When Chris Harrison was dismissed as the host of The Bachelor series back in 2021, someone had to stand in for him. Former contestant and fan favorite Kaitlyn Bristowe was an easy choice, as she was already affiliated with the franchise and familiar to viewers, but she said that Harrison, with whom she had a close friendship up until that point, stopped speaking to her after she was announced as co-host of The Bachelorette.
Harrison was booted from all Bachelor shows after he defended contestant Rachael Kirkconnell, who had posted photos of herself attending a plantation-themed party in college, which led to a heated, tone-deaf interview with Black former Bachelorette contestant Rachel Lindsay where he doubled down on his defense.
Bristowe and previous contestant Tayshia Adams were later recruited to co-host The Bachelorette together to replace Harrison. This week on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast, Bristowe stated that after Harrison departed the show, “They offered me the position to come in and what they said was it was to mentor Katie [Thurston]. I wouldn’t be replacing Chris.”
She said, “So then, all these articles started coming out saying Kaitlyn Bristowe and Tayshia Adams replacing Chris Harrison. So I messaged Chris, probably 10 times without him responding.”
I just wanted him to know I thought he was irreplaceable and didn’t want to step on any toes. What I said was ‘You’re irreplaceable. I don’t know what my role is. They claimed I was a mentor, but now I’m seeing articles about how I’m replacing you and that makes me feel icky,’” she said. “And then he didn’t write back… I was thinking okay, he hates me. We were best buddies and now he hates me.”
When Bristowe confronted Harrison about their relationship, he responded, “I’ve always been here.”
She reportedly said, “No, you haven’t! You haven’t responded to me in a very long time!”
Bristowe hosted seasons 17 and 18 of The Bachelorette, which starred Katie Thurston and Michelle Young, but was eventually not asked to continue as host, which was disappointing to her.
I adored it. She added, “I felt like I was where I was supposed to be in life.” “I anticipated doing it for a very long time.”
»Kaitlyn Bristowe claims Chris Harrison ghosted her when she was a co-host on ‘The Bachelorette’«