Jesse Palmer Reacts to Chris Harrison Saying Wells Adams Should Host ‘The Bachelor,’ Zach Shallcross’ Approach to Drama and More

Credit: Matt Baron/Shutterstock

Jesse Palmer Reacts to Chris Harrison Saying Wells Adams Should Host 'The Bachelor,' Zach Shallcross’ Approach to Drama and More

The most dramatic hosts ever? Not if Jesse Palmer has anything to say about it. Palmer, 44, addressed Chris Harrison’s recent comment that Wells Adams should’ve gotten the gig for the first time during an exclusive interview with Us Weekly. “[I have] no reaction, really. I mean, he's obviously entitled to his own opinion as everybody is,” the former NFL quarterback told Us. “I'm just really happy for Chris and wish him the best in his next venture.” ABC cut ties with Harrison, 51, in 2021 after his apparent defense of then-Bachelor frontrunner Rachael Kirkconnell, who was under fire for resurfaced photos from an Old South-themed party she attended in college. The former host broke his silence on the controversy on his podcast, “The Most Dramatic Podcast Ever,” last month and revealed he was surprised by his replacement. “Wells has always been a very good man and a good friend of mine. Wells was in a very difficult situation because obviously he was still kind of connected to the show and he was doing stuff on Paradise, but he was one of the first to reach out to me and just say, ‘Look, I’m staying out of this. I love you and respect you.' … I thought, to be completely candid, that Wells was going to get the job,” Harrison said. “I even told him, I said, ‘Hey, man, I won't speak out publicly because I don't think that will help you at all. In fact, it would do a lot more harm than good. But I really hope you get the job. I think you'd be great at it.’” [jwplayer YMdhjlsm-zhNYySv2] The network named Palmer — the season 5 Bachelor — the host ahead of Clayton Echard’s season 26. He has since helmed season 8 of Bachelor in Paradise and Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia’s season 19 of The Bachelorette. “I think authenticity is, obviously, really important,” Palmer told Us about what he learned before going into Zach Shallcross’ season. “I think everybody is a bit unique and different in terms of their own personalities and the different things that they're looking for. I think for Zach, the biggest advice drawing on what I've seen from them — and my own personal experiences too — is just being true to yourself. And I know it sounds super cliche.” Palmer noted that “being the Bachelor is something that certainly you can never prepare for” — and the pressure is hard to avoid. “It’s hard not to come into that role and wonder, you know, ‘How can I be the perfect Bachelor? What can I say that is going to make these women fall in love with me and what can I say that's gonna make millions of people in Bachelor Nation at home watching fall in love with me too?’ But I think as soon as you start doing that, you forget yourself and you become inauthentic,” he continued. “And it comes across that way to the women in the house and to people at home. So I would say one of the things I'm most proud of Zach over the course of his journey was he really did stay true to himself. And he is not trying to be somebody he's not.” The Bachelor airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET. Scroll through for more from Palmer:

Credit: Matt Baron/Shutterstock

Jesse Palmer Reacts to Chris Harrison Saying Wells Adams Should Host 'The Bachelor,' Zach Shallcross’ Approach to Drama and More

The most dramatic hosts ever? Not if Jesse Palmer has anything to say about it. Palmer, 44, addressed Chris Harrison’s recent comment that Wells Adams should’ve gotten the gig for the first time during an exclusive interview with Us Weekly. “[I have] no reaction, really. I mean, he's obviously entitled to his own opinion as everybody is,” the former NFL quarterback told Us. “I'm just really happy for Chris and wish him the best in his next venture.” ABC cut ties with Harrison, 51, in 2021 after his apparent defense of then-Bachelor frontrunner Rachael Kirkconnell, who was under fire for resurfaced photos from an Old South-themed party she attended in college. The former host broke his silence on the controversy on his podcast, “The Most Dramatic Podcast Ever,” last month and revealed he was surprised by his replacement. “Wells has always been a very good man and a good friend of mine. Wells was in a very difficult situation because obviously he was still kind of connected to the show and he was doing stuff on Paradise, but he was one of the first to reach out to me and just say, ‘Look, I’m staying out of this. I love you and respect you.' … I thought, to be completely candid, that Wells was going to get the job,” Harrison said. “I even told him, I said, ‘Hey, man, I won't speak out publicly because I don't think that will help you at all. In fact, it would do a lot more harm than good. But I really hope you get the job. I think you'd be great at it.’” [jwplayer YMdhjlsm-zhNYySv2] The network named Palmer — the season 5 Bachelor — the host ahead of Clayton Echard’s season 26. He has since helmed season 8 of Bachelor in Paradise and Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia’s season 19 of The Bachelorette. “I think authenticity is, obviously, really important,” Palmer told Us about what he learned before going into Zach Shallcross’ season. “I think everybody is a bit unique and different in terms of their own personalities and the different things that they're looking for. I think for Zach, the biggest advice drawing on what I've seen from them — and my own personal experiences too — is just being true to yourself. And I know it sounds super cliche.” Palmer noted that “being the Bachelor is something that certainly you can never prepare for” — and the pressure is hard to avoid. “It’s hard not to come into that role and wonder, you know, ‘How can I be the perfect Bachelor? What can I say that is going to make these women fall in love with me and what can I say that's gonna make millions of people in Bachelor Nation at home watching fall in love with me too?’ But I think as soon as you start doing that, you forget yourself and you become inauthentic,” he continued. “And it comes across that way to the women in the house and to people at home. So I would say one of the things I'm most proud of Zach over the course of his journey was he really did stay true to himself. And he is not trying to be somebody he's not.” The Bachelor airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET. Scroll through for more from Palmer:

Credit: Courtesy of Susie Evans/Instagram

Recent Bachelor Nation Splits

2022 marked breakups for the three couples from Bachelor season 26 (Clayton and Susie Evans) and Bachelorette season 19 (Gabby and Erich Schwer and Rachel and Tino Franco). Palmer said it’s “hard to say” which split surprised him the most.

“As the host of it, I'm very, very hopeful for everybody that it's going to work out. And, obviously, Clayton and Susie didn't end up engaged at the end of their season, but then were able to kind of reconnect and give it a run. And I know that that was one [relationship] that unfortunately didn't work out but ended amicably,” he told Us. “And they're both incredible people. And the same goes for Gabby and Rachel too. I know that wasn't the ending that they were hoping for or expecting. And so [we] kind of turned the page and through Paradise — having Brandon [Jones] and Serene [Russell] sort of being hopeful for Zach on his journey and he's so intentional to find his person and I know having just spoken to him recently, [Zach is] very, very happy and I just can't wait for everything to unfold.”

Credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin

Should Zach Watch Back ‘The Bachelor’?

While Zach is “very happy” right now, Us pointed out to Palmer that sometimes things take a turn when the show is airing. 

“I told Zach it was one of the hardest parts for me, and I've always been that way myself, just personally. When I played football, I hated watching myself play on video because it's never as good as you think it is,” he said. “But the truth is too, it's also never as bad as you think and so that was my advice for Zach watching this whole thing back.”

Palmer admitted that Zach is “going through an entirely different experience" compared to when his season aired in 2004.

“We didn't have social media when I was the Bachelor and, obviously, now that's a huge part of the show, and Bachelor Nation is this living, breathing fan base that is so passionate about it,” he said. “It makes it for an entirely different experience. But I think Zach's handling it incredible. And at the end of the day, because he was himself, I think that'll limit anything, you know, in terms of regrets. I think if you talk to Zach today, he tell you he doesn't regret anything that happened on his journey. He wouldn't do it any other way if he could do it again. And I think that that's a great mindset to have and a great place to be at this point for Zach.”

Credit: ABC/Frank Micelotta

Zach Staying Out of Drama

During episode 2, Zach did something most Bachelors before him haven’t — he told one of the women (Brianna Thorbourne) that he didn’t want to know the name of the girl (Christina Mandrell) that she believes is causing drama.

“I don't know if you can totally ever stay out of it, but I do appreciate that Zach — he makes quick decisions. We sort of saw that with Tahzjuan at the group date in the beginning,” Palmer told Us of Bachelor in Paradise seasons 6 and 7 alum attempting to join Zach’s season. “I think there are a lot of people in that position that may have let the drama fester just a little bit. He might have tried to slow play it, pulled some of the women aside [and] asked them, ‘Hey, what would you think if Tahzjuan moved into the house and kind of joined in on this journey? Would that upset you?’ To try to see if there was a window or an opening. I think Zach really took charge of the situation himself, made a decision himself and acted upon it quickly. And I think the women were really appreciative of that, and I think that was really endearing to them.”

Credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin

Zach’s Emotional Ending

“This is the most emotional season I've hosted on the Bachelor, Bachelorette or even Paradise. But I think a lot of that emotion and a lot of the drama that's about to come up is organic in the sense that it's the love story and it's breaking people's hearts and it's the goodbyes that are really, really difficult for the women and are really, really difficult for Zach as well,” Palmer told Us. “One of the things that's so authentic about Zach is that he wears his heart on his sleeve and he is not afraid to be emotional. He is not afraid to be vulnerable. He does it early on and it's just a part of who he is.”