Chris Harrison has been pretty quiet on social media since being ousted from his longtime gig as host of The Bachelor franchise's various dating shows. Harrison’s defense of The Bachelor contestant Rachael Kirkconnell after controversial photos resurfaced from her past led ABC to part ways with the now-former face of the franchise. But regardless of the circumstances of his departure, there are definitely still fans who think the dating show just isn’t the same without Harrison, and you can be sure that the former host is hearing and appreciating the kind words.
Katie Thurston’s season of The Bachelorette is currently airing on ABC with Bachelor Nation vets Kaitlyn Bristowe and Tayshia Adams serving as co-hosts. And while the duo seem to be holding their own in the hosting department, there’s still a Chris Harrison-sized hole in the franchise for many viewers, and he recently hit up Twitter to thank and reply to quite a few of those fans who continue to support him.
Chris Harrison returned the love of one Bachelor Nation fan, while putting to rest the worries of another person who asked if Harrison misses the fans as much as they miss him.
While some fans claimed The Bachelorette isn’t the same without him, Chris Harrison dodged that landmine of sorts and basically avoided any temptation (island) to comment on the performance of his replacements. Instead, he did the opposite of what got him in trouble in the first place by not overstepping, and chose to focus on the amount of support he gets from our neighbors to the north.
It’s not just the fans who have strong opinions on both sides of the Chris Harrison issue. Former Bachelor Nation contestants have been vocal as well, with many still standing in support of the former host. (Not necessarily as an "us vs. them" thing, mind you.) Catherine Giudici recently revealed that her husband Sean Lowe, who she married after they met on Season 17 of The Bachelor, is boycotting Katie Thurston’s journey on The Bachelorette because of how the Harrison situation went down.
Tanner Tolbert, who competed on Kaitlyn Bristowe’s season of The Bachelorette before meeting now-wife Jade Roper on Bachelor in Paradise, weighed in before the current season, predicting that the show might see a drop in ratings. But although he said some people wouldn’t want to watch it without Chris Harrison being there, that was “kind of a silly” reason, considering he's not inherent to the show's purpose. That said, the ratings and viewership are definitely are at the lowest they've ever been, though it's impossible to know how much of that is just due to changing TV habits, and the world opening back up.
At least the recent social media comments that Chris Harrison has responded to are simply in support of him, as opposed to anything drawing attention to the harassment that Rachel Lindsay faced following her interview with Harrison. Producers of The Bachelor slammed the “completely inexcusable” behavior of some fans following her conversation with Harrison, behavior that forced her to delete her Instagram account and cut her ties to the franchise altogether.
While ABC recruited Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe to host Katie Thurston's season of The Bachelorette, the franchise will use an interesting variety of hosts when Bachelor in Paradise returns for Season 7 in August. Bachelor franchise superfan David Spade leads the cast of rotating guest hosts that includes Lil Jon, Lance Bass and Bachelor Nation fan favorite Wells Adams as the master of rose ceremonies. Until then, tune in at 8 p.m. ET Mondays to watch Thurston’s journey to love, and check out our 2021 Summer TV schedule to stay current on your other shows.
