Chris Harrison opened up about his exit from The Bachelor. The TV show host said his exit was like a messy divorce. He also reflected on a difficult decision and how experience shaped his life.
Chris Harrison compares his 2021 Bachelor departure to a “contentious” divorce
Chris Harrison appeared on the Unplanned podcast with Matt Howard and Abby Howard, where he discussed his The Bachelor exit. Harrison exited the franchise in 2021 and compared the situation with his divorce.
He said, “If I learned anything over the years about relationships and breakups — and I’ve seen a lot of breakups — is that things don’t end how you always want them to. There’s very few endings like John Elway got, where you win a Super Bowl, and you ride off into the sunset into the hall of fame. It usually doesn’t end like the movies.”
Harrison added that breakups and divorces can be messy at times, but the experience also allowed him to grow. His exit from the show came after his controversial comments to support former contestant Rachael Kirkconnell. Kirkconnell drew attention for her racially insensitive actions.
Harrison said, “Breakups are messy at times. Divorce is messy at times. And this was a divorce. It got a little contentious, a little messy, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t right. You know what I mean? For me, I still look at it, oddly, as a blessing, because it’s gotten me to where I am today and it allowed me to grow as a man, as a husband, as a dad, as a friend to my friends, to reconnect.” (via Us Weekly)
He also reflected on how experiences ultimately helped him and led to new opportunities, describing them as blessings from god.
“The only thing that I thought is when I stepped away from the show — and it was a mutual parting of the ways; we all decided, you know what, it’s time — and for me, it was a tough call. I was in the middle of renegotiating a contract, but I felt it was just time to go. And it’s a hard choice, ” he added.
For Harrison, everything comes back to love and relationships, and walking away is difficult. He added that when he felt the inspiration to create his show again, he went with the idea. His new show, The Vows, is releasing on November 11.
