Chris Harrison Makes Rare Comments About ‘Bachelor’ Departure
Chris Harrison feels “relief” about the departure The bachelor forever.
Harrison, 54, left his old job as host of the ABC dating franchise in June 2021 amid controversy. He was a host for 19 years. In a new interview with People published on Monday, October 27, he reflected on his departure, saying, “It feels great, and thank you for asking that because I wasn’t sure it would be.”
Harrison has since moved from Los Angeles to Austin, Texas, and married the former Entertainment tonight host Lauren Zima. (The couple will celebrate their second wedding anniversary in November.)
“You know, when you do something every day for 20 years, and it’s so popular around the world, there’s pressure, and there’s a spotlight and a microscope that you don’t even realize you’re under until you kind of get off that merry-go-round,” Harrison shared. People.
The transition from emcee The bachelor And The Bachelorette – a full-time, all-consuming job – not having a role in the franchise wasn’t easy at first.
“And it was kind of a fear when I first got out, because I mean, ‘Oh, well, I gotta get back to work. I gotta get back to work,’ or…,” Harrison recalled.
“And then,” he added, “I took a little deep breath and you let your shoulders drop, and I think falling in love obviously helped.” Moving to Austin definitely helped alleviate that and realize, ‘Wow, there’s a whole different world here to dive into.’ And so it was a wonderful break and relief.”
Harrison called Austin “the new Hollywood” and said the city “remembers [him] of what Hollywood was built on, and that’s it, and anything is possible if everyone just comes in with an honest, open heart and mind and just wants to do some fun work together.
Harrison teased that he and Zima, 37, have a project in the works.
“Honestly, for the first time in a long time, the fire has been rekindled with this amazing woman to dive back in and do some creative work,” he said. “And there’s a next chapter coming up very soon for both of us, which is… We’ll be really excited to talk about it.”
Harrison and Zima started dating in 2018 after she DMed him, feeling a “vibe.” Five years and one walk down the aisle later, he launched “The Most Dramatic Podcast Ever” with his wife by his side.
During the third episode in 2023, Zima revealed that “people in the industry” told her to break up with Harrison during his professional split from Bachelor Nation.
Chris Harrison had a hilarious message for his Bachelor Nation friends. Jason Tartick, 35, who first appeared on Becca Kufrin season 14 of The Bachelorette, took to TikTok on Thursday, November 9, to share a moment from Harrison, 52, and Lauren Zima’s wedding reception on Saturday, November 4. In the clip, Harrison joked that […]
“I’m divorced too,” she said at the time. “To me, everyone is going to make mistakes. … It’s how you respond to those mistakes that matters. I didn’t break up with Chris — I didn’t even think about that. Because Chris immediately knew he was imperfect, knew he made a mistake, knew he hurt people and he was so sorry for hurting people.”
