After Tuesday night’s wild finale of ABC’s The Bachelor, host and executive producer Chris Harrison opened up about the experience, revealing, ‘I’ve never been more uncomfortable.’
During the finale, Peter Weber first chose Hannah Ann, before breaking it off with her to try and make things work with Madison, but Peter’s mother Barb was not happy with the choice, making it clear she did not condone the relationship.
Harrison, 48, spoke to Extra on Wednesday about the finale, stating, ‘I’ve never been more uncomfortable.’
Uncomfortable: After Tuesday night’s wild finale of ABC’s The Bachelor, host and executive producer Chris Harrison opened up about the experience, revealing, ‘I’ve never been more uncomfortable’
Not happy: During the finale, Peter Weber first chose Hannah Ann, before breaking it off with her to try and make things work with Madison, but Peter’s mother Barb was not happy with the choice, making it clear she did not condone the relationship
Harrison began by stating that after getting home following the finale, ‘it took about two hours to decompress because I was trying to figure out what all happened and process the whole thing.’
He said the show had the ‘big tease’ for the finale that nobody knew what was going to happen, adding, ‘It’s wild to go into television and you really don’t know how it’s going to go.’
Harrison added that he knew Weber and Hannah Ann had broken up since production wrapped on the season, but he had no idea Weber’s mother would be such a presence.
Decompress: Harrison began by stating that after getting home following the finale, ‘it took about two hours to decompress because I was trying to figure out what all happened and process the whole thing’
‘What I did not see coming was Barb,’ Harrison told Extra’s Renee Bargh on Wednesday morning.
‘I mean, how could you? I did not think she would go to that level. And I knew she wouldn’t be happy with the Madison thing, but I still thought, hey I’m gonna err on the side of my son and loving my son, but man, it just went south,’ Harrison said.
When asked what it was like to witness Barb’s ‘pure disdain’ for Madison, Harrison said, ‘It was like being at a horrible Thanksgiving dinner and everybody airing their dirty laundry.’
Renee and Chris: ‘What I did not see coming was Barb,’ Harrison told Extra’s Renee Bargh on Wednesday morning
Next level: ‘I mean, how could you? I did not think she would go to that level. And I knew she wouldn’t be happy with the Madison thing, but I still thought, hey I’m gonna err on the side of my son and loving my son, but man, it just went south,’ Harrison said
Harrison added that after the taping, Peter and Madison went one way and Barb and Peter Sr. went another, but he said Peter was ‘visibly upset.’
‘Clearly, on a lot of levels, he felt a little ambushed. He felt upset, he felt protective over Madison,’ Harrison added.
When asked what Harrison’s personal take on Barb’s comments, when she said her son, ‘would have to fail to succeed,’ the host said he would have taken a different approach.
Upset: Harrison added that after the taping, Peter and Madison went one way and Barb and Peter Sr. went another, but he said Peter was ‘visibly upset’
Ambushed: ‘Clearly, on a lot of levels, he felt a little ambushed. He felt upset, he felt protective over Madison,’ Harrison added
Succeed: When asked what Harrison’s personal take on Barb’s comments, when she said her son, ‘would have to fail to succeed,’ the host said he would have taken a different approach
‘If you think they are going to fail, then why not just let them fail and then you can say, “Hey, next time let’s do a little better than that,”‘ Harrison said.
Harrison added that he’s the father of a 16-year-old girl and he knows that if he ‘forbids’ her from seeing ‘the guy with the tattoos who’s in a rock band, what’s she gonna do? She’s gonna run to him.’
He added that when he went to visit Madison in Auburn, he knew she, ‘had feelings for Peter, but he’s still not sure if it will work.
‘Now, are there such philosophical differences from religion to beliefs and all these things that will keep them from finding love? They have this love-conquers-all attitude,’ he added.
‘First, you have to be in love and you have to have this connection and this team work… If she is going to stick to her devout religious beliefs, God bless her, that’s not Peter,’ Harrison said.
Fail: ‘If you think they are going to fail, then why not just let them fail and then you can say, “Hey, next time let’s do a little better than that,”‘ Harrison said
Feelings: He added that when he went to visit Madison in Auburn, he knew she, ‘had feelings for Peter, but he’s still not sure if it will work