Chris Harrison dropped his new podcast, The Most Dramatic Podcast Ever… on iHeartRadio, and the former host of The Bachelor franchise finally addressed his messy departure from the show in 2021. Along with revelations from his leaving and how the emcee coped with the public backlash and criticism, Harrison managed to also throw a little shade at his prior gig of 19 years and revealed fans who he would have picked for his replacement hire.

Like any good podcast, Harrison started with a bang and seemed to address his former employers directly.

According to Us Weekly, Harrison maintains that he holds no anger towards the people at The Bachelor, “I’m not mad at the show. The show changed my life. And I am grateful to The Bachelor and Bachelorette … There is no animosity.” However, Harrison added, “You know, tell me a job where you love your boss, and you love everyone you work for. It’s very rare,” before wrapping up the point and reiterating his ‘pride’ in being a part of the show.

Chris Harrison Throws a Jab at The Bachelor Ratings Since His Departure

     ABC

Harrison says he does not watch the show anymore, but he got a little more candid while continuing the podcast and threw some light shade at the show’s ratings, “When I left, it was still the number No. 1 show on TV. Now look, do I keep an eye on the ratings? Do I know what’s happening now? I’m not going to say I’m not so humble or whatever to say, I haven’t paid attention to the scoreboard."

Harrison continued with, “Yes, I do know. … I realized the ratings are down 50 to 60 percent and the show has changed dramatically. But also, that hurts me a little bit because it’s something I took pride in building. And there’s still some wonderful people that I talk to on the show, cast members and crew.”

Chris Harrison Calls Out Nick Viall and Says Wells Adams Should Have Replaced Him as Host on ‘The Bachelor’

     People TV

Harrison dropped a bombshell when he revealed to listeners that he thought Wells Adams should have been his replacement after addressing Nick Viall and other cast members who were after Harrison’s job. Harrison said, “I knew about certain cast members who were calling in. And the funny thing is, the people who were calling in I knew had no chance to get the job.”

In episode two of the podcast, Harrison brought up Nick Viall who was very open about vying for the gig, “Nick wasn’t really strongly against me or said anything. But, you know, I think Nick was one of those among many who probably saw the blood in the water and saw the opportunity of a job that would be really phenomenal. And I had no doubt he wanted that job." Harrison added, “But we saw each other at Wells [Adams] and Sarah’s [Hyland] wedding and gave each other big hugs.”

The former host relayed his past endorsement of Wells, “Wells has always been a very good man and a good friend of mine. Wells was in a very difficult situation because obviously he was still kind of connected to the show, and he was doing stuff on Paradise, but he was one of the first to reach out to me and just say, ‘Look, I’m staying out of this. I love you and respect you.’ … I thought, to be completely candid, that Wells was going to get the job. …” Harrison continued, “I even told him, I said, ‘Hey, man, I won’t speak out publicly because I don’t think that will help you at all. In fact, it would do a lot more harm than good. But I really hope you get the job. I think you’d be great at it.”

As ‘Bachelor Nation’ knows, Wells did not get the job. Harrison was instead replaced by a number of Bachelor alums who stepped in and hosted or co-hosted after Harrison’s exit before the position was officially filled by former contestant Jesse Palmer, with mixed a response from fans of the show.