The Bachelorette bachelor Doug Clerget doesn't come across totally genuine in host Chris Harrison's eyes.
|
ADVERTISEMENT
|
"You just can't come across so self-deprecating, so perfect and so polished all the time -- it just reeks of insincerity. You can tell he has a short fuse because the guys started pushing his buttons and got to him pretty quickly," Harrison told TV Guide in a recent interview, adding however, that he respects that Clerget is a single dad and was in and out of foster homes as a child following his epileptic father's sudden and tragic death.
"But it's not that he's not a good guy. He's a great dad and has an amazing life story, but I think he's covered a lot of things up in compensating for a lot of the bad in his life. That's a red flag for Emily, so Doug has a lot of work to do."
Fellow bachelor Chris Bukowski, a 25-year-old corporate sales director, also didn't fall for Clerget's alleged act and was turned off by how condescending the 33-year-old suitor was over their eight-year age difference. But Harrison said he views Bukowski's decision to confront Clerget immediately and argue the matter both a good move and an immature one.
"Good for Chris for standing up and saying, 'Enough!' With a smile on his face and being sweet, Doug was kind of ripping him for being young and inexperienced, and Chris was like, 'Screw you guys.' Although, I hate to say it, but that's a sign of being young, not being able to let it go and realize the guys are just insecure and trying to find something to get under your skin. An older wiser guy would realize it has nothing to do with you," Harrison explained.
Harrison also said he was personally among those who were put off by the increasingly "cocky" personality of bachelor Ryan Bowers.
"Watching [the show] in the control room, I didn't think, 'Oh my God! He's the biggest jerk in the world.' I just thought he's really crossed that line and is very arrogant. At first he was self-assured, but now I feel like he's just cocky and I don't like cocky people; I don't think most women do. I don't know if he got more comfortable in his surroundings and let his guard down and that's how he really is," the host told TV Guide.
Although Bowers was shown saying during this week's broadcast he could see himself as the next The Bachelor star and felt destined for something "greater", Harrison insisted he isn't on the show for the wrong reasons.
"Someone said he's the new [Bentley Williams], but not at all -- he's not playing her. I don't think he said being the Bachelor is the whole reason he's here. He just looks ahead like a lot of these guys probably do and really fancies himself as someone who could be the next Bachelor. I don't think he's doing it to be ugly," Harrison added.
While Harrison explained many of Maynard's bachelors have some issues to address if they want to end up with her, he said it's obvious Maynard is already smitten with race car driver Arie Luyendyk Jr. -- who seems to be sailing smoothly throughout the competition as a frontrunner to win The Bachelorette star's heart.
"They definitely are on another level, but I'll say this, Emily did a phenomenal job of not shutting down. We've had Bachelors and Bachelorettes in the past that have made the mistake of stopping at this point when they have their 'one.' She does a good job of staying in the moment with whoever she is with. She gives the opportunity for other guys to catch up. Will they? We'll see," Harrison noted.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
