It looks like Chris Harrison and The Bachelor franchise are broken up for good.
In the latest episode of Harrison’s recently launched podcast, The Most Dramatic Podcast Ever, the former franchise host chatted with guest and fellow alum Kaitlyn Bristowe about everything from their fractured friendship and her time co-hosting The Bachelorette with Tayshia Adams to his feelings about leaving the shows and whether or not he misses The Bachelor.
When Bristowe asked Harrison if he missed “it” (aka the shows and the job he had before he exited the franchise in 2021 after a tone-deaf interview with the first Black Bachelorette, Rachel Lindsay) he admitted that although he misses hosting television, he doesn’t miss The Bachelor.
“I love the career I’ve had. I love hosting. I love producing. Whether it was The Bachelor or Miss America or Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. I mean, I’ve done a ton of work over 20 or 30 years. And so I love that,” Harrison explained. “I miss people on the show. I miss, you know, some of the people you got to work with…[are] the most talented crew in the world, and I love and adore them. They are so amazing at what they do, and it was an honor to kind of be their face and their voice for so many years. But the overall show? No. I don’t. I don’t. Honestly.”
“That ship has sailed. And it was wonderful. And I don’t say that with any bitterness,” Harrison continued. “There’s a time and a space for all relationships. And that got me from here to there, and it was a wonderful relationship that changed my life, and I’ll forever be grateful for that. But there’s a time to move on and it’s time.”
Bristowe acknowledged that in his ideal world, Harrison would have chosen to leave the show differently. But when asked if he was ready to leave when he was ousted, he said, “It was time. It was definitely time.”
“I was [ready]. Lauren [Zima, Harrison’s fiancé] has even said to me…’Wow. Now that I see you now I can see just how mixed you were with your emotions on leaving the show and when that was going to happen,” Harrison shared.
After Harrison’s departure, Bristowe and Adams were hired to co-host a season of The Bachelorette. And though Harrison didn’t tune into the season, he had a lot of thoughts on the arrangement, which — for starters — was called a “mentorship” job rather than a hosting job.
“I’m not gonna call you a mentor cause that’s bullshit. You two were hosting the show,” he told Bristowe. “The only thing that really upset me when I heard that you and Tayshia were hosting was that it was you and Tayshia, and that they named two of you, because you were doomed to fail. You were set up to fail. That was never gonna succeed…There’s not room for two people. There’s not room for two mentors. There’s not room for two emotions in that mental space that you’re taking over. And so that was just never going to work.”
You can listen to Part 1 and Part 2 of the podcast conversation to learn more about Bristowe’s experience as a “mentor,” her relationship with Harrison, and more.
