Taking to Instagram on July 14, “The Bachelor” star Serene Russell opened up about a frightening experience in which she felt she was being followed. The reality star shared the incident in detail, to her nearly 200,000 followers, explaining how the encounter left her feeling uneasy and unsafe.
Russell first appeared on Clayton Echard’s season 26 of “The Bachelor” and later, “Bachelor in Paradise” season 8. However, she ended up finding love with a fellow Bachelor Nation alum outside her reality TV experiences, going strong with “The Bachelorette” season 16 contestant Brendan Morais for over a year now.
Serene Russell Details ‘Scary’ Moment She Was Followed After Walmart Trip
Serene Russell recently detailed a scary encounter of being followed while visiting her local Walmart. In a clip on Instagram, the Bachelor Nation star shared that she made a quick trip to the store to return an item, but as she was leaving the store and walking to her car, she was stopped by a man in a car.
“In case any men on here wanna know what it’s like for their sisters, their wives, their girlfriends, their mothers, this is what it’s like being a woman in 2026,” she began.
“This guy stops me in his car. He’s like, ‘Excuse me, ma’am,’ and I turn around for a second because I’m like, you know, maybe I dropped something. Or maybe he’s trying to tell me something. I could tell he was about to hit on me, so before he said anything else, I went, ‘No, thank you.’ I just kept walking.”
However, as she walked to her vehicle, the man began to follow her so quietly that she didn’t even notice he was behind her. “I’m about to get in my car and he pulls up, runs out of the car to where he’s like 5 feet from me with his friend in the car,” she shared, adding, “And he’s like, ‘I just – excuse me.’ And I was like, ‘What do you want? Do you need something?’”
Russell added that there was a car behind him, so thankfully, she wasn’t alone, and it prevented him from lingering.
“Like, what part of the first interaction said yes, pursue me in a car with another man while I’m by myself in a parking lot?” Russell added before ending her video, stating, “I need to get a taser.”
Russell Found Love With ‘The Bachelorette’ Star Brendan Morais
Thankfully, Russell has plenty of support as she navigates moments like these, including from her boyfriend, Brendan Morais. The Bachelor Nation couple has been going strong for over a year after first meeting at a Us Weekly Reality Stars of the Year party in October 2024.
Speaking to Us Weekly, the couple shared that after talking to one another on Instagram and sharing a kiss on New Year’s Eve, they decided to keep their romance private.
“I think for both of us, having been in public relationships before, we just wanted to get to know each other in a completely organic and normal way without any pressure, or without soft launching and causing speculation,” Russell said.
“There were a lot of people that we personally know that didn’t even know that we were dating, and so I think we just waited till the time felt right,” she added.
Russell and Morais went Instagram official in March 2025, with Russell sharing photos of the two hanging out on a beach.
The couple has since been on trips around the world, sharing photos of their sweet adventures with their Instagram followers.
The couple celebrated their first dating anniversary in January, sharing loved-up photos as they celebrated the milestone with a vacation to the small California beach city of Carmel by the Sea.
“celebrated one year together over the weekend in Carmel by the Sea. I’m so blessed to get to love you! @brendanmorais thank you @carmelvranch for having us – truly heaven on earth 🖤,” she captioned her post.
More recently, the couple shared adorable photos of their getaway to Playa Isla Mujeres, México, Cancún. Russell shared photos of the two having a sunset dinner on the beach and captioned her photos, “another trip around the sun ♊️🐐🦀 so so grateful for this life 💛.”
