Abigail Heringer has certainly had an eventful past year.
Abigail was introduced to Bachelor Nation in early 2021 on Matt James’ season of The Bachelor. After being sent home by Matt, Abigail went on to find love with Noah Erb on Bachelor in Paradise Season 7 and the pair is still together to this day.
Along with finding a sweet BIP love story and gaining 803k followers, Abigail also took the courageous step of speaking about being deaf on national television this year and moved a lot of fans and followers with her story.
With Abigail’s eventful year wrapping up, she took time out to vulnerably share about her experience with discussing her hearing loss on television and all the emotions that came with doing that.
Abigail Heringer worried the public would be unkind about her hearing loss
Abigail Heringer shared several pretty photos of herself on Instagram that put the spotlight on her cochlear implants. As Abigail notes in her Instagram bio, she is ‘deaf with cochlear implants.’
In Abigail’s heartfelt caption she began by expressing her gratitude for all the support and love she’s received in 2021.
Abigail then detailed her first thoughts and feelings when she was cast to be on The Bachelor. Abigail wrote, “When I first got the call saying that they wanted to cast me for the Bachelor, I called my mom in a panic. I was excited but also so scared and unsure if I wanted to talk about my hearing loss on tv, especially on a show that hasn’t had much disability representation.”
Listing off the questions that ran through her head before appearing on the show, Abigail wrote, “What if people weren’t going to be kind? What if they were going to be ignorant?”
Abigail then shared about how she had spent a lot of her childhood having awkward interactions and trying to “act normal” by “undermining my hearing loss.” For a long while, Abigail felt guilty and had to learn to embrace what made her different.
Abigail expressed that it was her mom’s words that pushed her to say yes to going on The Bachelor. Abigail wrote, “I had something beautifully different about me and so when my mom said, “if sharing your story can help just one person, one family, you should do it,” that’s all it took for me to say yes.”
Abigail Heringer says her life changed overnight
In the final paragraph of Abigail’s caption, she noted how life has been crazy and pretty much changed overnight after she became a beloved member of Bachelor Nation.
She then discussed the photos she posted and how it took her 26 years to feel confident sharing pictures of her cochlear implants and talking about her hearing loss.
Now that Abigail has grown more comfortable discussing her story, she’s expressed wanting to continue opening up about hearing loss and making people feel less alone. Abigail’s public vulnerability is sure to keep helping people out there, just as her mom suggested.
The Bachelor premieres Monday, January 3rd at 8/7c on ABC.