'The Bachelor' host Chris Harrison: I don't know if Catherine Giudici and Lindsay Yenter are ready for marriage

The Bachelor's seventeenth season is down to its final round of dates.


Sean Lowe's The Bachelor edition will be winding down with ABC's Monday night broadcast of the season's Women Tell All special and next week's finale broadcast in which The Bachelor star will decide between his Final 2 bachelorettes Catherine Giudici and Lindsay Yenter.

In a conference call with reporters on Thursday, Chris Harrison talked about the season and teased a little bit of what's still to come during the special, which was taped late last month, and the finale, which was filmed in November.
 
Below is the concluding portion of Chris' call. Click here to read the first half.

Working on a show like The Bachelor that's so focused on relationships, has anyone ever really approached you looking for advice on their own personal relationships?

Chris Harrison: You know, I don't get -- yes, I mean, I say I get a lot less people wanting me to hook them up and introduce them. But I get a lot of people wanting to talk to me about relationships. 


And I get a lot of very awkward conversations, and you know, I'll be at an airport restaurant or bar or whatever and someone will come and just literally start telling me their life story and really get into some pretty deep details about whether it's their sex life or lack thereof or whatever it is. 

It's amazing the things that people tell me. I'd like to think -- and I'm kind of happy about the fact -- that I guess I'm approachable, and I seem like I'm everybody's kind of friend and therapist because they see me and have gotten to know me over the last 11 years.  But I'm honored in that respect.  But there's some times where I'm like, "Should you really be telling me some of this stuff about your life?"

So is that something that maybe you might put in your book in the future?

Chris Harrison: Yes, maybe it will go in the book.  Maybe it will be part of the talk show or we'll see where it ends up.  But it is funny.  But I enjoy it.  It's kind of interesting, I have achieved this, I guess, honorary doctorate after watching and listening to these people for so many years.  You can't help but learn.

When I talked to AshLee Frazier earlier this season when she was still in the running with Desiree Hartsock, she said she wasn't sure the girls remaining were ready for marriage, a it's become obvious that AshLee was on a different, more mature level than the other girls.  Do you think that Lindsay and Catherine really were ready for marriage, particularly with Catherine whom we've seen Sean have concerns about how she had plans to move to New York and pursue career goals?


Chris Harrison: I mean, I don't know if I'm qualified to say, you know, if they're ready or not.  I know you know I definitely think AshLee was.  And when I look at that last Rose Ceremony, there was definitely, you know, that old -- was it Sesame Street, one of these is not like the other? You know, you could definitely tell she was a standout.

And just what I mean by that is she was a little older, a little more mature, and I think it's what Sean probably aspires to have someday, and then I think at the end, he realized he's not quite there yet.  You know, I think he would have to come up to her level, whereas with Catherine and Lindsay, I feel like they're all on the same level, where they are in their life. 

They're a little bit more youthful and just -- they are just kind of, I don't know. It's a little bit more relaxed when you see them together.  They laugh a little bit more at practical jokes and all that.  So I think those three are definitely at the same place in life. 

And I think it would have been tough for him to make that leap into where AshLee is.  So are they all ready for marriage? I don't know.  I really don't.  I hope if that's the path any of them choose, they're ready.  But you know, we'll see.

The Women Tell All taped last week. Is there anything that you can tease about your interview with Tierra LiCausi and what she had to say?


Chris Harrison: You bet.  I mean it was, first of all, you know, I will always give everybody the benefit of the doubt.  And no matter who comes back whether it's [Rozlyn Papa], [Courtney Robertson], [Vienna Girardi], anybody, Michelle Money, you know, I like the fact that all of these people respect me enough and know that I will never throw them under the bus and they're not coming back for a Jerry Springer attack interview.

I always give them a chance to explain themselves and I will push, which I did with Tierra, if I think she's dodging a little bit or she's being maybe not 100% percent truthful with everything. I will push and I did with her.  But I think it was extremely fair, you know, I don't know if she'll have the same comment about her side of the interview. 

But I think it was fair and I think I gave her every chance in the world to kind of fix some of the mistakes she made.  And I do think she made some mistakes. You know, I think it's coming in and being 100% percent of the victim and saying it was all the other girls and not you. 

I never really see that -- I just wish that these girls -- you know, when the girls that come in and say it's everybody else in the world, it's not me, you have to at some point think, "Okay, maybe it is a little bit you" and take a little culpability and a little responsibility for what's going on around you.

After the Women Tell All, what do you think AshLee's mindset is having seen her there and having watched kind of her last cathartic moment with Sean?
 
Chris Harrison: You know, I think to be honest, I think she was over Sean coming into the Women Tell All. But I, but that's not to say that she didn't want some answers. I think she was still a little raw from how it went down. 


I think there were some things that were said or done in the fantasy suite or on their one-on-one, you know, that exotic date, that final date there that led her to believe that she was not only going to get a rose but was probably the one for him. And when you go from that feeling of being uber-confident to you're going home, it was an absolute slap in the face.  I mean, she was completely blindsided. 

So I think while she was over Sean emotionally, I think there were still some emotions there that were still raw and some answers that she wanted, and I think she wanted to put him on the spot a little bit. And if that was the goal, I think she did a great job of achieving that.

Do you really think that AshLee's over Sean now?

Chris Harrison: Yes, I do, I do.  I mean, it's only because you look at the timeframe of when it all happened and all that. I think she's past like being in love with him or whatever.  But I think that there was still some, there was still some emotions and still some questions that she had that she wanted to get answers to. 

And so, it was a difficult awkward moment for Sean for sure.  Of all of the moments of the Women Tell All, that was definitely one that I think if he could have dug a hole under the couch and dove into it he would have.


One of the massive moments this season as well was when AshLee and Tierra had that massive argument. 

Chris Harrison: Yes.

Is there anything about that in the Women Tell All?  Do they go head to head again?

Chris Harrison: Well they didn't necessarily go head to head, but all the girls did.  You know [Lesley Murphy], actually both [her and Leslie Hughes], and let's see, [Robyn Howard]. Robyn had a lot to say because Robyn was the other girl that, I don't know if you remember, but back in Montana had that [drag out] fight with her as well.

Here's the way it will play out. What I will tell you is that, first of all, I really asked the girls for the respect of just being silent and really just letting me talk to Tierra for a little bit and let her say everything that she had to say and get it all out there, promising that they would have their chance to speak. 

And so, they were really great about it, you know, because usually when I say that, the girls can't help themselves, they jump in.  But they really allowed Tierra to talk.  And I think she did more harm than good during all of that and they all jumped in and really Robyn, Leslie, even Desiree, there were a lot of them that were pretty outspoken. 


But you know, her and AshLee definitely still don't see eye to eye on how that went down -- who was right, who was wrong.  But then again, I don't think Tierra saw eye to eye with any girl that was on the show.  I really think there may have been like one or two that she kind of got along with.  But none of the girls that were in the final say five or six really saw eye to eye with her at all.

Are you surprised by the Final 2, because obviously Lindsay was very close to going home on the first night and it seems like Catherine could have gone home after the hometown date.  So were you surprised to see them make it to the end?

Chris Harrison: I don't think we've ever had a Final 2 where they could have easily gone home at any point in the season.  I mean, Lindsay, as you said, literally, I mean came so close to going home on day one. It was never -- we've never had that before ever in the show, where a girl is barely saved on night one and then ends up being in the finals.

And the same thing with Catherine. I mean, had Des' hometown not gone so poorly with the brother, I think it's pretty simple to say she would have been going home.  And then, you know, the next week she was on the chopping block as well.  So I am very surprised, and I mean maybe Sean would say he's surprised as well.  But that's, you know, who it ended up with.

During all of the seasons, did any girls ever want to have a fantasy suite moment like right after the first cocktail party?  Have you ever found that?  Like did they want to get a little bit closer to him after meeting him that first day?

Chris Harrison: Well, I'm sure they would, but they can't. 


Okay, I just wanted to know if they try to become more aggressive with him in those respects but the producers need to put a lid on it.

Chris Harrison: Honestly, they would love that time.  There's just no opportunity, because you just can't -- you know, there's no way to disappear and because we know where you are at all times. 

And so, by the time you get to the fantasy suite, it really is that time where we let them go completely un-miced -- no cameras, no nothing, no producers, nobody is around. It's just the two of them to do whatever they want to do for the entire night and morning and all of that.

And so, they can talk, they can, you know, it really is a time just to be alone and really discuss the important things that are about to happen in their life, which is, you know, I'm glad we do that. It's a very anti-TV moment, if you think about it, because we get nothing from it as producers or as even viewers.

You'll never see it. If you hear something happening, it's a rumor or conjecture or whatever.  And so, it really is an anti-TV moment, but I think it is a very important thing that if we are going to make this work and it's real, then obviously they need to have those closed door-very private conversations about the simple things of, "Can this work, are we really in love?"

And religion and all those things that you really need to talk about before you make that big step and meet the parents and all that stuff. So you know, they would love to do it early on.  But it really wouldn't fit on where the relationship is anyway.


How many hours a day do you film?  Do they film a day on and a day off?  I'm curious to find the timeframe on that.

Chris Harrison: Well, it really depends. We're pretty much filming, we have travel days, we have dark days where we say we're leaving you know Whitefish, Montana and heading up to Canada or whatever.  We may film like early in the morning just the girls packing their bags and walking out.  But that's it. 

And then we won't film that entire day, and so, everybody is traveling to Canada and getting moved into their hotel rooms and what have you. So there's days where we don't film at all.

And then there's days where they'll be on a date and a large portion of that day is not filmed.  You know, if they're on a one-on-one date, there's a lot of time where they're hanging out off camera, talking, spending time, no people are around. So it's not like they can sneak off, but you know, they do have a lot of alone time that you don't get to see and that we don't film.

But the Bachelor is always separated from the girls during down time, correct?

Chris Harrison: Well I mean, yes, when they're on dates and stuff like that, no he can hang around to talk to them and all that.  But like at night or in the morning, when we're at the hotels, often they're at different hotels or they don't know where each other are unless they sneak out and find each other on a date or whatever.


So you know, they keep them separated for the most part.  But on dates and stuff like that, or when they see each other, a lot of times we are in foreign countries.  We only have one hotel.  If we run into each other in the lobby or what have you then, yes, they'll sit and talk for a little bit.

I was just wondering, what are the chances of Tierra being the next The Bachelorette star?

Chris Harrison: Slim to none and I think slim just left town.

I figured she might do well because she wasn't doing so well with the big room of girls. Maybe she'd be all right with all guys.  What do you think?

Chris Harrison: Maybe.  Yes maybe it's the girls that never have any girlfriends that we need to make the The Bachelorette.

Some people say that Sean is in it for the fame, but why are you so certain he's in it for love?


Chris Harrison: I mean, all I can do is take from him and this experience, my own personal opinion of judging him and talking to him and getting a vibe.  And you know, when we talk -- we've been with people in the past and they ask me questions about press or what I can do and ways to take advantage of this and where I can go from here maybe even being a host. 

And you know, Sean, we've never talked about any of that stuff.  He just -- he doesn't really care.  He has no desire for it. Does he enjoy some of the attention and the fame? Of course he does, but at the same time, he's never shown that desire or interest in any of it. 

The things we talk about are back home in Dallas where we're both from and our families and my kids, and you know, just normal stuff.  He's just never given me any reason to believe that that's why he's doing this.

Above is the concluding portion of Chris' Thursday conference call with reporters. Click here to read the first half.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski