Danielle Maltby has revealed how she prepared for her stint on Bachelor in Paradise's eighth season after a string of unsuccessful relationships.
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After failing to find lasting love on The Bachelor's 21st season starring Nick Viall and Season 4 of Bachelor in Paradise, Danielle returned to the franchise this past summer and fell hard and fast for Michael Allio.
But Danielle admitted during a recent appearance on the "Talking It Out with Bachelor Nation" podcast that she had to do some work on herself before feeling ready to open her heart again.
"[I dated] very unsuccessfully [before Michael]. Obviously nothing really stuck. There's a lot of, I feel like, self-growth in things that I still needed to do and work on," Danielle told the podcast's co-hosts Mike Johnson and Bryan Abasolo.
"I think I was at this point where I didn't feel like I was who I actually wanted to meet yet. And that thought really helped me."
Danielle reasoned, "If I'm not who I want to meet yet, what do I gotta do to get there?"
Danielle cited therapy -- and her commitment to going -- was the answer to her pre-Paradise problems.
"It's a huge privilege because it's not cheap and it's not readily accessible, and it's not necessarily covered by a lot of insurances. But I had reached a point in my current career where I was like, 'Okay, well, this is something I can afford. I can afford to pay for it out of pocket,'" Danielle shared.
"But I used that time and I've been seeing a therapist twice a month for a little over a year now. And that's really, really helped me process a lot of things."
Not only did Danielle lose her former fiance in an instant, but she also found him after her overdosed and administered CPR. Danielle has therefore needed time to heal from the tragedy.
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RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOWDanielle recalled how she had a "really special patient" who made her question if she'd want to date herself, essentially.
"[She was] asking me about my dating life; she's one of those very inquisitive patients... And I had this moment when she was like, 'Well, yeah, you gotta be who you want to meet!' And I was like, 'Oh my god, am I who I want to meet?'" Danielle said.
"She's a very spiritual person who just drops little knowledge bombs on you."
Danielle also noted how she "loves to journal" and writing has always been "very therapeutic" for her.
"It helps me process a lot of stuff, and painting as well," Danielle disclosed. "But that thought just kind of sat with me and lingered."
Danielle said she got home that night from work, pulled out her journal, and started thinking about that woman's advice and what that would look like for her.
"If I wasn't who I wanted to be, [I questioned], 'How do I get there?... What did I want in a partner? And what did I want to match in that partnership?'" Danielle explained.
Once Danielle was ready to put herself out there again, she immediately met Michael, a 38-year-old business owner from Ohio, on the beach in Paradise.
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Michael affectionately called her "Dani" and told the cameras they had spoken via DMs on Instagram prior to filming the show. But Michael and Danielle claimed they were only friends and had never met in person before.
The day after Danielle arrived in Paradise, she and Michael went on a date, and they kissed and really hit it off. Danielle also opened Michael's eyes when she quoted the following lyric from the song "Stars" by Grace Potter: "I lit a fire with the love you left behind."
Michael thought his date with Danielle may be his last first date ever, and the pair became inseparable from that point forward.
Danielle told Mike and Bryan that she and Michael clicked right away and "just got each other."
Since their first Paradise date, Michael and Danielle have been shown growing closer to each other with each passing day.
Michael went as far as to say Danielle is his "perfect match," adding that the blonde beauty made him "feel alive" again and opening his heart to her was "a massive win."
Prior to Bachelor in Paradise, Michael appeared on Katie Thurston's season of The Bachelorette and quit before hometown dates in order to return home to his son, who had been missing his father.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
