex Tyler Cameron’s Going Home With Tyler Cameron as his design partner.)
In Mistakes We Never Made, main character Emma is also an interior designer.
A Subtle ‘Bachelorette’ Mention
One of Emma’s best friends in the book, Nikki, was on a reality dating show called LovedBy. At one point the character made it clear she was “not here to make friends.” Sound familiar?
Just Call Her Hannah ‘Beast’ Brown
At various points in the novel, Emma is referred to as experiencing “Beast Mode.” During her time on The Bachelor, Brown received her own “Beast” nickname.
Brown’s Difficulty Making Toasts
Brown famously flubbed her toast during Underwood’s Bachelor season, opting to say “Roll Tide” before everyone took a sip from their drink. It appears she took that moment and put it right into Mistakes We Never Made.
At one point in the novel, Emma reveals she hates giving toasts, recalling a moment at her mom’s birthday dinner.
“I tried to say a few words about how much she means to me and ended up getting so flustered I just mumbled out, ‘Hook ‘em,’ and threw up the horns hand side,” Brown wrote in the novel.
An Allusion to Her ‘Bachelorette’ Breakup
Emma’s other friend Sybil had a few engagements in her time, as expressed in the book. Nikki, meanwhile, did fall in love with a man named Aaron during her time on LovedBy. However, he lacked “integrity and trustworthiness,” as stated in the book — which led to their split.
Brown, for her part, had a failed engagement after accepting a proposal from Jedd Wyatt during her Bachelorette season finale in 2019. During their engagement, a woman named Haley Stevens came forward claiming that Wyatt had only gone on the show to further his career. Stevens also claimed that she and Wyatt were in a relationship before Brown’s Bachelorette season started filming. Wyatt has since denied having a girlfriend when leaving for the reality show, but he and Brown still called off their engagement.
Brown’s Anxiety Struggles
Brown has been vocal about her anxiety struggles and how it impacted the lead-up to proposal from now-fiancé Adam Woolard. (She had a “full-on mental breakdown” prior to his August 2023 proposal.)
Her main character, Emma, experienced a similar situation when deciding to dive into a relationship with Finn. Throughout Mistakes We Never Made, Finn is always by Emma’s side, offering her tools on how to deal with anxiety. It’s safe to assume that those parts of Finn might just be inspired by Brown’s real-life fiancé.
