Katie Thurston got especially candid and especially personal on The Bachelorette this week.
First, however, she sent some potential husbands home.
Still seething over the claim last Monday night about men being on her season for the wrong reasons…
Katie Thurston is not here to waste time.
And she certainly isn’t here to serve as anyone else’s springboard to fame, fortune and/or an increase in one’s influence on social media.
The new Bachelorette made this as clear as she possibly could in …
This week, it was finally confirmed that Chris Harrison is leaving the The Bachelor franchise.
What began as a temporary hiatus following his baffling defense of a star’s racist actions is now permanent.
But Chris didn’t immediately agree to go “quietly.”
Apparently, the veteran host was initially demanding an 8-figure payout, or he’d spill all of the dirt about the show.
According to a report by Page Six this week, Chris Harrison was initially trying to extract a $25 million payout.
He wanted a golden parachute in exchange for leaving the franchise.
And allegedly, Chris was counting on ABC being concerned about how much he knows about the show.
“He has nearly 20 years of dirt,” an insider in ABC revealed this week.
“Instead of handing them a rose,” the source quipped.
The insider continued: “He was absolutely ready to hand them a lawsuit detailing all the behind-the-scenes details.”
“Chris Harrison’s whole life was ‘The Bachelor,’” the source characterized.
“And,” the insider explained, “he didn’t want to let go.”
The 49-year-old has spent a solid chunk of his life as the face of the franchise — which was ultimately part of the problem.
“He still is really sad to leave,” the source revealed.
“And there have been very tough and very heated negotiations,” the insider added.
According to the source, these negotiations had been “going on for weeks.”
Apparently, ABC big wigs hoped that Chris would be “gone quickly and quietly.”
It was hoped that this gesture would help their public relations nightmare come to an end.
The franchise’s long history of racism goes much deeper than any one person, but Chris was front and center in the minds of fans.
According to a second network source, Chris’ outgoing clashes with ABC were more explosive than any on-screen finale.
“He knows a lot about inappropriate behavior on set,” the insider noted.
The source began a lengthy list.
“Fights between contestants,” the insider listed.
The source continued: “misbehavior including use of illegal substances while overseas.”
“And,” the insider added, “complaints from producers that were allegedly brushed under the carpet by ABC execs.”
“He was ready to tell the truth about how things really work over there,” the source reported.
“And,” the insider continued, “he has plenty of evidence to back him up.”
“Chris was making $5 million a season,” the source shared, “and wanted $25 million to go.”
Apparently, a settlement did eventually get ironed out between Chris and the network.
However, it’s believed that it wasn’t quite as high as the pie-in-the-sky $25 million that Chris wanted.
That didn’t stop Chris from using strongarm tactics.
Chris hired attorney Brian Freedman, a familiar name to many who follow entertainment news.
In fact, Freedman previously represented Laura Kaeppeler Fleiss.
She of course is the ex-wife of franchise creator and executive produce Mike Fleiss.
The Fleiss divorce was intensely bitter.
Following an alleged assault at one of the couple’s homes in Hawaii, the former Miss America accused the franchise creator fo domestic assault.
The complaint was withdrawn days later … and she reportedly received a $10 million settlement.
Additionally, Freedman represented Gabrielle Union during her dispute with NBC.
As we all remember well, Gabrielle complained of racism and a horribly toxic environment.
She was “let go” from her role as a judge. In September, that dispute was settled.
So by hiring Brian Freedman, Chris was sending the network a message.
He intended to win … and had plenty of ammunition in and out of court.
Per the second insider: “It was a bunch of emotionally charged men in a room who were not happy with each other at all.”
Alarmingly, the report also says that Chris Harrison somehow blames Good Morning America host Michael Strahan for his downfall, at least in part.
Strahan had a nuanced response to Chris’ initial apology earlier this year, questioning whether it was more than a “surface response.”
It seems that Chris took that personally.
“Chris was not happy with that Strahan interview and the way it went down,” the insider reported.
“He was not happy with Strahan’s comment at the end of the interview, that it was a ‘surface’ apology,” the source added.
“He felt angry and that Strahan made a bad situation even worse,” the insider conveyed.
“But in the end, it was Chris Harrison who made the decision to go on ‘GMA,’” the source noted.
“And,” the network insider added, “he should not have expected an easy ride just because ‘GMA’ is also an ABC show.”
Well, all of that is now in Chris’ past.
Tanner Tolbert is very concerned, you guys.
The former Bachelorette suitor has been paying attention to all the controversies surrounding this franchise of late and he’s here to rant about them.
That’s the word Tolbert himself just used on his In…
Rachel Lindsay is not about to do any victory laps.
She knows better than that.
But the first-ever Black Bachelorette, who has become a leading critic of this franchise ever since her run concluded, had to say something about Chris Harrison, you …
Chris Harrison is moving in.
A few hours after Deadline reported that Harrison and ABC had decided to part ways for good, the polarizing host has confirmed the somewhat surprising news.
Yes, it’s true.
He will not return ever again as host of T…
Katie Thurston touched down in the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa in New Mexico on Monday night.
And so did 30 men angling to be the brand new Bachelorette’s lover, husband and/or soulmate.
Coming off a somewhat controversial run as a suit…
Based on what we’re now hearing about Chris Harrison, the previously-unthinkable may soon prove to be a reality.
A very harsh reality for a handful of ABC viewers.
The popular host of The Bachelor, Bachelor in Paradise and The Bachelorette volunt…
Peter Weber did not earn a reputation as the most decisive Bachelor in the franchise’s history.
After his season ended, he dated multiple contestants … most notably, Kelley Flanagan.
The two had a bitter falling out, and Peter has called Kelley’s unhappy statements “calculated,” among other things.
Now, Kelley is clapping back, saying that Pilot Pete is the real petty one.
In a recent YouTube video, Kelley is rebuking Peter’s most recent characterizations.
“Usually, I’d let it slide,” Kelley informed her viewers.
Not this time, however.
“But when there are things out there that are misconstrued,” Kelley began to explain.
She declared: “I’m always going to stick up for myself.”
Kelley added that she will do so “as I think everyone else should.”
For a quick refresher, Kelley and Peter began dating after Peter struck out with Hannah Ann and with Madison.
Things got hot and heavy quickly, and they even had plans to move, together, to New York.
Then, they called it quits … with Peter announcing the breakup on New Year’s Eve 2020.
Initially, the couple said that their “relationship simply didn’t work out in the end.”
Kelley confirmed the breakup early on in January.
She said that they were in “two different stages” in life, seeing their “future paths differently.”
Then, in March, Kelley had more to say about Peter and their breakup.
At that time, she shared that she had asked Pete to hold off on announcing their split.
She wanted a few days so that she could tell family and friends before it went public.
Instead, her request for extra time to break the news and process it quietly “wasn’t granted.”
It was only after seeing Peter spread his narrative that she resolved to speak out.
Especially because she had asked their manager to get Pilot Pete to cut it out.
Kelley shared that she ended things because there were “just a lot of non-negotiables in the relationship.”
“Actions kind of speak louder than words,” she affirmed.
“And,” Kelley continued, “it takes a long time to figure that out.”
“If there was something that I saw as disrespectful in the relationship,” Kelley continued.
“I would speak on it,” she revealed.
“And,” Kelley characterized, “I was pretty vocal.”
Kelley confirmed that there was no single “massive” incident behind the breakup.
According to her, the pair had been “struggling and having hard times.”
Sometimes, there’s a way out of the unhappiness. Sometimes, there is not.
In April, Peter shared that he and Kelley were “not in contact anymore.”
Kelley followed that up by sharing that the two had hung out in February after their split.
At that time, she shared that their attempt at reconciliation had “ended really badly.”
Specifically, Kelley told Peter to “get the hell out of my life.”
Peter responded on a different podcast, where he did not mince words about Kelley’s words.
“I thought it was very calculated,” he expressed.
“I thought, after hearing how it went, that it was very trying to push for a headline,” Peter shared.
He described Kelley’s interview: “Like I said, very just calculated, very disingenuous.”
He wanted Kelley to move on … and will probably be unhappy that she spoke out again.
Well, a new season of The Bachelorette is almost upon us, and you know what that means …
More spoilers courtesy of Reality Steve!
Yes, we might be weeks away from the premiere of Katie Thurston’s season, but the spoiler grind never stops for ne…
We have more than a month to go before Katie Thurston’s season of The Bachelorette premieres.
But with filming having wrapped, news from production is leaking all over the place.
Some producers don’t miss Chris Harrison, but others clearly do.
And it’s rumored that there have been deliberate efforts to sabotage Katie’s season to get Chris back.
Before we get into an eyebrow-raising rumor about this season, let’s deal with the facts.
Multiple sources within production have spoken to E! News about how things are on set.
Notably, this season does not have Chris Harrison on it … and it’s a bit of an adjustment.
One production source says that, at least among some, Chris’ presence has been “missed.”
This is because “the guys always go to him for advice,” the insider explains.
The source continued: “And view him as a wise older guy, and the ladies go to him as a father figure.”
While we’d love to pick apart why that inside source separated Chris’ production groupies by gender, we’ll go on.
The insider lamented that there was not the same dynamic with hosts Tayshia and Kaitlyn.
Interestingly, the source shares that Chris was was considered to be “the mediator and voice of reason on set.”
A second insider shares: “The guys didn’t feel like they could necessarily could vent [or] have therapy sessions with Tayshia or Kaitlyn.”
“It’s easy with Chris,” the source reasons, “because he knows the drill and the process.”
As a result, filming had “a different vibe” this season, the second insider notes.
Apparently, part of this had to do with the gender dynamics of all male contestants with a pair of women as hosts.
“It was a lot of female energy in one bubble,” the second source characterizes.
“And,” this insider continues, it was then “hard for Katie to have the full spotlight.”
According to that source, part of the dynamic was that Kaitlyn and Tayshia “have extremely outgoing personalities.”
That is generally considered an asset for hosts or interviewers.
But it sounds like production is saying that Katie was upstaged.
A third insider says that Chris wasn’t necessarily missed.
That source does acknowledge that “the dynamic was different” for this season.
“It was a little hard to put all the focus on Katie when Kaitlyn and Tayshia were there,” the insider explains.
“It wasn’t necessarily competitive,” the source clarifies.
“But,” the insider continues, “it was a really different vibe.”
And apparently part of the different vibe was that they were just, well, too fun and too pretty.
“They’re very attractive and fun and familiar to the franchise,” the source explains.
“So,” the insider details, “it kind of distracted from Katie being the only desirable woman there.”
It should be interesting to watch that play out on screen!
“Chris is not expected at Paradise,” the third source continues.
“It’s not been mentioned at this point,” the insider says.
“But,” the source adds, “everyone knows he wants to return.”
The Bachelorette premieres on June 7.
Bachelor in Paradise premieres this summer, on August 16.
It will be interesting to see how much of this “new vibe” impacts the shows.
In contrast, it seems that at least some of that may have been production expressing their opinions.
It’s not every day that people, even those in the entertainment industry, get to leak “info” as a way to just complain about their jobs.
Clearly, Chris has some loyalists among producers who think that he is vital to the franchise, while others just see this as a change.
Which leads us directly into an uncomfirmed report from a nonetheless reputable blog.
The Instagram blog @deuxmoi released a screenshot of a direct message, shared anonymously.
In it, someone — allegedly an insider — claimed that producers were deliberately making Katie and her season look worse.
According to this unconfirmed screenshot, the show was ready to welcome Chris back after his brief hiatus.
Apparently, Katie did not sign off on it.
What’s more, she allegedly took to Twitter to unilaterally announce that Chris was not returning.
This reportedly was a surprise to production and to Chris himself.
After this, more and more voices from within the Bachelor Fam spoke about their misgivings about Chris.
This has had production wondering when, if ever, they could bring Chris back to the show.
This isn’t just about Katie, as multiple contestants and leads have spoken privately and publicly about this.
They do not want Chris back for Bachelor in Paradise or for Michelle’s season.
The alleged insider says that all of this explains his high powered attorney, and predicts that he will never return.
That could be true, and we’re inclined to believe that the person sending it is a genuine insider.
But we all know how rumors and discussions at work can go. A genuine producer believing it does not make it true.
That said … if production is sabotaging Katie’s season because she took a positive moral stand, that’s not good.
Ultimately, we would all like to see Chris Harrison “put in the work” and actively become a better person.
But no one is entitled to host a major reality TV franchise, even after a hiatus of any length.
At the end of the day, Chris caused a major controversy that a host in his position
As we all know by now, Katie Thurston is looking for love.
The popular ex-Bachelor suitor will kick off her run as The Bachelorette in fewer than two months.
According to our first real SPOILER of the year, meanwhile, not only is Thurston in the …
As of this writing, we do not know whether or not Katie Thurston will bring her vibrator along for her run as the next Bachelorette.
We do now know, however, when the beautiful brunette will debut in this role.
ABC announced Thurston’s premiere d…
The Bachelor and The Bachelorette are TV shows with a clear goal that you don’t need Bachelor spoilers to figure out:
Set up a man or woman with his/her soulmate.
Heck, nearly every season ends with a proposal, right? And yet, over time, almost no proposals end in actual marriage.
By the numbers, few couples from Bachelor Nation last months; let alone years; let alone an entire lifetime together.
Have there been exceptions to this rule?
Oh yeah, just look at Jason and Molly. Or Sean and Cat. Rachel and Bryan. Even Arie and Lauren … or JoJo and Jordan.
Nevertheless, it’s still an arduous, uphill battle.
See Hannah Brown and Jed Wyatt, or Peter Weber and Hannah Ann, or Peter Weber and Madison for that matter.
Their engagements lasted … days? Hours?
These are unique cases, and yet … not. Heck, Peter and Kelley Flanagan broke up too now. Dude was 0-for-3 in 2020!
The fact is that it’s hard out there for duos spawned by this franchise to make it work, as we saw repeatedly last year.
If you recall, Colton and Cassie broke up last summer. Followed by Becca and Garrett. Then even Ashley and J.P.
Such a brutal year, 2020.
Oh, and Clare and Dale split up as well. The other Bachelorette of 2020, Tayshia Adams, has fared better. At least so far.
And then there’s the dumpster fire that was Matt James’ season of The Bachelor, a mess we would all like to forget.
Needless to say, it didn’t work out.
Looking back through the years, which duos are still living happily ever after after the final rose was bestowed?
Take a look at notable couples from The Bachelor and Bachelorette and see whether they’re still a romantic item now.
Clare Crawley has gone public with her beef wiith The Bachelorette.
The polarizing formerr lead, who departed her season very early because she fell in love with suitor Dale Moss and got engaged after just a few weeks on set, sat down on Wednesday …
The Bachelorette will be doubling up in 2021.
As previously detailed, two women will take center stage on this franchise over the coming months: Katie Thurston in the summer and Michelle Young in the fall.
Mere days after ABC dropped this bombshell on fans, the network has gone ahead and revealed the identity of all 31 suitors from whom Thurston will choose.
To be clear, it doesn’t sound like all of the men listed below will appear on Season 17 … we’ve certainly seen the show pull a fast one or two in this regard.
But most of them probably will. Upon revealing these photos and mini biographies on Facebook, ABC wrote:
“We are giving you an early look at the men who may be on this season of The Bachelorette!”
Which will actually show up on front of the camera when episodes air frrom New Mexico later this year? We can’t say for certain.
But one of these hunks will almost definitely propose to Thurston before all is said and done. How exciting, right?!?
Right. Check ’em out!
