Gone, but not forgotten? Tyler Cameron’s close pal Matt James shared the perfectly valid reason Hannah Brown’s presence isn’t missed by the Quarantine Crew after leaving them behind in Florida.

“Hannah is with us always in spirit. We’re not missing Hannah because she’s here with us, always,” James, 28, told Us Weekly exclusively on Tuesday, April 21, while promoting his participation in NEOU’s upcoming live Fit-A-Thon event. “She is always going to be part of the quarantine crew. We communicate [with her] via TikTok, another dance battle. So the relationship’s only blossomed since we squashed the beef.”

In fact, the real estate agent admitted that he “didn’t know” Brown, 24, would be joining the group down in Florida at first. “I just was very happy when I saw her because she’s such a great person and I was excited to be locked in the house with her,” he shared.

The Dancing With the Stars alum arrived in Florida on March 14. Thereafter, Brown along with James, Cameron, 27, Cameron’s brother, Ryan Cameron, Kate Dooley, Olivia Faria, Mollie Foertmeyer and Jacob Laham formed the Quarantine Crew. Together, the group have posted fun-filled TikTok videos and shared updates to Instagram of their experience quarantining together.

James told Us that the Quarantine Crew’s social media presence was created as a way to “portray a positive message” during a challenging time. Meanwhile, he also teased what the group’s dynamic has been like in the house.

“The biggest bond, really, is just through these workouts that [Cameron has] been hosting on his Instagram Live,” he shared. “It’s helped everybody stay mentally and physically fit through just being locked in a house with your family and friends, ‘cause that’s a long time to be with one person.”

Aside from dishing on the Quarantine Crew, James also spoke to Us about his participation in a Fit-A-Thon live stream event hosted by NEOU — a fitness company — via Instagram Live @neoufitness on Thursday, April 23. The charitable effort was organized in an effort to raise money for medical professionals working to fight the coronavirus. Proceeds from Thursday’s event will go toward Operation Food Fight, an organization that’s providing meals to healthcare workers during the pandemic.

“One of my really good buddies — roommate in college, roommate after college, one of my best friends, really — his girlfriend works in a hospital and I think he saw that there was a lot of [things] going on in the hospital with these nurses and doctors who were battling on the frontlines and didn’t have enough resources for basic necessities,” James, who will join the live workout at 2:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, explained. “That’s where Operation Food Fight came [in] … providing meal deliveries to these hospitals around the New York City area.”

James added, “I’m glad that NEOU is sensitive to everything that’s going on with the virus and how it’s affecting everyone’s lives and how they’re gonna use their platform to livestream that workout that’s gonna emulate a 12-hour shift that the doctors are going on.”

With reporting by Kayley Stumpe

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