Chris Harrison, the former host of “The Bachelor,” said that leaving the show ultimately had a positive impact on his life.
The 52-year-old celeb referred to his tenure on the long-running dating reality show as both a “blessing and a curse” during an appearance on the “Trading Secrets” podcast, which is hosted by “The Bachelorette” contestant Jason Tartick.
Harrison parted ways with “The Bachelor” after 19 years of hosting the series following a controversy stemming from his defense of a contestant against accusations of racism.
“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,” Harrison said, mentioning how the backlash to the controversy 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, and I did, and that was a very difficult situation,” he added.
“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 told Tartick. “Financially, of course. It changed my life. It changed my kids’ lives.”
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“It was a blessing. 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,” Harrison said, asserting that he would “never” return to “The Bachelor.”
Harrison was attacked for defending Season 25 contestant Rachael Kirkconnell when she was facing backlash for attending an Antebellum-themed party in her past.
“The picture was from 2018 at an Old South Antebellum party. That’s not a good look,” former contestant Rachel Lindsay told Harrison during an interview with “Extra” in February 2021.
“Is it [not] a good look in 2018, or is it not a good look in 2021?” Harrison replied.
He said that the audience should “have a little grace, a little understanding, a little compassion” for Kirkconnell attending a party in 2018 when social etiquette was very different. These comments led to extreme backlash and eventually to Harrison resigning as the show’s host and issuing a formal apology.