The Real Reason Abigail Heringer Almost Passed On The Bachelor

Abigail Heringer made her reality television debut on Matt James' season of "The Bachelor." She was the first-ever hearing impaired person to join the show, and decided to be completely open about her hearing loss, which she was born with. In fact, her mom, Suzie Heringer, previously told the Statesman Journal that Abigail included her disability as part of her application to be on the show. "I was surprised she was willing to share her story about her hearing loss. It's something she usually doesn't talk much about," her mom said. Nevertheless, Abigail decided to be herself, and wasn't shy about talking to Matt about her condition, either. "With her disability, if that can impact one other person, it's worth sharing the story," her mom explained.

Throughout the season, Abigail was seen wearing a cochlear implant, which is a device that sits on her scalp and interacts with a piece inside her ear to help her hear. "I'm still figuring this out y'all. What you guys saw on the first night on the show was the most forward I had ever been about telling a potential partner about my hearing loss," Abigail said in an Instagram Q&A after "The Bachelor" premiere, according to Bachelor Nation. And while Abigail didn't find love with Matt, she did go on to join the season of "Bachelor in Paradise" where she did end up making a strong connection with her now-boyfriend Noah Erb. However, that almost didn't happen. Why? Well, because Abigail almost didn't go on the show in the first place.

In a sort of year in review Instagram post, Abigail Heringer shared her experience with reality television, and took a moment to thank her fans for her support. In her caption, she explained the reason that she almost didn't join "The Bachelor" after getting the call from casting. "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. What if people weren't going to be kind? What if they were going to be ignorant? After countless awkward interactions growing up, I had become so used to trying to 'act normal' which meant to me, undermining my hearing loss," Abigail explained. And while she was having all of those feelings, it was her mom's encouragement that helped her decide to not only go on "The Bachelor," but to be honest about her hearing loss, in hopes that she may help someone else through it.

Abigail went on to say that it took her 26 years before she became okay with sharing a photo of her cochlear implant, but that she's gained an incredible amount of confidence over the past 12 months of her life. Abigail received tons of love and support from Bachelor Nation in the comments section of the post, and it's clear that she benefited from the reality TV experience overall.