Chris Harrison Reveals How His Time on 'The Bachelor' Became 'Toxic' Before His Sudden Departure: 'I Knew I Had to Remove Myself'

Before Chris Harrison left The Bachelor in June 2021, it sounded like he wasn't as into the job by the end.

"I knew I had to remove myself from what was, what became, a very toxic situation. And I did, and that was a difficult situation because probably in the long run, I probably could have figured it out. We all could have figured it out, but I had to remove myself from that toxic situation. And so I'm proud of that decision. I'm proud that I handled it the way I did and I still look at it as a blessing because it changed my life on so many levels. Financially, of course. It changed my life. It changed my kids' lives. This house we're sitting in now was built on your tears," the 52-year-old told Jason Tartick in a new episode of his podcast "Trading Secrets," which dropped on Monday, December 18, referring to Tartick's time on The Bachelorette.

Eventually, Harrison was dismissed from the ABC reality show after coming under fire for defending a prior contestant's past racist behavior.

Now, looking back, the Texas native admitted he had "to mourn the loss of something that I didn't intend to exit then."

Though he was thinking about leaving the franchise for good, he wanted to do it on his own terms.

"I would have probably soon, but not then like that. And so there was mourning a loss there and I had to realize when I left my marriage, take your time and don't just jump back into the next relationship … I'll be honest. I found love because of that. I had time to find love with Lauren," the TV host said, referring to his now-wife, Lauren Zima, whom he married in November. "I really enjoyed falling in love and I really enjoyed that journey, and I gave myself time to let that breathe. I think it's probably the reason we're married. You know, I quit hitting the road so much and I was home and I got to see my kids graduate high school, go to college, go to all my son's lacrosse games, see all my daughter's plays and musicals that I missed for years.”

Earlier this year, Harrison broke his silence about the firing, admitting it felt like a breakup.

"I lost 20 pounds. I didn't sleep, I didn't eat," he said on his debut episode of his podcast, "The Most Dramatic Podcast Ever," on Monday, January 9. "It was just one gut-punch after the other, and mentally and physically I deteriorated pretty bad."

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