Jenn Tran on channeling her 'Bachelorette' heartbreak into her 'Dancing with the Stars' experience
"Bachelorette" star Jenn Tran is ready to channel her heartbreak into determination to win the Mirrorball Trophy on "Dancing with the Stars" season 33.
The 26-year-old physician assistant student's journey to find love came to a shocking end this week when she revealed on the "After the Final Rose" special that Devin Strader, the man she'd proposed to on the "Bachelorette" finale back in May, had called off their engagement about a month ago.
"I think heartbreak is the best motivator for success," Tran said Wednesday on "Good Morning America" after being revealed as one of 13 celebrities competing on "DWTS" this season. "I'm out for blood. I'm ready."
Tran said coming face-to-face with Strader on the live aftershow to get closure was something she'd been waiting for as a moment to "get that off of my chest and start a clean slate and move on with my life."
Noting that nothing had changed on her end feelings-wise, she said Strader proved he wasn't the same man she'd fallen in love with on the show, saying she "gave [him] grace" before realizing "his heart just wasn't in it anymore."
In addition to being the first Asian-American Bachelorette in franchise history, Tran was the first woman to propose to a man on her finale. Despite not finding her happily ever after, she said she doesn't regret proposing.
"I proposed to a man who promised me a fulfilling life, a loving partnership and a marriage that I had always wanted," she said. "I am very confident in knowing that is still what I want. Unfortunately, he just wasn't the man that he had talked himself up to be. But I would be so lucky to find another man who would be able to fulfill those promises."
Tran said she was "over the moon" when she found out she would compete on "Dancing with the Stars" after stepping off the stage following the emotional "After the Final Rose" special.
"I've actually always wanted to learn how to dance, so this is kind of like a dream come true, honestly," she said.
While she noted she'll "definitely" be reaching out to fellow Bachelorette alums for advice and tips on how to win the Mirrorball, she's also focused on the bigger prize: herself.
"This season I'm dancing for myself," she said. "I'm in a new era of independence [and] kind of just reinventing myself right now."
Tran is competing alongside "Real Housewives" star Phaedra Parks, actress Tori Spelling, notorious con artist Anna Delvey and more on the forthcoming season of "DWTS."
"Dancing with the Stars" season 33 premieres Tuesday, Sept. 17, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+, with episodes streaming on Hulu the next day.
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