Having Bachelor withdrawals? Host Chris Harrison is coming through. On Monday, March 16, Harrison, 48, went live on Instagram with girlfriend Lauren Zima to answer fans’ questions about Bachelor Nation.
“We are doing ‘fireside chats’ from home every night to encourage people to stay home and help halt the spread of coronavirus,” the pair said in a joint statement to Us Weekly, noting that Harrison is donating 100 percent of all proceeds from any messages booked through his website to people and groups affected by the virus. “We know this isn’t easy for anyone so want to encourage a sense of community, especially with the already robust fandom of Bachelor Nation who we love so much. Please SIP: shelter in place and sip some wine with us!”
The first video came just days after Harrison and Clare Crawley announced that filming of The Bachelorette, which was set to begin on Friday, March 13, is delayed for at least two weeks.
“I can’t tell you a whole lot more than what I told you on Instagram the other day and that is, we’re on hold right now. We’re calling a two-week postponement — hopefully, it will be a two-week postponement — but look, the way things are changing out there and cities are closing down and restaurants and bars and you know, is it gonna be two weeks? Who knows,” Harrison said at the beginning of the video. “Who knows how long this is gonna go and how long this thing needs to run its course. We’re just gonna do what is best for Clare, best for everybody’s safety and health-wise.”
The former Who Wants to Be a Millionaire host then explained that, since it’s the first week without The Bachelor on, he is aware there’s “a little bit of a hole” on TV for Bachelor fans.
“I can feel that loss by everybody because we’re quarantined and we’re sitting in our homes, we’re looking for stuff to do,” he said, noting that he had a conversation with the show’s creator, producers and network executives. “We all realize the same thing. Something is missing and there is also this huge need out there while we’re quarantined and sheltering in place and doing the right thing so how do we fill that void? How can the Bachelor world and Bachelor Nation fill that? And we don’t have an answer — I’ll just tell you that right now — but we’re all collectively trying to figure something out.”
For more from Harrison, including an update on Bachelor Nation’s Nick Viall and Kelley Flanagan and the hardest moment he’s ever been through on the franchise, scroll through the gallery below.