Chris Harrison blogs 'The Bachelorette' episode 9

Chris Harrison's Bachelorette Blog via EW.com - “The sun always shines in Fiji!”  Those were the words spoken by Ashley as she stepped out of the plane in Savusavu, Fiji. She must have forgotten this is the rainiest season we’ve ever had on this show. More on the rain and our production a little later in this broadcast. This show and my blog have become a bit of a travel guide over the years, and I especially feel compelled during the exotic dates to talk a little bit about where we are in the world. This week we are in Namale in Savusavu, Fiji, a small town in one of many Islands that make up Fiji. The high definition video we show you makes it quite evident this is one of the most stunning places in the world. What we didn’t show much of was the resort, which is actually owned by inspirational speaker Tony Robbins. Tony is a great guy and turns out he was in town our final day at the resort and he came down and joined my wife and me at breakfast. Holy cow! That guy has the biggest hands I have ever seen! I can’t say enough about the people of Fiji and in particular the people at Namale. Read Chris Harrison's full bachelorette blog here.

Chris Harrison Bachelorette Blog Week 7

In Chris Harrison's new Bachelorette Blog Week 7 for Entertainment Weekly, he talks about Ashley's dates and his interview with Emily Maynard.

Chris Harrison on Ashley's 1-on-1 with Ryan: "Easily the most noteworthy moment of the episode came during Ashley’s one-on-one date with Ryan. He was so excited to finally get his date with her. He was having a blast and really feeling good about everything when Ashley pulled the rug out from under him and sent him home. The usually positive Ryan was crushed and speechless. He didn’t know what hit him and didn’t know what to say or ask Ashley. He never saw that coming from her. Ashley explained herself excellently by letting him know at this point if she doesn’t feel it, why lead him on any further and then drag his family into it? Despite the honest intentions it still hurt her and Ryan. After that date I could tell Ashley was done playing games. She didn’t want any part of a cocktail party. She knew the four men she wanted to go home with and didn’t want to prolong the situation any longer than it needed to be. Although I always play devil’s advocate just to make sure they are positive that’s what they want, I understood and really respected her decision to forego the cocktail party."

Chris Harrison on his interview with Emily Maynard: "Before I let you go I obviously want to talk a little bit about my interview with Emily. I honestly don’t have much to add to what she said as I really feel good about the interview. I believe I asked the pertinent questions yet stayed respectful of her and Brad and I feel she answered them fully while doing the same. Emily got out of the car emotional, so I knew it was going to be a tough interview for us both. I care for her and Brad very much, consider them friends and I wish them the best. I talked to Brad before and after the interview and all he cared about was Emily. Before the interview he asked me as a friend to be there for her and not be to hard on her, which I don’t feel I was. After the interview all he wanted to know was how she was doing. These two care about each other very much and respect each other even more. A lot has and will be written about them but the truth is they are two good people that loved each other very much but as Emily said that just wasn’t enough to make it work. I have a lot of respect for Brad for deciding not to show up, yet giving Emily his blessing to do the interview and speak freely. I can’t say enough about how impressed I am with Emily. I always have been blown away by the strength of this woman and she continues to impress. However sad the news I’m glad that the millions of fans that have followed their saga have gotten the answers they deserve."

Chris Harrison Blogs about The Bachelorette Episode 1

Chris Harrison's weekly Bachelorette blog can be found at EW.com!  Here are some of the highlights. 

What Harrison says about controversial Bachelor Bentley Williams: "When Bentley arrived and I saw Ashley’s face I leaned over to one of the producers and said, “We’re in trouble.” Her reaction to Bentley reminded me of my kids. When you tell your kids they can’t or shouldn’t have something, what’s the first thing they’re going to do when they see it? Want it even more! Ashley was clearly taken with Bentley at first glance, and the time they spent talking only solidified her feelings and made her feel that the warning she got about him was bogus. She said on night one he was definitely one of the front-runners. As you saw in the previews this is far from over, and it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better."


Chris Harrison on drunken Tim: "Tim had a huge problem with Jeff and his mask. I have no idea why he hated it so much but it literally drove him to drink. Tim let the experience get the best of him and Ashley had no choice but to pour him in a car and send him home. There was no way he was going to be able to stand during the rose ceremony anyway."

Chris Harrison on Mask Man, Jeff Medolla: "Speaking of Jeff and his mask, I’m very anxious to hear your thoughts. Ashley didn’t love it but after talking to the guy she decided there was enough there to give him a chance. I just kept reminding her, you realize he’s wearing a mask right? Night one is really just a simple appetizer for what’s to come, but I do want to tell you a few behind the scenes things you didn’t get to see that night."

Chris Harrison Bachelorette Blog: Stop Singing Kasey!

The Chris Harrison Blog can be found each week at EW.com!

From Chris' blog.... I really wasn’t sure just how good this “Men Tell All” episode was going to be, mostly because I worried the guys were too buddy-buddy to give us any solid content. Oh how I was wrong! We shot this episode in a new, much bigger studio than the one we usually use. That meant we could fit even more fans in to see the show, which really helped crank up the atmosphere and excitement. I love hosting shows in front of a live studio audience.

The sit-down interviews I did with Ali to start the show were a blast. These little post-game chats have become a tradition now, and I love doing them. We shoot them after the show has been wrapped, so everybody has had time to watch the show back and really reflect on what’s happened. Ali was obviously relaxed and in a good place, so it was fun to go back over everything that had happened. As for the scenes you didn’t get to see, well apparently Ali didn’t remember all of them, either. It was hysterical how she forgot the space-helmet bit. I loved that our producer Cassie had the footage up on her computer, and we just brought it into the interview. Ali and I were laughing our butts off on that one.

We’ll hear much more from Frank next week when he appears with me on the “After the Final Rose” special, but it was very interesting to hear what the guys thought of him. I agreed with Craig R when he said this situation was very different than the Rated R situation. I look forward to talking to Frank next week because, honestly, I have more questions than answers right now: How did he and Nicole leave it when they broke up? When exactly did they break up? And what was their relationship when he came on the show? And that’s just for starters. Again, we’ll get all those answers next week on the “AFR” special.

Kasey was a very good sport at the special. I found it funny how all the guys gave him such backhanded compliments. “Yeah, you’re completely crazy but I love ya.” The thing I really wanted to hear from Kasey was where all the “guard and protect your heart” stuff came from, because I knew it had something to do with his past. Kasey’s been hurt badly before and he really didn’t want to see that happen to Ali. Maybe he didn’t go about presenting it the right way, but to a certain extent, you have to respect his sincerity. As a non-tattoo guy, I still have to say I don’t get the tat! No amount of explanation convinces me that was a good idea. I loved when Kasey got up toward the end of the show and sang another song for Ali. He still can’t sing worth a damn, but I told him afterward if he had shown that kind of personality during the season, he probably would have stayed around longer.

The segment with Kirk was the toughest by far. I could tell he really had strong feelings for Ali and was still a little hurt and confused as to what went wrong. It was also interesting to hear his take on Frank. If anybody got screwed by Frank’s selfishness, it was Kirk. I was glad he was honest about his feelings, saying even though he likes Frank as a person, he’s a little pissed he took that extra time away from him and Ali. It probably wouldn’t have made a difference in the end, but you never know, and that’s what bothered Kirk. Read more here.

Chris Harrison Blogs: Week 8

Chris Harrison's bachelorette blog can be found each week at EW.com!

’ve said it before and I’ll say it again this season: I love the hometown visits. They are so revealing and such a good indication of who these people truly are. With that said, I can’t remember a season when the final four people stacked up like this. In my opinion, Ali narrowed it down to four great guys who all could probably make her happy in different ways. Usually at this point, there’s one person or family that makes this decision a little easier on the Bachelor or Bachelorette, but this wasn’t the case for Ali. On the contrary, things only got harder for her this week and it led to easily the most emotional rose ceremony we’ve had with her.

Ali’s week started in Tampa with Roberto. I did find it a little funny how Ali told a little white lie to his family when they asked about her first impression of Roberto. I don’t think she wanted to say that to the family that she initially thought he was hot. You can clearly see Roberto comes from a beautiful, loving family, and it’s easy to see why he’s such a good, caring man. Quick question for you: Did the baseball uniform work for you like it did for Ali? She was really excited to see him in uniform.

If Roberto’s hometown visit was great I don’t have the words in my simple little head to describe Chris’s hometown in Cape Cod. If you didn’t get emotional while watching this, you seriously need to check and see if you have a heart. Chris is such a terrific guy who has such perspective on life, and he obviously comes about that honestly from his family. His “pops” Ed is such a dear, beautiful man. You truly have to marvel at the attitude and outlook he has on life and love after the year he and his family have just had. The scene where Chris and his dad were talking on the porch about what his mom would think was moving to say the least. Fortunately, the other guys don’t get to see each other’s hometown dates, because after Roberto and Chris, who would want to try to measure up to that? Read the full blog posting here.