Chris Harrison and Kaitlyn Bristowe say she and Tayshia Adams were “planned to fail” as ‘Bachelor’ co-hosts

Kaitlyn Bristowe paid a visit to Chris Harrison’s recently launched podcast to set a few things straight about her reprisal of his role in The Bachelor franchise following his high-profile departure.

Her two-episode visit to The most dramatic podcast ever… with Chris Harrison was prompted by the couple wanting to set things right about how their relationship changed when she took on the franchise alongside Tayshia Adams following Harrison’s departure in 2021. During the conversation, Bristowe and Harrison agreed that she and Adams were “in the trap were lured”. to fail.”

After stepping aside during the controversial 25th season of The BachelorHarrison – who hosted The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Bachelor in Paradise and other spin-offs within the franchise since 2002 – left his role after reaching a confidential settlement. Adams and Bristowe were then tapped to lead both 2021 seasons The Bachelorette.

The former Bachelorettes were labeled “mentors” by the ABC and Warner Horizon franchises, at the time in a careful distinction from Harrison’s veteran host shoes. Speaking to Harrison, Bristowe noted that her role was titled mentor rather than host because “they wouldn’t pay me what they paid you to host.”

Bristowe spoke of having “imposter syndrome” when she realized that she and Adams had indeed been hired to fill Harrison’s hosting shoes: “When I went in – blind – I got there and started reading a prompter and I was like ‘ Oh, okay, so we’re definitely hosting.’ Then I knew it was really going to happen.” She said she and Adams were not prepared to host the franchise: “There was no training involved. It was like, ‘Just go out there and be yourself!'”

She also questioned why it was necessary to have two, which led Harrison to share his feelings about their roles. “The only thing that really upset me when I heard you and Tayshia were hosting was that it was you and Tayshia, and they named two of you. Because you were doomed to fail. You were set up to fail. That was never going to work.”

He continued, “There is no room for two people; there is no room for two mentors. There is no room for two emotions in that mental space that you take over. So that was just never going to work.”

Bristowe agreed that it “took away the level of professionalism” to have two of them host. “It made us feel a bit silly with each other where we didn’t take it as seriously as one person would have and, as you said, there really isn’t enough room for two people to be in that position.” She added, “I don’t know why I was shocked when they said, ‘We don’t have you back for next season.’ You probably saw this coming.’ And I was like, ‘What! I do not have!'”

At the end of the second season, Bristowe was given the chance to host solo when Adams came down with COVID and had to sit it out live After the last rose last special. Bristowe was then even more surprised that she didn’t continue, after feeling like she had proven herself. “We were certainly not set up to succeed,” she said.

Harrison told Bristowe he wished they had called him during the negotiations. “Obviously I didn’t do well [negotiating]Bristowe said of how it turned out.

The Hollywood Reporter has contacted ABC and Warner Horizon for comment.

The appearance essentially served as a tryout as the franchise considered who could officially replace Harrison. Franchise alum Wells Adams took the lead role amid a rotating roster of guest hosts for that summer season of Bachelor in Paradise. Ultimately, Jesse Palmer was named as the new franchise host; he hosted both the 26th and 27th subsequent seasons of The Bacheloras well as the 2022 season of The Bachelorette.

During their podcast conversation, the pair also talked about how this all affected their friendship, as they stopped talking when Bristowe was considered for the role.

“I was going through something extraordinary and it really had nothing to do with you or Tayshia [hosting the show], and at the time I needed people in my life… who could be unconditionally loving and caring,” Harrison said. “You weren’t equipped to do that because of where you were in all of this.”

Bristowe told Harrison she understood why they had to step back to keep in touch amid the whirlwind firestorm surrounding Harrison’s exit and the race talk surrounding the franchise as a whole. “When I didn’t get a text back, I thought: this must be it. Of course the relationship has to change. I wanted to continue to reach out and check in and talk, but then I felt like he wasn’t ready to talk to me,” she said.

After remaining publicly silent on the matter since his departure was officially announced, Harrison broke his silence about splitting off the high-profile franchise when he launched his podcast on Jan. 9.

“The playbook was thrown out the window,” he says of his reaction to the snowball reaction after his Additional interview with ex Bachelorette star Rachel Lindsay nearly two years ago, where he failed to address racist accusations surrounding a contestant. “The hardest thing for me was where to go, what to do,” he said.