01:26 PM EDT 05/15/2012
Chris Harrison
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Emily Maynard's Bachelorette Will Be Different, Says Chris Harrison
Originally posted 05/14/2012 11:55AM
It may be the eighth season of The Bachelorette, but host Chris Harrison swears that Emily Maynard's quest to find love via reality TV – which premieres Monday on ABC – "is drastically different and much deeper from anything we've ever done."
PEOPLE asked for proof when Harrison spoke with reporters last week. He provided five solid points.
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Chris Harrison Hopes to Find Love Again – But Not on The Bachelor
Originally posted 05/09/2012 06:50PM
The minute Chris Harrison announced his split from Gwen Jones, his wife of 18 years, the quips about him being the next Bachelor star began.
It turns out the show's host can see the humor in the speculation – but isn't ready for that kind of experience.
"I was waiting for that question," the host said Wednesday during a conference call to promote the new season of The Bachelorette, which premieres Monday.
"Getting out of a 22-year relationship, having just announced my divorce to the world a week ago, having two kids and trying to start a new life, I'm thinking I wouldn't exactly be a great candidate to be the bachelor right now or anytime soon."
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Chris Harrison: Should He Be The Next Bachelor?
Originally posted 05/04/2012 08:00AM
For the entire 10-year run of The Bachelor, the show's host, Chris Harrison, has been a married man.
Now that he will soon be single (Harrison and his wife of 18 years announced their split to PEOPLE exclusively Thursday), we couldn't help but wonder whether he'd consider swapping places with his suitors.
Perhaps the first Bachelorette (and perhaps the most beloved cast member of the series) Trista Sutter could play host, navigating Harrison, 40, through the dates, rose ceremonies and on-air dramas.
Tell us:
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Chris Harrison, Wife Gwen Are Splitting
Originally posted 05/03/2012 05:10PM
The Bachelor host Chris Harrison and his wife of 18 years, Gwen, are announcing their separation "after much heartfelt consideration," the couple tells PEOPLE exclusively.
"Though we have made this incredibly difficult decision to separate, our love and mutual respect remain, and we look forward to sharing in the lives of our wonderful children," they say in a joint statement Thursday.
The couple live 35 miles from Hollywood with their kids Joshua, 9, and Taylor, 7. Harrison, 40, coaches both kids' soccer teams, and is "an amazing father," Gwen told PEOPLE in 2010. "He's very loving and involved."
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Ben Flajnik & Courtney Robertson Are Back Together After Split
Originally posted 03/13/2012 09:00AM
After a romantic proposal amid the majestic mountaintops of Zermatt, Switzerland, Ben Flajnik and Courtney Robertson's secret romance crumbled, the couple revealed on The Bachelor's After the Final Rose special Monday night.
"It's been a rough ride," Ben told host Chris Harrison about everything that's happened since the finale was taped. What went wrong? As Ben began to watch his season of the show, he witnessed the catty behavior of his new fiancée. She later apologized.
"The woman that I saw on TV isn't the Courtney that I know," he said, adding, "Those are the moments and the instances that led to Courtney and I not talking for a time while the show aired. We were essentially broken up."
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Ben Flajnik Proposes to Courtney Robertson on The Bachelor Finale
Originally posted 03/12/2012 10:05PM
It's been a turbulent season for Bachelor Ben Flajnik.
The Sonoma winemaker, 29, told PEOPLE in January that going into this season he had "one thing in mind – to stay open and honest with myself."
Little did Flajnik know that he, like The Bachelor's millions of viewers, would later watch on TV the catty, spiteful and downright mean behavior amongst the contestants – namely Ford model Courtney Robertson, 28. Robertson and effervescent, down-to-earth business development manager Lindzi Cox, 27, were Flajnik's final two potential mates out of 25 women.
"I'm not sure how this is going to end," an exasperated Flajnik said at the beginning of Monday's finale, which was filmed in Zermatt, Switzerland.
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The Bachelor: Whom Will Ben Flajnik Pick?
Originally posted 03/12/2012 02:30PM
Blonde versus brunette. Good versus ... well, not so good.
That's how ABC is positioning Monday night's season finale of The Bachelor, as Ben Flajnik will decide between Lindzi Cox and Courtney Robertson.
The Women Tell All episode left no doubt about who the former contestants think Ben should pick. But of course, it's up to him – and his affection for Courtney is obvious, despite all the controversy surrounding her.
Host Chris Harrison tells PEOPLE that this season has been "more competitive, darker" but believes that Ben has picked a "final two he really connected with and cared about."
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Chris Harrison: Ben Flajnik 'Suffered' on a 'Darker' Season of The Bachelor
Originally posted 03/12/2012 09:50AM
Chris Harrison believes every season of The Bachelor has "its own feel," and Ben Flajnik's – which concludes Monday on ABC – can best be summed up as "edgy, controversial and definitely not warm and fuzzy."
"It doesn't compare at all to other seasons. It's more competitive, darker and has raised a lot of debate and outrage from viewers," the host tells PEOPLE. "Ben was taken aback by the public outcry and the anger he's faced. The Courtney thing was not easy for him to endure."
Despite the drama, Harrison says this season has been a real chance for the winemaker to find his happy ending. "For him to go through so much trouble and pain, unless he's a masochist, definitely leads me to believe he wants to find love. ... A lesser guy – or a guy who didn't care – would have checked out a long time ago. But he fought like hell the entire time and ended up with a final two he really connected with and cared about."
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The Bachelor's Women Tell All: What You Didn't See
Originally posted 03/06/2012 01:30PM
The Bachelor and The Bachelorette specials are edited together from clips of a marathon day of alcohol-fueled bickering, bawling, bad-mouthing and broken hearts. And The Women Tell All installment for Ben Flajnik's season, which taped Feb. 24 in Hollywood, did not disappoint when it aired Monday.
It was the first time a contender still in the running for the final rose appeared on the reunion and, considering the fireworks that occurred when the women confronted Courtney, it was well worth it.
As controversial and dramatic as it played out on television, there were memorable moments (and even more profanity, courtesy of the "chihuahua" Samantha) that did not air. As Blakeley told PEOPLE after the show, "It was pretty darn crazy in there." Here are five things you didn't see on TV:
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Chris Harrison Won't Repeat the Mistake He Made with Ashley and Bentley
Originally posted 02/04/2012 10:30AM
Chris Harrison has learned a lesson.
The host of The Bachelor tells PEOPLE he regrets what unfolded on Ashley Hebert's season of The Bachelorette with Bentley Williams, whose deceit about his intentions eventually led to heartbreak.
"I felt like I didn't go far enough in talking to [Ashley] about Bentley," Harrison says. "Yeah, I warned her and I took some steps. But I don't think I went far enough."
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