No rose left to provide! Kaitlyn Bristowe opened up about her friendship with Chris Harrison — and why it stalled after she was supplied the internet hosting gig for season 17 of The Bachelorette.
“They supplied me the place to come back in and what the Bachelor franchise stated was to mentor Katie [Thurston],” Bristowe, 37, stated in the course of the Tuesday, January 31, episode of the “Not Skinny However Not Fats” podcast. “[They said] I wouldn’t be changing Chris. Then all these articles began popping out, saying, ‘Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe changing Chris Harrison.’ And so I messaged Chris in all probability about 10 instances with out him responding. I simply need him to know that I believed he was irreplaceable and I didn’t wish to step on toes.”
The Canada native defined that she “didn’t know” what her “function” could be, however rumors swirling of her changing Harrison, 51, made her “really feel icky” in regards to the state of affairs. After working into him at Wells Adams and Sarah Hyland’s nuptials in August 2022, the Dancing With the Stars alum realized that issues weren’t going to be the identical.
“Then I used to be like ‘OK, he hates me.’ And we had been finest mates and now he hates me,” she shared. “After which I noticed him at Wells and Sarah’s wedding ceremony and I walked him to him and I used to be like, ‘I miss you,’ and he was like, ‘Nicely I’ve at all times been right here.’ … So yeah, that was powerful.”
Harrison, who hosted the courting franchise for 19 years, exited in 2021 amid racism allegations. After the Texas native defended photograph’s from Rachael Kirkconnell’s plantation-themed get together, he was requested to step down from his function.
“I’ve had a really unimaginable run as host of The Bachelor franchise and now I’m excited to begin a brand new chapter,” Harrison wrote through Instagram on the time. “I’m so grateful to Bachelor Nation for the entire reminiscences we’ve made collectively. Whereas my two-decade journey is wrapping up, the friendships I’ve made will final a lifetime.”
Bristowe, for her half, reached out to Harrison to supply her assist — whereas nonetheless staying true to herself.
“When this all went down, I reached out to Rachael and I reached out to Chris and I stated, ‘What you probably did was mistaken and you realize that. I perceive there’s a lot extra to it however what would you like me to do to assist you whereas additionally standing up for what I imagine in,’” she defined. “Then he referred to as and we talked and he stated he didn’t need anybody to actually get entangled. [He said,] ‘It’s exhausting and I perceive that it’s important to like, say what it is advisable to say.’”
Nevertheless, when Bristowe and Tayshia, 32, took over the internet hosting gig for seasons 17 and 18 of The Bachelorette and have become frontrunners to take over the function completely, her friendship with Harrison hit a snag. (The “Off the Vine” podcast host finally didn’t land the gig and stated the community wished a extra “constant” host, selecting Jesse Palmer as an alternative.)
Whereas Bristowe revealed that she “balled” her “eyes out” after the duo’s bond “simply felt prefer it went down the bathroom,” she added that she’s tried to not take the snub personally.
“I don’t suppose it was really about me if I can take away my ego. I believe he was going via a lot in his life. He misplaced 20 lbs he was depressed,” she defined, noting that Harrison was “in all probability actually crushed” about having to exit the collection in such an abrupt approach after desirous to “exit on high.”
