Chris Harrison looks back on his time The Bachelor with gratitude.
Harrison, 52, hosted the reality dating competition series for 19 years before stepping down from the franchise in February 2021, following backlash after she defended the racist behavior of past Season 25 contestant Rachael Kirkconnell. Jesse Palmer was named the new host that September.
The television personality described her time on the show as “a blessing and a curse” in the latest episode Trade secrets podcast, host Bachelor alum Jason Tartick.
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Chris Harrison.
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“The show was a blessing,” Harrison said. “I still look at this as a blessing in my life. It was hard at first, obviously, it wasn’t immediately when I felt great about everything because what I went through was tumultuous. I don’t wish that on anyone.”
He noted that the reaction was “horrifying on so many levels” and “something I pray to God my worst enemy never goes through.”
“But with that said, I knew I had to remove myself from a situation that had become very toxic, and I did, and it was a very difficult situation,” he continued. Harrison said that while he believed something could have been worked out in the long term, he knew he had to “remove” himself from a “toxic situation.”
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Chris Harrison was seen talking to Matt James during episode 25 of “The Bachelor” season.
Craig Sjodin via Getty
“I’m 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. It changed my children’s lives.”
Harrison took advantage of his wedding ceremony with Lauren Zim in November, which was attended by many Bachelor Nation alums, as an example of how the franchise has blessed him with great friends.
“It was a blessing. It changed my life, but at the same time I can be thankful that I’m gone. It’s a relationship I don’t have to be in anymore because it wasn’t healthy,” he said. .
While Harrison said he would not be returning to the franchise, he told Tartick, 35, that “it’s hard in this business,” noting the popularity of dating shows.
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“When I left, people started trying to win championships and they succeeded, and now there is competition, and now there are shows in the zeitgeist, they are talked about, they get the press that we used to get. Again, it’s hard to survive when you don’t have those eyes because people will talk about another show,” he added.
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Source: HIS Education