Chris Harrison calls his departure from the “Bachelor” series “a very toxic situation”: “I’m grateful to be gone”

Chris Harrison reflects on his tumultuous departure The old bachelor Franchise with a little gratitude.

More than two years ago, Harrison left the franchise after a backlash against season 25 titleholder Rachael Kirkconnell, who also came under fire for attending an antebellum-themed party at the university.

Now during an interview on Bachelor party On alum Jason Tartick’s podcast, he said he still considers the show “a blessing,” though he also admitted it was a “toxic situation” toward the end.

“I still consider it a blessing in my life. At first it was difficult. “Obviously, I didn’t immediately feel like everything was fine, because what I experienced was turbulent,” Harrison said. “I wouldn’t wish this on anyone. It was terrible in many ways and I pray to God that my worst enemy will never experience it. But still, I knew I had to get myself out of this very toxic situation.

Harrison also speculated that given the chance, he probably could have weathered the storm and “made it out.”

“We could have figured it all out, but I had to get myself out of this toxic situation,” he continued. “And that’s why I’m proud of this decision. I am proud of how I handled it and what I still see [the show] as a blessing because it changed my life on so many levels.

Harrison also reflected on the positives of running the franchise for nearly two decades, including the friends (and money) he’s made.

He added: “Financially of course. It has changed my life. It changed my children’s lives… but at the same time I can also be grateful that I am no longer here. This is a relationship I no longer need to be in because it wasn’t healthy.

Still, leaving the show forced him to “grief the loss of something I had no intention of leaving at the time.”

“I probably would have done it soon, but not then, like this,” he said, explaining that since his departure he had been asked to host other reality series but turned them down. “And so I grieved a loss and I had to realize, just like when I left my marriage, that you have to take your time and not just jump back into the next relationship. It is not the Band-Aid that will heal this wound.”

No one should get their hopes up for Harrison’s return The old bachelor Franchise also does not apply. Without hesitation, the reality star told Tartick that he wasn’t ready to host The old bachelor more.

He also pointed out that the series has been going “downhill” since his departure and that it faces an uphill battle to retain its crown among the many dating series trying to take their place in the cultural zeitgeist of the last few years. has. Year.

“When I left, people started taking their chances on champion and they succeeded, and now there is competition and now there are shows [that] They meet the zeitgeist, people talk about them, they get the press we used to have,” he said. “Again, it’s hard to survive when you don’t have those eyes anymore, because then people talk about another show.”