Chris Harrison Reveals The One Bachelor He Didn't Get Along With
To audiences, it has always seemed like Bachelor host Chris Harrison is chummy with pretty much everyone who passes through the Bachelor Mansion. This is especially the case for the stars of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. Harrison gets to know them pretty well, after all, over the weeks of filming.
While this holds true for most of our beloved Bachelors and Bachelorettes over the years, Harrison isn't quite as easy-going as he seems. It turns out he does have a limit, and he recently revealed what that limit is. In an interview with Us Weekly, Harrison dished on the one Bachelor he couldn't get along with.
Chris Harrison 'had a hard time getting along with' Charlie O'Connell
Considering just how long The Bachelor has been on the air, it's kind of surprising that there's only one Bachelor Harrison didn't click with, but the Bachelor host is a pretty patient guy. "Really, the only one I think I had a hard time getting along with was Charlie O'Connell back in the day," Harrison said.
Charlie O'Connell is the brother of actor Jerry O'Connell. He starred in The Bachelor's seventh season back in 2005. Harrison was quick to say that he had no beef with the one-time Bachelor. "He admitted he was going through some issues with himself at the time," he said. "We didn't dislike each other at all. It just didn't blend. That's bound to happen after 18 [years] and dozens of people. You get along with some better than others."
Chris Harrison has spoken of the tension with Charlie O'Connell before
This isn't the first time that Harrison has dished on the tension between him and O'Connell. In a 2017 appearance on Live With Kelly (via Us Weekly), Harrison talked about the strained relationship between him and the former Bachelor. "So here's the thing, after 15 years, 30-some odd people that have been through this show, there are people I get along with better than others," he said. "Charlie and I, he was just East Coast, me, Southern kid, it was like oil and water. We just didn't get along."
Even back then, Harrison was adamant about not disliking the reality star. "I actually love Charlie," he said. "He was, now self-admittedly, in a difficult time in his life, a little tumultuous. He's come back from that, thankfully, but we just didn't really spend any time together... We just went our separate ways."
Charlie O'Connell's post-Bachelor love life was a bit rocky
O'Connell's personal life remained tumultuous even after his Bachelor season wrapped. He gave his final rose to Sarah Brice, along with a promise ring. The couple dated on and off, breaking up in 2007 before getting back together the following year. On 2009's The Bachelor: The Women Tell All, Brice revealed (via Reality TV World), that O'Connell's excessive drinking led to their breakup. "A lot of it had to do with a little bit of the drinking that he was doing and I kind of didn't really appreciate it and respond well to it," she said.
While they seemed happy at that time, with O'Connell saying he hadn't had a drink in two years, the couple broke up for good in 2010. "I think it was a mutual break-up," O'Connell told People. "The thing is that we dated for five years... and were just arguing over the same things and stuff like that. And then eventually you've got to go your separate ways."
Things seem to be going better for O'Connell now. In 2018, he married Playboy Playmate Anna Sophia Berglund (per People).
Chris Harrison and current Bachelor Peter Weber get along much better
Fortunately, there's no tension on the current season of The Bachelor. Harrison seems to be getting along much better with the current Bachelor, Peter Weber. In an appearance on Larry King Now, Harrison revealed what makes Peter Weber the perfect choice for The Bachelor. "What we look for is story," he said. "You're looking for a good story." Weber certainly has that, after having had his heart broken on the last season of The Bachelorette by Hannah Brown.
"Whether you love him or hate him, you're tied into this," Harrison said. "So you have this built-in story. He's a good guy... He's that all-American guy next door. He has these great parents who have this great example of what love is."
Harrison also gushed about this season's Bachelor to Us Weekly. "He's that guy that the show is based on," said the longtime host. "He's the guy that seemingly has everything. Good looking, good career, sweet, he has this amazing family. He just hasn't fallen in love yet."