Chris Harrison may not know Alex Michel’s current status, but his ex Amanda Marsh does! The Bachelor season 1 winner gave Us Weekly an exclusive update on our “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast.
“I heard he’s married and I saw pictures of him and his children,” Marsh, 41, reveals on the podcast. “And [they’re] beautiful. I’m so happy for him.”
ABC revisited season 1 of the dating show on the Monday, July 6, episode of The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons — Ever! While Harrison teased catching up with Michel, the original Bachelor, he revealed at the end of the episode that the show has “not been able to find” him. Marsh, who dated Michel for 10 months after they met on season 1 in 2002, tells Us that she last spoke to him six years ago.
“It is impressive how hidden he is,” she notes. “It has been six years since I’ve heard from him and, you know, after a while out of respect, probably, you do let go of these relationships, but you do kind of wonder a little bit just inside your gut, ‘Is he OK?’ … He is OK. And I think just happy with his life and that’s great.”
Marsh adds that Michel “didn’t get a lot of credit” for signing up to be the first-ever Bachelor.
“For him to not come back, I am surprised, but realistically … he didn’t get a lot of credit,” she says. “I mean, he’s been hit pretty hard with some judgments over the years and comparisons and I don’t feel like he was supported well enough.”
Marsh, for her part, shares 10-year-old daughter Chloe with her ex-husband. While she is currently engaged to longtime love Chris, whom she met on Match.com, she tells Us that she nearly called ABC to re-join the franchise following her divorce.
“There was a time after I was divorced — I was divorced for several years before I met my fiancé — where I thought about reaching out to ABC and thought, ‘Should we give this a go,” Marsh reveals on the podcast. “But it is funny because I met my fiancé on Match.com because I knew I was going to relocate to Kansas City and he lived up here. … After the show [Alex] ended up working for Match.com, so it’s almost like I still thank him.”
For more from Amanda Marsh — and updates on the drama surrounding Colton Underwood and Cassie Randolph and Becca Kufrin and Garrett Yrigoyen — listen to Us Weekly’s “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast.