Washington [US], December 29 : Chris Harrison, who hosted the reality show 'The Bachelor' for 19 years recalled it and said that being part of it was a "blessing and a curse", reported People.
He left the franchise in February 2021, after creating controversy for supporting season 25 participant Rachael Kirkconnell's past racist behaviour. That September, Jesse Palmer was introduced as the new host.
The television personality described his time on the show as a "blessing and a curse" on the most recent episode of the Trading Secrets podcast, hosted by 'The Bachelorette' alum Jason Tartick.
"The show was a blessing," said Harrison. "I still look at this as a blessing in my life. It was hard at first it wasn't immediate where I felt great about everything because what I went through was tumultuous. I don't wish it on anybody."
He noted that the backlash was "horrifying on a lot of levels" and "something that I pray to God my worst enemy never goes through."
"But, with that said, I knew I had to remove myself from what became a very toxic situation, and I did, and that was a very difficult situation," he continued. Harrison said that while he believed something could have been figured out in the long run, he knew he had to "remove" himself from the "toxic situation."
"I'm proud of that decision. I'm proud that I handled it the way I did and I still look at it as a blessing because it changed my life on so many levels," he said. "Financially, of course. It changed my life. It changed my kids' lives."
Harrison cited his November wedding to Lauren Zima, which was attended by numerous Bachelor Nation alums, as an example of how the franchise provided him with wonderful friends.
"It was a blessing. It changed my life, but at the same time, I can also be grateful that I'm gone. That's a relationship I don't need to be in anymore because it wasn't healthy," he said.
While Harrison has stated that he will not return to the franchise, he has informed Tartick, 35, that "it's hard in this business," referring to the popularity of dating shows.
"Once I left, people started taking their shots at the champ, and they've succeeded, and now there's competition, and now there are shows in the zeitgeist, they're being talked about, they're getting press that we used to get. Again, it's hard to survive when you don't have those eyeballs anymore because people will talk about another show," he added, reported People.