Bachelor Nation was rocked when Chris Harrison announced he was "stepping aside" from the franchise. He made the move after apologizing for defending racism in an interview with former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay, but he made sure to clarify that he wasn’t going anywhere. However, in the wake of the news that he hired lawyers — seemingly to fight for his job, though The Dipp has reached out to his reps for clarification — his future with the reality franchise appears to be one big question mark. So where do things stand exactly, and will Chris Harrison return to The Bachelor one day? Let’s review all the facts.
The Journey
We know it well. But let's quickly recap how we got to where we are.
- Chris Steps Away In February: Following his controversial interview with Lindsay, Chris took to Instagram on February 13 to share that he would be taking a little break from hosting the ABC show.
- Bachelor Nation Seems To Support A Change In Hosts: As the country speculated about what a post-Chris Harrison season of The Bachelor would look like, speculation began to emerge about just who could step into his shoes and replace him. Fans rallied around Lindsay in particular — and she notably didn’t say no when asked. (However, she also made it clear that her days with the franchise are “numbered,” meaning the job just might not be the right fit.)
- Emmanuel Acho Replaces Chris On ATFR: At the end of February, it was announced that Acho, a Fox Sports analyst and author of Uncomfortable Conversations With A Black Man, would be taking Harrison's place.
- Chris Makes It Clear He's Not Going Anywhere: In early March, the host began his apology tour (although can we call it a tour if it’s only had one stop so far?) but said: “I plan to be back and I want to be back." Well...
- Chris Won’t Be Back For The Bachelorette: Surprise! Due to his time away from the franchise, Harrison is replaced by two former leads, Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe for the upcoming season of The Bachelorette.
The latter announcement is the first indication that greater changes may be made, but many fans still felt it was clear that the show was still just testing the waters before coming down one way or another on the whole Chris issue. If the Emmanuel Acho ATFR and Bachelorette season bombed, Chris could be back in. If it did just fine without him, the show might find that he’s not so essential to the journey after all… and that they might be able to swap him out for someone with less scandalous baggage (and likely a smaller paycheck to boot).