Former Bachelor host Chris Harrison addresses "toxic" relationship with television show

Harrison called his departure from the series "something that I pray to God my worse enemy never goes through"

By William Hughes  |  December 29, 2023 | 2:05am
Aux News Chris Harrison
Former Bachelor host Chris Harrison addresses
Chris Harrison, back during The Zoom Days Photo: Getty Images/Getty Images for EIF & XQ

It’s been two years now since Chris Harrison—whose grinning countenance was once almost totally synonymous with the world of manufactured TV love—departed his role as host for the Bachelor franchise of shows. Harrison left the series in 2021, amid controversy over his vocal support for Rachel Kirkconnell, a contestant on The Bachelor who’d been facing accusations of racist behavior; Harrison’s defense of her coincided with widespread conversations about both America’s generally dismal track record with race, and, more specifically, The Bachelor’s own well-documented struggles with the issue. Harrison has since been replaced by former NFL player Jesse Palmer in the role, who recently served as host of the franchise’s latest break-out project, The Golden Bachelor. (Which, of course, has its own host of attendant issues, because The Bachelor is an inherently issue-heavy premise.)

And you know who couldn’t be happier about this arrangement? Chris Harrison, who gave an interview this week in which he basically talked about his former gig as though it were one of those toxic relationships that people on The Bachelor are always fleeing, telling the Trading Secrets podcast this week that “I don’t wish it on anybody. It was horrifying on a lot of levels and 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.”

While acknowledging the financial impact the show had on his (and his kids’) lives, and expressing some gratitude toward the gig as a shole, Harrison ultimately made it clear that he was simply feeling blessed to have moved on from this chapter in his life, in a spirit of growth and mindfulness. “I can also be grateful that I’m gone. That’s a relationship I don’t need to be in anymore,” Harrison asserted as part of the conversation. “Because it wasn’t healthy.”

Namaste!

[via IndieWire]

 
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