Bachelorette Hannah Brown is asking her suitors to “step it up” right off the bat during the first date of her season.
Ahead of Monday’s all-new episode of the ABC dating show, the former pageant queen revealed she would be returning to her roots, asking her men to kick off the season with a Mr. Right pageant — tiny bathing suit included and all. Judging the pageant will of course be Brown herself, as well as America’s Next Top Model alum J. Alexander and drag queens Alyssa Edwards and Alaska.
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“This is a really good date for me to bring in some of my past and let these guys know where I come from,” Miss Alabama 2018, 24, told PEOPLE ahead of the episode airing.
“My history in pageants shaped who I am,” Brown added. “That’s really important to me.”
That’s not to say Brown is expecting a perfect model walk from all of her suitors, whom she revealed were largely freaked out upon the big reveal.
“You can see the sheer fear in their eyes,” Brown joked. “I’m a little worried. But I’m just looking for someone who comes to have fun and show that they care and are here for me.”
In an interview with Good Morning America Monday, she added of what she was looking for in the men’s pageant performances, “I want them to step it up and be bold. This is probably not their element, and I’m totally OK with that. But I want to see them have fun today and bring it.”
“Mr. Right is going to be someone who takes charge today,” the ABC star continued, “someone who brings a lot of personality and owns whatever they do — good or bad.”
As for Grant, one of the bachelors competing on the date, he told PEOPLE he was planning on leaning in fully when it came to embracing his goofy side.
“I am nervous but you can’t overthink it,” he said. “It’s not going to be perfect. It’s going to be cheesy. But we’re all trying to woo Hannah. And it’s going to get competitive!”
The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Photo credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin
