Chris Harrison is speaking out for the first time after his unexpected exit from "The Bachelor" franchise.
During the premiere episodes of his new podcast, the former dating show host revealed how his departure deeply impacted his health.
"I was sick to my stomach. I lost 20 pounds. I didn’t sleep. I didn’t eat. I was scared to death, not of my job but of my family – my fianceé [Lauren Zima]… I worried about my kids…" Harrison said on his first episode of "The Most Dramatic Podcast Ever with Chris Harrison."
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"I’m a bit of an empath, and I am very loyal to a fault, and I am a team player."
Chris Harrison is speaking out for the first time after his unexpected exit from "The Bachelor" franchise. (ABC/Craig Sjodin)
Harrison, 51, permanently Black bachelorette.
"I was embarrassed. I was mad at myself. I was disappointed in myself. The last thing in the world I ever wanted to do was be an agent of anything negative – whether it had to do with race or anything," Harrison admitted on his podcast.
"Bachelor" host Chris Harrison conducted an interview with former bachelorette Rachel Lindsay that received a great deal of backlash over his comments regarding a contestant who attended an antebellum party. (ABC)
"When this happened… while I was sick to my stomach… I felt so disappointed that the interview went that way… it was on me because I controlled what I had to say. And while the point I was trying to get across I stand by, the way I did it was messy and disappointing… it’s just not me," he noted.
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On the podcast episode titled "It’s Time We Talk," Harrison opened up to his listeners and revealed that he "selfishly needed time," to "figure out" the best way to respond to the controversy.
Harrison added that when people ask him what he thinks of "The Bachelor" franchise now, he admitted he doesn’t watch the show, but does keep an eye on the ratings and pays "attention to the scoreboard."
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