Chris Harrison, former series-long host of The Bachelor franchise, returned to social media to send heartwarming messages to fans. Harrison decided to "take a step back" from the franchise after he made controversial remarks regarding race in an interview with former bachelorette Rachel Lindsay. Following Harrison's then-temporary departure, former bachelorettes Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe stepped in as co-hosts for Katie Thurston's season of The Bachelorette. After months of being in limbo, Harrison decided to permanently leave the franchise and received an estimated $10 million payout.
The former face of The Bachelor franchise has been silent on his social media accounts after he initially decided to temporarily part ways from the show. His last Instagram post was on June 8 where he officially announced that he would no longer host the ABC dating series. Harrison explained that he is excited to start this new chapter in his life. He continued, "I’m so grateful to Bachelor Nation for all of the memories we’ve made together. While my two-decade journey is wrapping up, the friendships I’ve made will last a lifetime." However, his last tweet was on February 10, when he posted his public apology following the Extra interview with Lindsay. Harrison addressed his fans, saying, "To my Bachelor Nation family...I have this incredible platform to speak about love, and yesterday I took a stance on topics about which I should have better been informed."
On Wednesday, July 21, Harrison broke his Twitter hiatus after fans expressed how much they miss the former Bachelor host. The first response was to a Twitter user who said, "You think @chrisbharrison misses us as much as we miss him?" Harrison responded, "I truly do!" A Canadian user said, "I miss @chrisbharrison. The shows just aren't the same." The 49-year-old said he missed them too and added, "So many loyal fans up in Canada. Thank you!" After another Twitter user said they also miss and love the former host, he replied, "Love all of you too. Always have, always will!"
Under the tweets in the comments section, Bachelor Nation fans and ex-fans expressed their thoughts on the current season of The Bachelorette without Harrison hosting. Most of the replies were from former Bachelor fans who claim the show is not the same without Harrison and they "stopped watching." One fan claimed that ABC used Harrison to be the bad guy in the Rachael Kirkconnell controversy. "Matt was s****y to Rachel K & is back with her. ALL HYPOCRITES. ABC made Chris the fall guy, they’re really at fault. Grow up," the Twitter user said.
Following Harrison's departure from Bachelor Nation, fan and alum reactions are really split down the middle. Alums like Ivan Hall claimed they would not join Bachelor In Paradise if Harrison were to return as host. Former bachelor Sean Lowe has shown his full-blown support to Harrison and even claimed he is now boycotting the show he once starred on. No matter what side fans are on, The Bachelor franchise will literally never be the same.
Source: Chris Harrison/Twitter