Exclusive | Bibles and babes:Ex-Bachelor host Chris Harrison brings God and a virgininto the TV dating game
He’s not afraid to cross anyone the wrong way.In “Chris Harrison’s The Vow,” there are crosses adorning the wall in the interview room, and its leading man attends Bible study and prays with the women vying for his heart immediately upon meeting them.
The ex-“Bachelor” host told The Post that he isn’t worried about any backlash from putting religion at the forefront of his new dating show.“No, and maybe that’s naive on my part as a producer and as a host,” Harrison said.“But what we were excited about was this cultural movement … with more young people going to church than their parents for the first time in our country, searching for something, this connection … all we’re doing as producers is listening,” he continued.
“Like it or not, we’re going to embrace that.”Although the “Bachelor” franchise didn’t ban religious conversations, Harrison said “it was just something that was shied away from and not encouraged or discouraged.”Harrison, who hosted the ABC franchise from its 2002 debut, left in 2021 in the wake of the cancel-culture controversy that erupted when he defended Season 25 winner Rachael Kirkconnell after pictures resurfaced of her at an antebellum-themed college party.The reality star said he looks at his “conscious uncoupling” with the franchise as “a blessing,” since it led him to hosting the Fox Nation series, which he calls “the most authentic, intentional dating show ever.”“Not to say it wasn’t tumultuous and gut-wrenching and tough for me and my family, but at the same time, sometimes you need … that thing that will cause that catastrophic breakup so you can go your own way,” Harrison, 55, said.After the teaser for the series — which premiered on Nov.11 — was released, Warner Bros., the owner of the “Bachelor” franchise, sent a cease-and-desist letter, objecting to his use of roses in the promo.“That was a little personal, obviously … I’ve been gone for five years.
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