Chris Harrison

Born July 26, 1971, in Dallas, Texas, Chris Harrison is best known as the host of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. The former sportscaster got his hosting start with Mall Masters in 2000 before landing his role on the hit dating show two years later.

Harrison — who married his college sweetheart, Gwen, in 1993 and divorced in 2012 — has two children. In addition to his hosting duties on The Bachelor, he is also a co-host on TV Guide’s Hollywood 411, where he interviews celebrities and reports live from the red carpet.

After grilling booted Bachelor contestant Rozlyn Papa in Feb. 2010 during the Women Tell All special, she accused Harrison of hitting on ex-producer Ryan Callahan’s wife (a claim he denied). Despite their public feud, Harrison remains friends with many previous contestants from the show.

In 2015, he published his first book, a romance novel titled The Perfect Letter. He began dating reporter Lauren Zima in 2018. They married in fall 2023.

In February 2021, Harrison temporarily stepped down from his Bachelor hosting duties after facing backlash for his controversial comments in support of season 25 contestant Rachael Kirkconnell, who was called out for her past racially insensitive actions.

Harrison was replaced by Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe for Katie Thurston’s season 17 of The Bachelorette, which premiered in June 2021. Shortly after it was confirmed that he would not be returning for season 7 of Bachelor in Paradise, Harrison negotiated his permanent exit from the franchise, receiving an eight-figure settlement from ABC.