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She made an impression! Bachelor Nation<\/a> fans already met season 27 contestant Brianna Thorbourne<\/strong><\/a> before Zach Shallcross<\/strong><\/a>\u2018 journey official began.<\/p>\n The 24-year-old entrepreneur was one of five lucky ladies to appear on the After the Final Rose<\/em> special<\/a> in September 2022 after Gabby Windey<\/strong><\/a> and Rachel Recchia<\/strong><\/a>\u2018s season of The Bachelorette<\/em><\/a> came to an end. Brianna snapped a selfie with the 26-year-old Bachelor and ultimately won America\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to do something special for us so we would always remember this,\u201d Brianna told the California native as they posed in front of a Bachelor Mansion backdrop. \u201cIt\u2019s a little something for you to remember me by, and I\u2019ll see you at the mansion soon.\u201d<\/p>\n After earning the most votes from fans tuning in that night, Brianna will be safe from elimination<\/a> during the Monday, January 23, season premiere. Zach gushed over each of the \u201cincredible\u201d women<\/a> who showed up early.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone impressed me. That was incredible,\u201d he told host Jesse Palmer<\/strong><\/a> during the live show. \u201cEveryone [is] obviously beautiful, but everyone had their own way to make an impression.\u201d<\/p>\n Zach made his ABC debut last year, searching for love on the first-ever joint Bachelorette<\/em> season. He fell for Rachel, 26, but the pair\u2019s spark fizzled out after fantasy suites<\/a> when he claimed the flight instructor behaved differently off camera. (Rachel accepted a proposal from Tino Franco<\/strong><\/a>, but the pair called it quits<\/a> shortly afterward.)<\/p>\n After his rocky experience on The Bachelorette<\/em>, the tech exec is more than ready to find his perfect match<\/a>. \u201cI would tell the critics and the fans, if you wanna watch \u2026 this show and actually see love and no bulls\u2013t and not a scene or not an act, then I think you\u2019re really gonna love this [season],\u201d he exclusively told Us Weekly<\/em> earlier this month. \u201cIf you are someone that wants the unnecessary dumb drama<\/a> \u2014 alright, [but] I might not be your guy. Plain and simple.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the biggest factors Zach values is \u201ccommunication\u201d \u2014 something he and Rachel struggled with. \u201cI know what I want out of this, and I know what it takes to have that healthy relationship,\u201d he told Us<\/em>. \u201cGoing into night one, I didn\u2019t have any rules for myself. \u2026 I\u2019m someone that believes you have one true love, like, the one person that your heart just yearns for. The one you think of when you go to bed. The one you think of when you wake up. You only have one love, but there are varying degrees of love to get to that point.\u201d<\/p>\n The Bachelor<\/em> airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET. Scroll down to learn more about season 27\u2019s Brianna<\/a> as she vies for Zach\u2019s heart:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n