Chris Harrison and Kaitlyn Bristowe’s Friendship Ups and Downs: Bonding on ‘The Bachelor,’ Ghosting Drama and More

Credit: Rick Rowell/Walt Disney Television

Chris Harrison and Kaitlyn Bristowe’s Friendship Ups and Downs: Bonding on 'The Bachelor,' Ghosting Drama and More

From besties to barely speaking. Kaitlyn Bristowe formed a tight bond with Chris Harrison when she joined Bachelor Nation, but the pair’s connection has wavered over the years. During a January 2023 appearance on the "Not Skinny But Not Fat" podcast, Bristowe claimed that her mentor position on Katie Thurston’s 2021 season of The Bachelorette — which came amid Harrison's exit from the franchise — strained their friendship. “They offered me the position to come in, and what the Bachelor franchise said [I was there to do] was to mentor Katie,” she explained. “[They said] I wouldn’t be replacing Chris. Then all these articles started coming out, saying, ‘Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe replacing Chris Harrison.’” Harrison was officially let go from his longtime Bachelor franchise hosting gig in June 2021 after garnering backlash for defending controversial season 25 winner Rachael Kirkconnell — who made headlines for her racially insensitive past — that February. Bristowe recalled feeling “icky” at the thought of taking her pal’s job and claimed that she “messaged Chris probably about 10 times without him responding.” The Canada native added that she “bawled” her “eyes out" after her relationship with the television personality “just felt like it went down the toilet.” [jwplayer 7vSpbn4d-zhNYySv2] Shortly after the Dancing With the Stars alum dished on the falling out, she reunited with Harrison during a February 2023 episode of his “Most Dramatic Podcast Ever.” During the episode, the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire alum addressed Bristowe’s claims that she had texted him “about 10 times” after being offered the mentorship role. “Seven of [the messages] were just that day,” he claimed. “And I’m not going to read them to you, but it was one of those things where she missed a word and she’s like, ‘Wait, I meant this, meant this.’ So, it wasn’t like you were hammering me with text messages, [saying] ‘Call me, call me, call me.’ It was really this one strain of thoughts that came out on one day.” Harrison continued: “A week later [or] so you said, ‘Hey if you get a chance call me.’ And so there wasn’t ghosting.” The Texas native also emphasized that the shift in their friendship wasn’t due to hard feelings about Bristowe and Adams signing on for season 17. “It had nothing — and I mean, nothing — to do with you and Tayshia hosting the show. It had to do with the fact that I was going through something extraordinary. … And I don’t mean this in a condescending way, it had nothing to do with you or Tayshia,” he said. After hearing Harrison’s perspective, Bristowe conceded that in hindsight she “totally get[s]” why the game show host didn’t prioritize responding to her at the time. Scroll through to see Bristowe and Harrison’s ups and downs over the years:

Credit: Rick Rowell/Walt Disney Television

Chris Harrison and Kaitlyn Bristowe’s Friendship Ups and Downs: Bonding on 'The Bachelor,' Ghosting Drama and More

From besties to barely speaking. Kaitlyn Bristowe formed a tight bond with Chris Harrison when she joined Bachelor Nation, but the pair’s connection has wavered over the years. During a January 2023 appearance on the "Not Skinny But Not Fat" podcast, Bristowe claimed that her mentor position on Katie Thurston’s 2021 season of The Bachelorette — which came amid Harrison's exit from the franchise — strained their friendship. “They offered me the position to come in, and what the Bachelor franchise said [I was there to do] was to mentor Katie,” she explained. “[They said] I wouldn’t be replacing Chris. Then all these articles started coming out, saying, ‘Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe replacing Chris Harrison.’” Harrison was officially let go from his longtime Bachelor franchise hosting gig in June 2021 after garnering backlash for defending controversial season 25 winner Rachael Kirkconnell — who made headlines for her racially insensitive past — that February. Bristowe recalled feeling “icky” at the thought of taking her pal’s job and claimed that she “messaged Chris probably about 10 times without him responding.” The Canada native added that she “bawled” her “eyes out" after her relationship with the television personality “just felt like it went down the toilet.” [jwplayer 7vSpbn4d-zhNYySv2] Shortly after the Dancing With the Stars alum dished on the falling out, she reunited with Harrison during a February 2023 episode of his “Most Dramatic Podcast Ever.” During the episode, the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire alum addressed Bristowe’s claims that she had texted him “about 10 times” after being offered the mentorship role. “Seven of [the messages] were just that day,” he claimed. “And I’m not going to read them to you, but it was one of those things where she missed a word and she’s like, ‘Wait, I meant this, meant this.’ So, it wasn’t like you were hammering me with text messages, [saying] ‘Call me, call me, call me.’ It was really this one strain of thoughts that came out on one day.” Harrison continued: “A week later [or] so you said, ‘Hey if you get a chance call me.’ And so there wasn’t ghosting.” The Texas native also emphasized that the shift in their friendship wasn’t due to hard feelings about Bristowe and Adams signing on for season 17. “It had nothing — and I mean, nothing — to do with you and Tayshia hosting the show. It had to do with the fact that I was going through something extraordinary. … And I don’t mean this in a condescending way, it had nothing to do with you or Tayshia,” he said. After hearing Harrison’s perspective, Bristowe conceded that in hindsight she “totally get[s]” why the game show host didn’t prioritize responding to her at the time. Scroll through to see Bristowe and Harrison’s ups and downs over the years:

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2015

The ABC personalities met when Bristowe appeared on Chris Soules’ season of The Bachelor.

Credit: Youtube

2015

Bristowe continued her relationship with both Harrison and the Bachelor franchise when she became the season 11 Bachelorette. The season ended with her getting engaged to Shawn Booth, although the pair announced their split in November 2018. 

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2018

Harrison made a guest appearance on Bristowe’s “Off the Vine” podcast in March. Before the reality TV veterans began recording, Bristowe enjoyed a family dinner with her pal. 

“You just sat and had dinner with my kids,” said Harrison, who shares son Joshua and daughter Taylor with ex-wife Gwen Harrison.

“You have lovely children,” the former spin instructor gushed. 

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2020

During a June 2020 episode of The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons — Ever, Harrison surprised Bristowe by asking her if she wanted to join the next season of Dancing With the Stars. 

“I’m shaking. Oh, my gosh. I’m gonna cry,” the Spade and Sparrows businesswoman replied. 

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2021

Bristowe took a mentorship gig on season 17 of The Bachelorette after Harrison was let go from the franchise following his defense of Kirkconnell. 

During a January 2023 appearance on the “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast, she claimed that she “messaged Chris probably about 10 times without him responding” after being offered the job. 

“I just want[ed] him to know that I thought he was irreplaceable and I didn’t want to step on toes,” the “If I’m Being Honest” singer explained.

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2022

The pair crossed paths at Wells Adams and Sarah Hyland’s August wedding. Bristowe later recalled on “Not Skinny But Not Fat” that the interaction was tense.

“I walked up him to him and I was like, ‘I miss you,’ and he was like, ‘Well I’ve always been here.’ …  So yeah, that was tough,’” she said.

Harrison, meanwhile, had a different interpretation of the situation.

“When you said to me, ‘Hey, I miss you. And I miss this.’ It really hit me in the heart, and I gave you a big, long hug and we embraced for probably 10 seconds too long. And you know, I said, ‘You know, I've always been here. I'm always here for you.’ And I didn't mean like, ‘Hey, I'm always here, it's on you.’ And that's when you see it in print, that's how it came off, but it wasn't you,” he explained to Bristowe on “The Most Dramatic Podcast Ever” in February 2023.

The Bachelorette alum then clarified why his language had upset her at the time.

“When you said, ‘I’ve always been here,’ that's when my brain went, ‘No, you haven’t! You ignored me and you didn't text me back,'" she said. "But again, we all know how I'm dramatic.”

Bristowe continued: “And I wanted to be like, ‘But I didn't feel like you were,’ but again, I had to reel it in and know that you didn't have to be. You didn't have to be there for me at that time. I should have been more there for you if anything and I was expecting you to be there for me.”

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2023

While appearing on the “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast in January, Bristowe said that her friendship with Harrison “felt like it went down the toilet” after he didn’t respond to her 2021 messages regarding her Bachelorette mentorship. 

The “Off the Vine” podcaster noted that when she “remove[d] her ego,” she could see that Harrison pulling away from her wasn’t personal.

“I think he was going through so much in his life. He lost 20 lbs, he was depressed,” she said. 

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2023

The old friends hashed out their problems during a February episode of Harrison’s “Most Dramatic Podcast Ever.”

The former Bachelor host told Bristowe that his radio silence had “nothing to do with you and Tayshia hosting the show.” 

He added that their dynamic played a role in him taking a step back from their friendship when he was going through a difficult time. 

“I was the mentor — somewhat of a father figure — where I listened. And I asked questions, and I was all about you and your life, because that was my job and I care. And I took a lot of pride in that and that’s how our relationship started,” he said. “This time, I needed that flip of just the, ‘Hey, how are you? Are you OK?’ Not, ‘Are you OK with me taking the show and you’re irreplaceable.’ And I appreciated those words, but it was just at that time, I didn’t have the bandwidth to deal with all of that. … By the way, I really, truly just wasn’t worried at all about who was hosting and who was the next mentor or what the show was going to do.”