Reality check: Ex-'Bachelor' host Chris Harrison: 'I knew I had to remove myself from what became a very toxic situation'

‘TOXIC’ TALK  Chris Harrison, the former longtime host of ABC’s “Bachelor” / “Bachelorette” franchise, is reflecting on his time with those shows prior to his leaving in 2021 following backlash over racially charged comments he had made.

“What I went through was tumultuous. I don’t wish it on anybody. It was horrifying on a lot of levels — and something that I pray to God my worst enemy never goes through,” Harrison, 52, said on the latest episode of the podcast “Trading Secrets,” hosted by 2018 “Bachelorette” runner-up Jason Tartick. “But, with that said, I knew I had to remove myself from what became a very toxic situation,” he added, according to a partial transcript by Entertainment Weekly.

Hosting those TV dating competitions for 19 years “was a blessing,” Harrison said. “It changed my life, but at the same time, I can also be grateful that I’m gone. That’s a relationship I don’t need to be in anymore, because it wasn’t healthy.”

In a February 2021 interview with “Extra” correspondent Rachel Lindsay — who in 2017 became the first Black star of “The Bachelorette” — Harrison had defended “Bachelor” season-25 winner Rachael Kirkconnell over her having “liked” racist social-media posts and having attended an antebellum-themed party in 2018. Among his comments, Harrison suggested there were no concerns in 2018 about celebrating the slaveholding Old South.

He and Kirkconnell separately apologized, and Harrison took a leave of absence from the franchise, later exiting it completely.

‘DWTS’ ENGAGEMENT  “Dancing with the Stars” ballroom professional Britt Stewart and deaf actor Daniel Durant (“CODA”), //acronym for “child of deaf adults”// who had been paired for season 31 of the celebrity dance competition in 2022, became engaged on Christmas Day.

During a hike with their families at Lake Arrowhead, California, Durant told People magazine, “I started talking about the year, about us meeting and everything that happens in life. I just feel like there's balance. She sees me. She knows my culture, my language, and understands everything about me.”

Durant, who turned 34 on Christmas Eve, said Stewart had quickly learned American Sign Language directly from him. Recalled Stewart, also 34, “When I met him and found out he was my partner on ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ immediately I was like, I must learn ASL because I'm teaching him how to dance. I'm not going to use his interpreter.”

They realized they were falling in love, they said, upon dancing in a sequence without music during Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy the Silence.” "For me,” said Stewart, “it was the moment when our lives showed each other. I was really able to see him and his experience….”

PREMIERES In case you missed them on New Year’s Day following the traditional revelry, you can catch these season premieres on demand or on streaming: Hosts Valerie Bertinelli and Duff Goldman kicked off season 12 of Food Network’s culinary competition “Kids Baking Championship” … “America’s Got Talent” judges Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel and host Terry Crews welcomed back former judge Melanie “Mel B” Brown as a fourth judge for NBC’s new two-hour, all-star / fan-favorite spinoff "AGT: Fantasy League” … TLC debuted season 4 of the “90 Day Fiancé” spinoff “90 Day: The Single Life,” featuring two returning singles and five new ones, including Chantel Everett from “The Family Chantel” … and back-to-back episodes opened season 4 of HGTV’s “Celebrity IOU,”  which again finds brothers Drew and Jonathan Scott helping such stars as Ray Romano — fictional Newsday sportswriter Ray Barone on “Everybody Loves Raymond” — gifting a home renovation to a special friend or mentor … Upcoming Friday night at 8 on MTV, the 16th season of the flagship drag-queen contest “RuPaul’s Drag Race” includes five New York performers … and Sunday at 8 p.m., the Food competition “Worst Cooks in America” heads into season 27 with new team leader Chef Tiffany Derry joining Chef Anne Burrell.