Chris Harrison is opening up about his controversial exit from The Bachelor and why he’s “grateful” that he left the show when he did.
The 52-year-old television personality left the show after the 2021 season, when he defended contestant Rachael Kirkconnell against the backlash she received when it was discovered that she attended an antebellum-themed party while in college.
Chris appeared on the new episode of Bachelor Nation alum Jason Tartick‘s podcast and discussed life after leaving the show.
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“I still look at this as a blessing in my life,” Chris said. “It was hard at first. Obviously, it wasn’t immediate that I felt great about everything, because what I went through was tumultuous.I don’t wish it on anybody. It 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.”
Chris says there could have been a way for him to stay at the show, but he’s glad he left.
“We all could have figured it out, but I had to remove myself from that toxic situation. And so I’m proud of that decision. I’m proud that I handled it the way I did and I still look at [the show] as a blessing because it changed my life on so many levels,” he said.
Chris credits The Bachelor with changing his life for the better.
“Financially, of course. It changed my life. It changed my kids’ lives…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,” Chris said, adding that he probably would have left the show soon, but obviously under different circumstances.
“I would have probably soon, but not then, like that,” he said.. “And so there was mourning a loss there and I had to realize, like when I left my marriage, take your time and don’t just jump back into the next relationship. That’s not the bandaid that’s gonna heal that wound.”
Chris recently got married and had so many Bachelor stars in attendance.