Chris Harrison blogs 'The Bachelor: The Women Tell All'
I always find it difficult to sit down and blog about any of these Tell All specials because the whole point of them is that we try to tell you all. Usually what you see is what you get with these specials, so I will try to add my two cents as to how I felt about these interviews and situations.
Before I talk about any of the ladies I really want to point out one of my favorite parts of the special, which was the party van where Sean and I crashed Bachelor viewing parties. It was a special night, and Sean and I were so grateful to have the chance to see just how big of an impact our show has on our fans. A few years ago we started calling our fans “Bachelor Nation.” There’s not another show on television that lends itself to group viewing like ours does; it’s an incredible phenomenon and I’m really grateful to be a small part of it. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it a thousand times more: on behalf of everybody that works on this show and doesn’t get the opportunity to speak, thank you, we love you Bachelor Nation! This show is so unique and so successful because you have made it that way. That won’t be lost on any of us.
I usually save the big talking point for the end of my blog but lets just rip the Band-Aid off and talk about Tierra.
Just so you know, my goal on any of these interviews is to be fair and give these people a chance to explain themselves and tell their side of the story. That doesn’t mean I wont be tough or push at times, but I always try to begin by giving them the benefit of the doubt and go from there. I felt like I was very fair with Tierra and let her try to explain her side before bringing the ladies in. At the end of our talk she came up with an apology and seemed to take a little responsibility for her actions. You could tell, though, she definitely still considers herself the victim here.
The other women let her speak and then had their say but honestly it wasn’t going to go anywhere. The other women feel like they gave her every chance in the world to be nice, but Tierra just wouldn’t have it. With all these situations I’m sure the truth lies somewhere in between but to be sure, neither side was willing to give much ground on this. Maybe she did learn a valuable lesson and just didn’t admit it to me, but Tierra didn’t seem to really evolve and learn from this experience. Maybe she was just being defensive considering the room she was in, but I was hoping to get through those defenses a little more and see a softer side of her that truly seemed to understand what happened on the show and why it happened. Much like what happened with Melissa Rycroft after the show, Tierra got back with an old boyfriend and is now engaged to be married. I have no idea why she was being so secretive or guarded about the engagement with me, but I’m sure she has her reasons. I do hope that she learns from this experience, grows as a person and goes on to have happy life and successful marriage.
Easily the most heart-wrenching interview of the night was with Sarah. Let me just say on a personal note that there’s a reason this woman is a fan favorite: She’s incredible. Everybody on the show, cast and crew, loved her and was very happy she shared this experience with us. With that said, it’s incredibly tough to hear her talk about herself and love the way she did. I know she doesn’t want to hear it but what Sean said about her is true. She is a smart, strong, courageous, beautiful woman who will find the right man some day. I was very impressed with how articulately she expressed her emotions about being rejected, saying it’s impossible for her to not always wonder if it’s because she has one arm. It’s impossible to even come close to understanding what that feeling is like, and for once I was really at a loss for words. What I really wanted to tell her in that moment is exactly what she’s tired of hearing. I have a feeling that she won’t be a single girl for long, though, and I do wish nothing but good things for her.
Mar 5 2013 01:04 AM ET
Chris Harrison blogs 'The Bachelor: The Women Tell All'
by Chris Harrison
Tags: An EW Exclusive!, Chris Harrison, Reality TV, The Bachelor, Things That Are Awesome!, TV
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I always find it difficult to sit down and blog about any of these Tell All specials because the whole point of them is that we try to tell you all. Usually what you see is what you get with these specials, so I will try to add my two cents as to how I felt about these interviews and situations.
Before I talk about any of the ladies I really want to point out one of my favorite parts of the special, which was the party van where Sean and I crashed Bachelor viewing parties. It was a special night, and Sean and I were so grateful to have the chance to see just how big of an impact our show has on our fans. A few years ago we started calling our fans “Bachelor Nation.” There’s not another show on television that lends itself to group viewing like ours does; it’s an incredible phenomenon and I’m really grateful to be a small part of it. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it a thousand times more: on behalf of everybody that works on this show and doesn’t get the opportunity to speak, thank you, we love you Bachelor Nation! This show is so unique and so successful because you have made it that way. That won’t be lost on any of us.
I usually save the big talking point for the end of my blog but lets just rip the Band-Aid off and talk about Tierra.
Just so you know, my goal on any of these interviews is to be fair and give these people a chance to explain themselves and tell their side of the story. That doesn’t mean I wont be tough or push at times, but I always try to begin by giving them the benefit of the doubt and go from there. I felt like I was very fair with Tierra and let her try to explain her side before bringing the ladies in. At the end of our talk she came up with an apology and seemed to take a little responsibility for her actions. You could tell, though, she definitely still considers herself the victim here.
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The other women let her speak and then had their say but honestly it wasn’t going to go anywhere. The other women feel like they gave her every chance in the world to be nice, but Tierra just wouldn’t have it. With all these situations I’m sure the truth lies somewhere in between but to be sure, neither side was willing to give much ground on this. Maybe she did learn a valuable lesson and just didn’t admit it to me, but Tierra didn’t seem to really evolve and learn from this experience. Maybe she was just being defensive considering the room she was in, but I was hoping to get through those defenses a little more and see a softer side of her that truly seemed to understand what happened on the show and why it happened. Much like what happened with Melissa Rycroft after the show, Tierra got back with an old boyfriend and is now engaged to be married. I have no idea why she was being so secretive or guarded about the engagement with me, but I’m sure she has her reasons. I do hope that she learns from this experience, grows as a person and goes on to have happy life and successful marriage.
Easily the most heart-wrenching interview of the night was with Sarah. Let me just say on a personal note that there’s a reason this woman is a fan favorite: She’s incredible. Everybody on the show, cast and crew, loved her and was very happy she shared this experience with us. With that said, it’s incredibly tough to hear her talk about herself and love the way she did. I know she doesn’t want to hear it but what Sean said about her is true. She is a smart, strong, courageous, beautiful woman who will find the right man some day. I was very impressed with how articulately she expressed her emotions about being rejected, saying it’s impossible for her to not always wonder if it’s because she has one arm. It’s impossible to even come close to understanding what that feeling is like, and for once I was really at a loss for words. What I really wanted to tell her in that moment is exactly what she’s tired of hearing. I have a feeling that she won’t be a single girl for long, though, and I do wish nothing but good things for her.
Desiree was next in the hot seat. I’ve been asked a hundred times about Des and Sean and I want to clear up my take on them. Do I think Sean made a mistake by letting her go? Absolutely not. Who am I to say that about someone else’s emotional, life-changing decision? What I’ve been trying to express in interviews is that when I watched Sean and Desiree break up, I saw this spark that wasn’t quite extinguished yet. There was something very unique about them and it just didn’t feel like it had run its course yet. When they looked at each other on set at The Women Tell All, both of their faces lit up like it did on the show I think Sean has done exactly what’s right for him, but it’s just hard to deny what I see between these two. Desiree really learned a lot about herself during this experience. She seemed to realize that she really got in her own way and was her own worst enemy at times. I can tell she’s grown a lot as a woman and is really ready to move forward, and I really like seeing that.
Last but certainly not least was AshLee. I wasn’t sure what I was going to get with AshLee. It’s always an interesting when you really don’t know what direction an interview will go; in this case I never would have expected it to turn out like it did. Overall, I think AshLee is over Sean but she definitely still had some strong feelings about how she was treated and what she says happened that last week in Thailand. From AshLee’s perspective, Sean said things to her that lead her to believe she was not only getting a rose that week, but was definitely The One. Like Sean said, unfortunately there’s just no way to explain what it’s like to be in his shoes and go through this. How can you possibly explain to somebody you care about how you are also falling in love with two other women? Sean obviously loved a lot of things about AshLee so it’s not like he wasn’t being sincere. But in the end he just loved more things about Lindsay and Catherine and saw more of a future with them than he did with AshLee.
As far as what was really said in the fantasy suite, I honestly have no idea. This is a classic case of he said, she said. You’ll have to judge for yourself and decide who you believe in this case. In the end, it really doesn’t matter. Sean made the right decision to say goodbye to AshLee and continue with the two women he felt he had a stronger connection with. I know that doesn’t make AshLee feel any better, but if we learned anything about her during this season it’s that she is a strong, resilient woman and will be just fine.
I never would have imagined that Catherine and Lindsay would be the final two women standing. That’s one of the things I love about this show and this journey; it really forces people out of their comfort zone and makes them really inspect what they are truly looking for. I didn’t see it coming because Sean didn’t either. He really left himself open for any and all possibilities and that’s the only way to successfully go through this. He allowed himself to find, in my opinion, two women that are perfect for him and would make him really happy. The only problem with that is both these women are head over heels in love with him, and that can only make his final decision that much harder.
Next week is the live, three-hour Bachelor finale. We did this last season and loved it so much we’re doing it again. Like I said at the beginning of this blog, our show really lends itself to group viewing unlike any other, and we want to join in on the fun and make everybody a part of this live event. I can’t tell you much about the finale but I will leave you with this: This has been one of the best seasons we have ever had, and the finale is easily worthy of being the final chapter of such an epic season. I’ll see you Monday night as we go live from Hollywood, but until then you can always follow me on twitter and instagram @chrisbharrison.
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