Chris Harrison On The Bachelorette Drama: “You Don’t Know What’s Going to Happen”

July 31, 2013 by Jessica Salem

On part one of The Bachelorette’s explosive finale, contestant Brooks Forester shocked fans when he decided to go home and leave a heartbroken Desiree Hartsock. Host Chris Harrison sat down with ABC News to share secrets from the finale and the hardest part of his job.

Throughout the season, Hartsock has made her devotion to Forester crystal clear and Harrison could see that. “He was definitely a front-runner… It’s tough because I care about Des and I knew for a fact she was in love with this guy. And I knew he was going to crush her and just devastate her which is what happened,” he said. Harrison spoke to Forester to make sure if leaving was really the right decision for him. Hartsock’s happiness was Harrison’s main concern but he could not convince Forester to stay. Forester told Harrison the sad truth, saying, “I’m not in love with her, and I’m definitely not where she is, so I need to take myself out of this.”

Harrison had never seen anything as drastic and heartbreaking as this on the show before. “When it’s a Bachelorette, I feel like it’s like a little sister or friend and I do feel protective,” he said. Harrison was disappointed that their relationship went as far as it did just for Forester to bail. Leaving this far into this show has never happened before and Harrison calls the departure “devastating” for both Hartsock and the show.

While Hartsock might not have seen it, Harrison knew all along that Forester was not the one. Hartsock confessed her feelings for Forester to Harrison, telling him that she was falling for Forester. “All along I kept asking her, ‘Has he said this to you? Has he told you he loves you? Has he given you any words of affirmation to let you know this is real?’ and she’d always say ‘No, but he shows it, no, but he tells me in other words.’ And if you watch the show, he really never did,” Harrison said.

The series is based on human connection and love, which makes for an unpredictable ride. Harrison wouldn’t have it any other way, he said, “If she wants to bolt and she’s done, we’re done. So that’s what we kind of had to embrace, which is scary as hell for a producer but it’s also the beautiful thing about this show. You don’t know what’s going to happen.”