It’s never easy to see friends split up — even in Bachelor Nation. Longtime host Chris Harrison officiated Chris Randone and Krystal Neilson‘s wedding after pair fell in love during season 5 of Bachelor in Paradise — and admits their breakup is “heartbreaking” on every account.
“I love them very much. They’re good friends, and I know that from the start, they were two people that were definitely going to fight the odds to make it just because of the things that they brought into this relationship,” Harrison, 48, explained to Us Weekly exclusively on Tuesday, February 19, while promoting his new partnership with Seagram’s Escapes. “They were both very aware of it. They fought really hard and worked really hard on their love, their relationship and their commitment.”
The world watched the pair, both 32, fall in love during Paradise before exchanging vows in a TV wedding in June 2019. On February 14, they revealed in a joint statement that they were separating.
On Wednesday, the Bachelor alum opened up about the emotional split in a photo of the pair holding hands, revealing in the caption that Chris was moving to Florida while she was remaining in San Diego. She shared on her Instagram Story that while their relationship may “look unconventional,” they’re doing what they need to do and are trying to figure out what the next “chapter” looks like.
“I think that each relationship can have its own rules and establish what works for them,” she said. “But we are best friends that just have each other’s back through and through.”
“All you can do is fight really hard and do the work, a sometimes it doesn’t work out. At the end of the day, and I hate that this is the case, but it’s what makes our show so real and so relatable,” he told Us. “When people ask why does the show work? It’s because of those moments. It was because of their beautiful wedding, but it’s also because of their heartbreaking breakup. It’s all really real. We all go through those things. And if you’re fortunate enough to live long enough to have those life experiences, you understand it and you get it. I will be right here to support them and love them as much as I can, and I feel terrible about it.”
