Here's How Tayshia And Kaitlyn Really Feel About Replacing Chris Harrison As Hosts
"We had such a good experience together."
What makes a good reality TV show host? Some may say charisma; others may claim confidence under pressure. But for The Bachelorette, Season 17 hosts Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe make a solid case for lived experience.
Following the February 2021 announcement that Chris Harrison would be temporarily stepping away from the Bachelor franchise (a decision that became permanent in June), ABC tapped Adams and Bristowe to sub in as hosts for Katie Thurston’s Bachelorette season. When the season premiered on June 7, fan reactions to the new hosts were overwhelmingly favorable, with viewers praising the two former Bachelorettes for bringing about a welcome shift in dynamic on the show.
Considering Adams and Bristowe’s histories with the franchise (Adams took over as lead during Season 16 and Bristowe helmed Season 11), it makes sense they would be a good fit for the hosting role. In fact, they cite their past experiences as season leads — something not even Harrison can claim — as the reason for their success on Thurston’s season.
“We could relate to [Thurston] on another level that not a lot of people can,” Adams tells Elite Daily. Bristowe agrees: “I think we were able to validate a lot of her feelings and give her that confidence that she might've needed at some times during the show ... Tayshia and I both said, ‘Gosh, we wish we had that [on our seasons].’”
Sometimes, being intimately familiar with the Bachelorette experience made Adams and Bristowe’s job on Season 17 more difficult. “I think we got invested in the guys and her relationships with them, and it was really hard to see her hurt,” Adams says.
But they channeled those feelings into helping Thurston. “As former Bachelorettes, there always comes a point where you don't know if all the decisions that you're making are the right ones or [if] you can even do it anymore,” Bristowe says. “We were there to step in and say, ‘We've felt that way too.’"
As of June 14, it’s unclear whether Adams and Bristowe will reprise their hosting duties in future seasons. (Bachelor in Paradise Season 7, which premieres Aug. 16, will reportedly have multiple celebrity hosts; Michelle Young’s Bachelorette season, which airs this fall, does not have a confirmed host or hosts). But Adams says she and Bristowe are “100%” open to serving as hosts again.
“We had such a good experience together, and with Katie, and with everybody [who put] all of their hard work into the show,” Bristowe says. “I feel like we all really came together.”
