Kaitlyn Bristowe’s friendship with Chris Harrison “went down the toilet” after she was hired to host “The Bachelorette.”
During Tuesday’s episode of the “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast, the former reality star claimed Harrison “ghosted” her after news broke that she and Tayshia Adams were going to co-host Season 17 of the hit ABC series.
She explained that, at first, she had signed on under the impression that she was there to “mentor” Katie Thurston, not to replace Harrison.
However, when “all these articles starting coming out saying, ‘Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe replacing Chris Harrison,'” that’s when the former “Bachelor” Nation host allegedly turned his back on her.
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Bristowe claimed that she messaged Harrison “like 10 times” to explain that she “didn’t know what [her] role was” and didn’t want to replace him.
However, her pleas were met with silence, making the former “Bachelorette” “feel icky.”
“And that is so not like him to me. And I know it’s not about me. I just wanted him to know that I thought he was irreplaceable, and I didn’t want to step on toes,” she said.
Despite his odd behavior, Bristowe kept reaching out to Harrison but “he didn’t write back.”
“I was like, ‘OK, well now I’m panicking. Why didn’t you write me back?'” she recalled, asking herself if he “hated” her or if she was “being [too] emotional.”
“We were best friends and now he hates me,” she said.
It wasn’t until Bristowe, 37, saw Harrison, 51, at Wells Adams and Sarah Hyland’s wedding last year that the pair were able to finally chat.
“I walked up to him and was like, ‘I miss you,'” she recalled, to which Harrison shockingly replied, “Well, I’ve always been here.”
The comment took Bristowe by surprise as she allegedly quipped back, “No you haven’t! You haven’t responded to me in forever!”
Despite confessing that she “bawled her eyes out” about the situation, Bristowe noted that Harrison was “going through so much in his life” at the time.
Harrison was forced to say goodbye to Bachelor Nation in 2021 after 19 years as its host when he defended “racist” photos of contestant Rachael Kirkconnell at a plantation-themed party.
Following his departure, Bristowe and Taysha stepped in to mentor Thurston and later Michelle Young on their journeys to the altar. However, Jesse Palmer was ultimately named as Harrison’s permanent replacement as the host of “The Bachelor.”