Chris Harrison says he's happy with the way he left The Bachelor after nearly two decades hosting the ABC reality romance.
The TV personality, 52, will appear on Monday on the Trade Secrets podcast, said he was proud of the way he handled things when he parted ways with the series in 2021.
The Dallas native, who hosted the ABC series from 2002 to 2021, left amid controversy after coming to the defense of contestant Rachael Kirkconnell after photos of her at a plantation-themed sorority event surfaced.
“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 told the podcast's host, The Bachelorette alumnus Jason Tartick. “I'm proud of that decision.”
Harrison told Tartick, 35, that the “show was a blessing” in his life, and that things changed for him “on so many levels,” including “financially.”
Chris Harrison, 52, says he's happy with the way he left The Bachelor after nearly two decades hosting the ABC reality romance. Pictured in LA in 2022
Harrison said his departure from the series was “obviously difficult at first” as it was not a case where he “felt good about everything” amid the “tumulous” circumstances.
“I wouldn't wish it on anyone,” Harrison said of the controversy leading up to his departure from the series, which he described as “horrific on many levels.”
Amid the scandal nearly two years ago, Harrison initially stepped away from the series, saying he was sorry and taking a temporary hiatus. He officially left the series in June 2021.
Harrison said some of his friends he met on the show attended his November wedding to Lauren Zima, 36.
He added of the series: “I hold those things dear. It was a blessing. It changed my life, but at the same time I can also be grateful that I am no longer here. That's a relationship I don't need to be in anymore because it wasn't healthy.'
Harrison said his departure from the series – he was replaced by Jesse Palmer in September 2021 – opened the door for other shows with a similar theme to try to regain the portion of the audience the show may have lost by saying goodbye of the old host.
“When I left, people started taking their shot at the champion, and they succeeded, and now there's competition, and now there's shows in the zeitgeist, they're being talked about, they're getting the press like we used to did,” he said.
Harrison continued, “Again, it's hard to survive when you don't have those eyes anymore because people will talk about another show.”
The Dallas native hosted the ABC series from 2002 to 2021. Pictured in 2020
Harrison said that while in retrospect he is happy with how things turned out, he was not emotionally prepared for the firing at the time. In the photo in 2020
Harrison said that while in retrospect he is happy with how things turned out, he was not emotionally prepared for the firing at the time.
“I had to grieve the loss of something I had no intention of giving up at the time,” Harrison said. 'I probably would have done that quickly, but not then, like that.
“And so there was a grieving there for a loss and I had to realize, just like when I left my marriage, to take my time and not just go back to the next relationship. That's not the Band-Aid that's going to heal that wound.”