Yahoo Lifestyle Jenn Tran Weighs In on Whether ‘The Bachelor’ Can Help People Find Love
Jenn Tran never really watched reality TV before she landed a spot on season 28 of The Bachelor. Now, just a year later, she’s a reality TV star after becoming the first Asian American woman to lead a season of The Bachelorette as well as be a contestant on season 33 of Dancing With the Stars.
With her stint on reality TV over (for now) and Grant Ellis’s Bachelor season beginning, you might think that Jenn will be following the Bachelor-to-influencer pipeline. But, as Jenn tells Cosmopolitan in a new interview, she’s actually more focused on finishing school in order to become a physician’s assistant. Here’s what she had to say on finishing school, watching The Bachelor, and—of course—those dating rumors about her DWTS partner, Sasha Farber.
Grant’s season of The Bachelor premieres Monday, January 27. Will you be watching?
Honesty, I’m very excited to watch Grant’s season. Now that I know the inner workings of how a show works, it’s even more interesting. I was never a reality TV person. I never watched The Bachelor or The Bachelorette. My roommates in college would watch it and I’d be like, “I’m above that. I don’t watch reality TV.” Now I’m obsessed. I’m actually really excited to see what happens—I don’t know what happens. I think it’ll be fun.
What are some qualities you’d want to see in a partner for Grant?
I think Grant needs someone who’s very outgoing to match his pace.
Your time on The Bachelorette obviously didn’t end the way you or fans would have hoped. Do you think The Bachelor/ette mansion is still a place where people can find love?
I think it takes very, very unique people and unique timing. It can happen with the right person. When I was in it, I was fully ready and fully invested. I think it just takes two people who are on the same page.
There was a lot of backlash or resistance when you were named the first Asian American Bachelorette lead. What was that experience like?
When it was first announced, I had my phone taken away, so I didn’t know what the reaction of the world was until I came back from filming. And I will say, it was really disappointing to come back from filming, seeing so much resistance around me being the Bachelorette. That was tough because I came off a really amazing experience—or so I thought at the time. I thought I had found my person and I was just so excited.
And then the racism around [me being] Asian American, there were so many emotions that I was processing when I was coming back from The Bachelorette, mainly wanting it to be so happy. I really struggled with it because there was so much backlash.
I just had to tune everybody out and realize that I was in it for love and I was in it for me, and it didn’t matter if people wanted me or not. Although it would’ve been amazing to have 100 percent support from the world, I didn’t. But I still tried to look on the positive side of things as much as I could.
Did you feel more support when you started on Dancing With the Stars?
Yes. I will say that after the finale of The Bachelorette, I felt so much support and everyone just really came behind me and stood for me. And on Dancing With the Stars, I felt like I had so much support.
I think people saw a side of me at The Bachelorette finale that they had never seen before, so they really came together for me, and I’ve been feeling so much support ever since. It’s truly just been such a turnaround. It’s so amazing.
It’s funny that you’re done with dating shows now, and yet all anyone wants to know is whether you and Sasha are dating.
Yes. It’s very interesting. I guess that’s just the price you pay when you go on a dating show—people are always going to be wondering and invested in your love life. People saw me in a very vulnerable state and in a very distraught state, and I think they just want me to be happy and find love. Everyone is so invested, and I’m just grateful for it. I’m grateful people want to pry, even though at times it can feel a lot. I’m grateful that people just want me to be happy.
You are back at school in Miami now after a year off to film The Bachelor and Bachelorette. It must be so hard to switch to school mode.
My god, it’s so weird. My brain is kind of like, What the heck is going on? But [medicine] is what I’ve been passionate about. I knew that I had to go back, and this was the timeline that I set for myself. I only have one year left, so it’s not really that long, but it’s going to be really hard.
A year away from medicine is a lot. I’m already feeling anxious and the overwhelmingness of having to study to go back...so I think if I just pushed it off, it would never happen. It’s now or never.
I feel like a lot of people in your position would postpone school to focus on being an influencer or starting a podcast.
I’ve been opened up to such a world of opportunities being in the spotlight. It’s amazing how many people I can reach and the community that I’ve built, and it’s not something that I want to give up. It’s something that I want to continue, but I also have to figure out logistically, how am I going to make money? What am I going to be doing for the rest of my life? Am I going to be posting on Instagram when I’m 50?
So I’m just setting myself up for success in the long run. I just have to be practical.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
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