Chris Harrison feels for Colton Underwood and Cassie Randolph after she was granted a temporary restraining order against her ex earlier this month.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Harrison, 49, told E! News on Wednesday, September 30, referencing the drama between the Bachelor exes.
The Bachelor Nation host said watching the former couple deal with so many issues since their split in May following nearly two years together has been “hard.”
“These are people. These are real people. They are really going through something traumatic,” the former Who Wants to Be a Millionaire host explained. “It is surprising. It’s upsetting. It’s difficult to hear.”
Us Weekly confirmed on September 11 that Randolph, 25, filed for a restraining order against the former NFL player, 28, accusing Underwood of harassing her via text message following their breakup.
“It’s tough to read as a friend and a companion to both of these people, and I know them both intimately. It was very difficult to hear and I feel terrible about it, and I wish them both well,” Harrison continued.
The Texas native said he wishes the pair “a little privacy” as they continue to navigate their relationship post-split.
“I think they’ve done a good job of taking it out of the press and dealing with this personally, which is the right thing to do,” he said. “But I welcome them both back eventually when all this is all said and done. I wish them all the best.”
After publicly announcing their breakup in May, the pair, who met on season 23 of the ABC dating series, made headlines in July when the former athlete called out Randolph for speaking with Harrison on The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons — Ever about their split.
At the time, the First Time author claimed in an Instagram post that the two “agreed to handle things as privately as possible as we attempted to navigate our new relationship as friends.”
The speech therapy assistant then accused Underwood of trying to monetize their breakup by writing an additional chapter about their romance’s end for his memoir. Underwood’s rep denied the claim.
Underwood cleared the air in August during an appearance on the “Reality Steve” podcast saying, “I have nothing but good things and love and well-wishes and friendship with Cassie right now.”
Less than a month later, the Huntington Beach, California, native was granted the temporary restraining order, which requires Underwood to stay at least 100 yards away from her through October 6, when the duo are expected to appear at a court hearing.
Through the drama, Randolph has gained support from Bachelor Nation, including former Bachelor castmate Tia Booth, who exclusively told Us that she has the California native’s back.
“I would like to say, for Cassie or anyone, if anyone ever feels like they are in danger or ever feels like they need to do something to protect themselves, I completely commend them for doing that,” Booth, 29, told Us earlier this month, noting she thinks the legal issues should be “private” between the exes.
She continued: “And I commend her for being able to speak up and do what she feels like she needs to do to be safe. But I am thinking about both of them, and I hope they can both kind of be in a good place.”
