Hannah Brown did not find love on "The Bachelor," but the Northport native is still optimistic about finding "her person" one day.

Brown, a Tuscaloosa County High School alumna and former Miss Alabama USA, competed for seven weeks on the highly rated reality show, where 23 women vied for the love of "Bachelor" Colton Underwood, a former contestant on "The Bachelorette" and linebacker for the San Diego Chargers. The winner of "The Bachelor" will be revealed during the season finale March 11.

From the beginning, Brown, 24, felt a connection to Underwood.

"He had a lot of qualities that I look for in a partner, a spouse and what I want in a husband," Brown said in a phone interview with The Tuscaloosa News. "Overall, I was excited from the beginning to get to know him."

Specifically, Brown said she felt an attraction to Underwood because of his values, exemplified through his virginity, a theme frequently explored throughout the season.

"Obviously, that means that intimacy is really important to him, and it’s really important to me," she said. "I think he’s very passionate about finding his person and having a family one day. He is a family man and I think he wants all the things in life that I want."

On the seventh episode that aired Feb. 18, Underwood and Brown spent part of the episode getting to know his parents. By that night, the two were having dinner at Wings Over the Rockies and Space Museum.

As they ate, Brown said she felt confident about their relationship. However, Underwood could not return the same feelings she had for him. She was subsequently sent home.

"You’ve been open, honest and vulnerable this entire time, but I think coming into this week, I think I spent so much time questioning who was ready in all of this, I didn’t get to really look in the mirror and ask myself ‘Am I ready?' or more importantly, ‘Am I ready for us?’ " Underwood said to Brown. "I don’t know if I’m there."

Looking back on that moment, Brown said she was hurt about the rejection.

"It crushed me, but I think the relationships and things I’ve been through reminded me that even in that moment of hurt and sadness that ultimately, I want someone who loves me the same way I love them," Brown said. "That’s what I deserve, and that’s what I want, and that’s not what I was getting with Colton.

"It was good that he wasn’t coming to meet my family and not moving on to that next step."

However, Brown said she does not have anything against Underwood.

"I was mad, sad and caught off-guard, but this is Colton’s experience to find someone he can spend forever with and also mine, too," she said. "In the end, it wasn’t going to be us together, and I hope he finds that on his experience and I hope that I’ll find my person soon."

Ultimately, Brown said she was glad that she was part of the show and that she grew from it. If there is one thing she would like people to know about the show, it’s that all the conversations and feelings on-screen are genuine.

"I think people forget that we’re real people," she said. "We’re not characters."

Over the course of the show, Brown became somewhat of a fan favorite on social media and was often mentioned as a potential "Bachelorette." On Monday, the Twitter account for Reality Steve, a website dedicated to entertainment news, reported that Brown would allegedly be named the next "Bachelorette" during the "After the Final Rose" special March 12.

Speaking to The News before the Reality Steve report, Brown said that being the next "Bachelorette" would be an honor, in addition to an amazing and unique experience to find love.

"I believe 1000 percent that you can find your person and fall in love," she said. "If that is something that can happen for me, I would love the opportunity, but I think you can fall in love anywhere. I could fall in love at a coffee shop tomorrow or on national television. Who knows?"

During the show's airings, Brown was back living in Tuscaloosa, an experience she said made her thankful for the many people she ran into that expressed support for her.

"Truly, it has been so sweet to see our city rally around me and support me," she said. "It’s been really comforting being able to be at home and know that I don’t have to worry about what people are thinking of me because ultimately, I just feel the love and support."

Looking to the future, Brown is taking each day as it comes. Eventually, she would like to get back into interior design. Before competing on the show, she worked as an interior decorator at Gracefully Done in Northport. In addition, she is also interested in seeing the world.

"The show opened my eyes to different ways of life and different experiences," she said. "It’s definitely something I’ve considered, but I haven’t made any decisions yet."

Brown and other contestants will appear on the show’s "The Women Tell All" episode, scheduled to air 7 p.m. Tuesday on ABC.

Reach Drew Taylor at drew.taylor@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0204.