He speaks! Bachelor Juan Pablo Galavis may have silenced Chris Harrison during his season's live After the Final Rose special Monday night, but the ABC host is finally having his say. In an Entertainment Weekly blog posted late Tuesday, March 11, Harrison debunks rumors that he dislikes the former pro soccer player, but admits he felt uneasy about the pick since the start.
"I want to start off by saying I'm not mad about how the season ended nor am I angry with Juan Pablo," Harrison, 42, began. "For some reason I feel that there is some notion that I dislike him, and that's just not the truth. One of the many things I love about this show is every season is different because every Bachelor or Bachelorette is different. They bring in their own culture, background, issues, and baggage."
Harrison went on to say that Galavis, 32, at times embraced the process, but (as clearly seen by viewers) often struggled during the show. "I truly believe Juan Pablo came into this season with those true intentions. I also know that when we chose him we truly believed he had the qualities that would make him a great Bachelor," he added. "But from the beginning something just didn't seem right and something didn't fit. We can debate over what that is, but the truth is that is irrelevant."
He continued: "You just never know what this situation will bring out in any of us and you just have to deal with it the best you can. This has easily been the most polarizing season we’ve ever had."
Galavis endured severe backlash during the "After the Final Rose" live reunion on March 10. Four months after giving winner Nikki Ferrell the final rose, he continued to refuse to say "I love you" to the 26-year-old pediatric nurse when Harrison persisted for a response.
"Most of you understood last night it wasn't about getting Juan Pablo to say he loved Nikki. It was about getting him to really say anything of substance about a woman who had professed her love for him and had hoped for a proposal from him," Harrison clarified. "I knew our audience wasn't going to take his behavior well, but I thought if we could at least show that in the end he's happy and in love and I could get him to show some real emotion or feelings, it might help."
As for the jilted Clare Crawley, 32, Harrison admitted he knew nothing would help Galavis reach a resolution with the runner-up. (As an insider previously told Us, Galavis whispered, "I love f—ing you but I don't know you," in her ear while the pair were on a one-on-one helicopter date during the show's finale.)
"When it was over, the two of them got up and walked off stage in complete silence," Harrison recalled. "There was no cheering, no booing, just confused silence as to what just happened. I was very sorry to see it end like that because it didn't have to. That was a choice made entirely by Juan Pablo."
"I will wrap this up by saying again, I'm not angry at Juan Pablo nor do I dislike the guy," Harrison concluded. "I hope he will see that there are many people around him who love him and are trying to help him, but in the end he must make the choice to listen and let them in."
