Bachelor Nation’s former host, Chris Harrison, is speaking out about leaving the “toxic” reality show behind.
As many know, Chris was The Bachelor’s long-standing host for 19 years before stepping away following his (weird) defense of a cast member’s racist history. In a 2021 interview with Rachel Lindsay about Rachel Kirkconnell wearing a Native American costume in 2018, Chris shrugged it off as no big deal, saying fans should show “a little grace, a little understanding, [and] a little compassion.”
Shortly after, social media users and audience watchers came for the now-former host harder than ever. And he noted it was “horrifying on a lot of levels.”
Chris says The Bachelor was a “blessing” and a “curse”
Chris appeared alongside Jason Tartick on his podcast, Trading Secrets. There, he remembered his time as the host of the once wildly popular dating show. “The show was a blessing,” he said. “I still look at this as a blessing in my life. It was hard at first, obviously, it wasn’t immediate where I felt great about everything because what I went through was tumultuous. I don’t wish it on anybody.”
Regarding the backlash, Chris said it’s “something that I pray to God my worst enemy never goes through.”
“But, with that said, I knew I had to remove myself from what became a very toxic situation, and I did, and that was a very difficult situation,” he continued.
After stepping away from The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, Chris said he’s “proud of that decision.”
“I’m proud that I handled it the way I did, and I still look at it as a blessing because it changed my life on so many levels,” he said. “Financially, of course. It changed my life [and] my kids’ lives.”
“It changed my life, but at the same time, I can also be grateful that I’m gone. That’s a relationship I don’t need to be in anymore because it wasn’t healthy,” he said.
As for a future return, Chris said that will never happen — especially with the industry’s current state.
“Once I left, people started taking their shots at the champ, and they’ve succeeded, and now there’s competition, and now there are shows in the zeitgeist, they’re being talked about, they’re getting [the] press that we used to get. Again, it’s hard to survive when you don’t have those eyeballs anymore because people will talk about another show,” he added.
The Bachelor returns for Season 28 on January 22, 2024, on ABC.
TELL US — WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT CHRIS’ STATEMENTS? DO YOU MISS HIM ON THE BACHELOR?
