Speaker 1: This is the most dramatic podcast ever and I heart
Speaker 1: radio podcast. Welcome to the most dramatic podcast ever. I'm
Speaker 1: Chris Harrison. We're picking back up with my conversation with
Speaker 1: Caitlin Bristow. Caitlin did an interview a week ago where
Speaker 1: she shared her feelings about the demise of our relationship
Speaker 1: and how our friendship had kind of gone down the toilet,
Speaker 1: so to speak. We dove into that and have realized
Speaker 1: that while our relationship did change, we still very much
Speaker 1: care for each other. We are very much friends, and
Speaker 1: that side of our lives is very good. And I'm
Speaker 1: glad we had a chance to talk about all that,
Speaker 1: and I'm glad you got to hear it and and
Speaker 1: hash it out with us and see how we communicate,
Speaker 1: and see how friends should communicate, spouses should communicate, and
Speaker 1: try not to things so personal that it will make
Speaker 1: a situation toxic that you can't recover from. And so
Speaker 1: I'm glad everybody got to share in that very personal,
Speaker 1: intimate conversation that Caitlin had, and I appreciate her sharing
Speaker 1: that with all of you as well. But there was
Speaker 1: so much more to talk about, and so I want
Speaker 1: to get back to my conversation with Caitlin, and that
Speaker 1: takes us into you hosting the show. And I'm not
Speaker 1: going to call you a mentor because that's bullshit. You
Speaker 1: two were hosting the show. What was that like for you?
Speaker 1: So bizarre? It was? It was a lot of things.
Speaker 1: I mean it was. It really did feel. First of all,
Speaker 1: when I went into it blind. I got there and
Speaker 1: started reading off of prompter and I was like, oh, okay,
Speaker 1: so we are definitely hosting. Like that's when I knew
Speaker 1: it was actually when it was happening, and I had
Speaker 1: so many different feelings. One, I respect the hell out
Speaker 1: of you for doing that for that many years, and
Speaker 1: how good and the professional you are. It is really challenging. UM.
Speaker 1: And when people say Chris Harrison has the best job
Speaker 1: in the whole world, yes, but they're underestimating how much
Speaker 1: work you put into that and all of the you know,
Speaker 1: hours and time away and hard work and up late
Speaker 1: nights like you really do a lot UM. So I
Speaker 1: was having a lot of um respect for you in
Speaker 1: those moments. And also I loved it because I love hosting. UM.
Speaker 1: That's why I started a podcast. I love being a
Speaker 1: host of something. I love having people over, love hosting
Speaker 1: dinner parties. I just love hosting, and that to me
Speaker 1: was like the ultimate hosting role. Um. But then I
Speaker 1: also felt guilty. There's times I was feeling guilty, like
Speaker 1: you know, imposter syndrome, and why do I deserve to
Speaker 1: have this or be here? What? And then on another level,
Speaker 1: I'm feeling, well, why can't I do this on my own?
Speaker 1: Why do they need two of us? Why do they
Speaker 1: not just trust me by myself? Or what? Like so
Speaker 1: many emotions, the full spectrum like emotions. Yeah, I the
Speaker 1: only thing that really upset me when I heard that
Speaker 1: you and Tatia were hosting was that it was you
Speaker 1: and Tatia and that they named two of you, because
Speaker 1: that was you were doomed to fail. You were set
Speaker 1: up to fail. That was never going to succeed that show.
Speaker 1: I mean again, and I know it intimately more than
Speaker 1: anybody is there's not room for two people. There's not
Speaker 1: room for two mentors. There's there's not room for two emotions,
Speaker 1: and that that mental space that you're taking over, and
Speaker 1: so that was just never going to work. And that
Speaker 1: to me, if I had been involved with you and Tasha,
Speaker 1: that's That's what I would have expressed is I don't
Speaker 1: see how this is going to work. And again I
Speaker 1: wasn't watching the show. And that's not because I was
Speaker 1: mad at you, guys. I just I removed myself and
Speaker 1: I wasn't watching the show. It's like, why am I
Speaker 1: gonna go stare at you know, an old girlfriend, UM
Speaker 1: make love to somebody else. So I just removed myself
Speaker 1: from that and didn't watch. But I kept in touch
Speaker 1: with a lot of people that were in production, and
Speaker 1: I just felt for you guys because I knew how
Speaker 1: awkward and tough that situation was going to be. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it was too bad because I mean I love Taitia
Speaker 1: and it was thank god we got along because that
Speaker 1: would have been even worse if we didn't. Um, But
Speaker 1: we did and we had a great time, and it
Speaker 1: just it did. It did feel like, um, it took
Speaker 1: away the level of profession to like it didn't feel
Speaker 1: professional to have to and then it kind of made
Speaker 1: us feel silly and goofy with each other where we
Speaker 1: didn't take it as serious as one person would have.
Speaker 1: And like you said, there's really there really isn't enough
Speaker 1: room for two people to be in that position um
Speaker 1: and that I don't know why. I was shocked when
Speaker 1: they were like, and we're not having you back for
Speaker 1: next season. I was like what They're like, you probably
Speaker 1: saw this coming, and like I did it. I did not.
Speaker 1: I actually did not. But it's because you know, Tasha
Speaker 1: had COVID at the end, and so I had to
Speaker 1: do it by myself. And I took it so seriously
Speaker 1: because I was like, this is a big job, like,
Speaker 1: as you know, the biggest news to fill. And I
Speaker 1: was like having that imposter syndrome. But I was like, Okay,
Speaker 1: maybe this is proof that one of us can do it,
Speaker 1: we can do it on our own, that we don't
Speaker 1: need to rely on the other person. Um. But yeah,
Speaker 1: So when they were like, no, it's not happening, I
Speaker 1: was like, cuckoo coole. I actually did not see that coming.
Speaker 1: I now looking back, and of course that would never
Speaker 1: work to have two hosts for the rest of you know,
Speaker 1: what are they going to do well? And to have
Speaker 1: two women hosting the bachelorettes. So now you really have
Speaker 1: three women. Yeah, that's that's a that's a lot in
Speaker 1: that space. And I just I was like, I don't
Speaker 1: know how how you're set up to succeed there. Yeah, no,
Speaker 1: we definitely were not set up to succeed. And I
Speaker 1: was worried because I've carved something out and created something
Speaker 1: over twenty years. You were thrown into something pretty tumultuous
Speaker 1: and emotional in a heartbeat. And what I was afraid
Speaker 1: was being guided in a direction that I wish, you know. Again,
Speaker 1: my producer side of me was like, man, I wish
Speaker 1: I could really dive in and save this. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: bet do you miss it? Um? I miss hosting television.
Speaker 1: Just I'm like you. I love I love my career
Speaker 1: I've had. I love hosting, I love producing. Um, you know,
Speaker 1: whether it was The Bachelor, Miss America, who wants to
Speaker 1: be a Millionaire? I mean, I've done a ton of
Speaker 1: work over twenty or thirty years, and so I love
Speaker 1: that I miss people on the show. I missed the people,
Speaker 1: you know, some of the people that you got to
Speaker 1: work with, as you know, the most talented crew in
Speaker 1: the world, and I love and adore them. They are
Speaker 1: so amazing at what they do and it was an
Speaker 1: honor to kind of be their face and their their
Speaker 1: voice for so many years. Um. But the overall show, no, no,
Speaker 1: I don't. I don't honestly, Yeah, that ship is sailed
Speaker 1: and it was wonderful and I and I don't say
Speaker 1: that with any um bitterness. I just it was a
Speaker 1: you know, there's a time and a space for all relationships,
Speaker 1: and and that got me from here to there, and
Speaker 1: it was a wonderful relationship that changed my life and
Speaker 1: I will forever be grateful for that. Um but it's
Speaker 1: it's there's a time to move on and and it's time. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I feel like you were at a place like when
Speaker 1: we had done my podcast years ago, I had asked
Speaker 1: you when you would retire, and it was getting to
Speaker 1: be around that time. So I'm like, I wondered if
Speaker 1: you know, because obviously you would have chose differently on
Speaker 1: how to leave, but I wondered if you were ready. Yeah.
Speaker 1: You almost got me drunk enough to admit it on
Speaker 1: that podcast that I was ready to go, and I was.
Speaker 1: You know, Lauren has even said to me now that
Speaker 1: we have become so much more intiment and close and
Speaker 1: and our feelings, She's like, wow, now that I see
Speaker 1: you now, I can see just how mixed you were
Speaker 1: with your emotions on on leaving this show and when
Speaker 1: that was going to happen. Um, there is this side
Speaker 1: of me that, hey, be grateful, you have an amazing job,
Speaker 1: and I did, and it was spectacular to have one
Speaker 1: of the best jobs in all of broadcasting and a
Speaker 1: franchise that changed television and going to go down in
Speaker 1: the history books. I mean, when you what are you
Speaker 1: gonna do? You know, it's not like people ask Tom Brady, Hey,
Speaker 1: you're tired of playing football, when are you gonna go
Speaker 1: try something else? You're tired of winning Super Bowls? Um.
Speaker 1: But but I did get to that point where I'm
Speaker 1: not getting as much out of this relationship and therefore
Speaker 1: not I'm not I'm not giving it as much as
Speaker 1: I should, and it was time. It was definitely time. Well,
Speaker 1: I will say I've never received so many comments in
Speaker 1: my life as p Pill being like, the show is
Speaker 1: not the same without Coreon literally, but it's true, it
Speaker 1: really isn't the same without you. Well, I appreciate that,
Speaker 1: and I and I saw those comments and part of me,
Speaker 1: you know, honestly, part of me loved it, but no
Speaker 1: part of me, part of me felt bad because again
Speaker 1: I thought, they just they're they're not in a situation
Speaker 1: where they can succeed, and I I do love you too.
Speaker 1: I love Tasha, and I love you and I want
Speaker 1: what's best for you. And so even in that weird
Speaker 1: moment that was so awkward, I still wanted you guys
Speaker 1: to succeed and be seen as successful and I just
Speaker 1: knew that wasn't possible, and I was that bummed me
Speaker 1: out because then, you know, on top of that, I
Speaker 1: felt a little bit responsible for it because of this
Speaker 1: whole situation, and I'm like, well, that sucks that you
Speaker 1: guys have this opportunity to have this break, but you
Speaker 1: really don't because because it's set up in this way. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean there is no training involved. There was no
Speaker 1: It was kind of just like go out there and
Speaker 1: be yourselves. And when you get to giggly girls together
Speaker 1: and trying to host a show with so much emotion,
Speaker 1: as you know, and then to have that much estrogen flowing,
Speaker 1: and you know, it was it was a roller coaster.
Speaker 1: And then you have the feelings of like ETSD where
Speaker 1: I'm back in the situation that I have like I'm
Speaker 1: having too much empathy almost for the for the lead,
Speaker 1: because I'm like, oh gosh, I've been here. And then
Speaker 1: you it's it's kind of nice to be able to
Speaker 1: separate yourself from it, as like you know, a role
Speaker 1: where this is what you're meant to do, where I
Speaker 1: wanted to like save them, and that can't work. As
Speaker 1: you alluded to, it's it's not uh an easy gig.
Speaker 1: It is. The hours are extreme, the travel is extreme.
Speaker 1: You are sleep deprived, you are malnourished, you are beat up,
Speaker 1: and you're either freezing or you're hot. And so again,
Speaker 1: it's a job. And so I'm not saying what was me,
Speaker 1: but it's like there's a lot that goes into it
Speaker 1: for yourself and you have to overcome that because all
Speaker 1: you can do is emotionally be there for that person
Speaker 1: you're trying to serve. You know, when I would I
Speaker 1: would walk into a situation with you and you know
Speaker 1: it's four or five in the morning, and I know
Speaker 1: you're tired and emotional. Well, I can't be right. I
Speaker 1: need to be there for you, and I need to
Speaker 1: be happy, and I need to be peppy or I
Speaker 1: need to be on whatever level you are. And so
Speaker 1: that's hard as a host because you're always emotionally entering
Speaker 1: a situation where it's not about you I emotionally needed
Speaker 1: to be about the other person. That's a really good point,
Speaker 1: which I don't think people realize how draining that is
Speaker 1: on because you're literally just having to be a chameleon
Speaker 1: to whoever like that, whatever their emotion is. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: it's I mean, look and when you and you're going
Speaker 1: through things, I mean, you're you're going through your life.
Speaker 1: I'll never forget Ashley uh, Ashley's season when I was
Speaker 1: going through my divorce and I think we're I think
Speaker 1: we're in Thailand and I was going through I mean
Speaker 1: literally going through it at the moment, because it's how
Speaker 1: play around the world in time difference. It's three in
Speaker 1: the morning or whatever, during a roast ceremony and I'm
Speaker 1: about to walk in and do this sit down chat
Speaker 1: with Ashley, and I've been texting on my phone with
Speaker 1: my X and about everything going on back home. And
Speaker 1: I walk in and I sit down and say, okay,
Speaker 1: so we're down to three guys and you're in love
Speaker 1: with two of them. You know. I'm like, in my
Speaker 1: mind is vomiting and spinning, you know, it's I I
Speaker 1: my my brain is in a blender, and I just
Speaker 1: have to like put a smile on it and go
Speaker 1: through these steps because you're like, we're also you. How
Speaker 1: do you compartmentalize where you're like, what I'm going through
Speaker 1: is actually real and like you with two people on
Speaker 1: an island, and like you know, like you, you you
Speaker 1: probably felt like I have to separate myself and be
Speaker 1: like I'm actually having real life outside of your problems
Speaker 1: where you're in your bubble. I wanted to shake, don't
Speaker 1: do this. Love is fake, it's not real. But anyway,
Speaker 1: but actually, I mean the good news is if there's
Speaker 1: a positive going through all that. It made me so
Speaker 1: much more empathetic and understanding going through this with you
Speaker 1: and with other bachelors and bachelorettes of like, I I
Speaker 1: know what it's like to be heartbroken and go through
Speaker 1: something crazy and try and find love and how and
Speaker 1: how tumultuous all that is, all of it is, and
Speaker 1: so it definitely helped me. But in those moments. It's
Speaker 1: not an easy gig um but it's but it's it's
Speaker 1: a rewarding one when you get to do it. It
Speaker 1: is it is I just I mean, I know people
Speaker 1: probably would listen and be like, oh no, you have
Speaker 1: to have late hours and hot places like it does
Speaker 1: sound like, but it really is hard work. And I
Speaker 1: I commend you for all the all those years of
Speaker 1: doing that, because that's not just I did one season.
Speaker 1: You were doing Bachelor, Bachelor in Paradise, Bachelorette for twenty years.
Speaker 1: That's crazy. During my entire adult life, professional adult life,
Speaker 1: pretty much, the pasports are full, they are stamped. Let
Speaker 1: me ask you, how are you? How are you doing?
Speaker 1: Are you enjoying podcasting? Are you enjoying retired life? That
Speaker 1: not really retired, but like, are are you? How are
Speaker 1: you really truly doing? Thank you for asking. Um, I'm
Speaker 1: really good. I am probably happier than I have ever been,
Speaker 1: thanks to the beautiful woman sitting next to me, l
Speaker 1: z Um who I know you know and love as well.
Speaker 1: But no, we have. We have carved out a wonderful
Speaker 1: life and built this life together and obviously moved to
Speaker 1: Austin closer to my kids at TCU. And you know,
Speaker 1: when everybody's healthy and when things are rolling in life,
Speaker 1: it's that's it. It's you know, as as a parent,
Speaker 1: as whatever, it's if everyone's good and everyone healthy, then
Speaker 1: I'm good and so we are, and we're in a
Speaker 1: phenomenal place right now. We're excited about planning a wedding.
Speaker 1: We are excited about what's to come in our life.
Speaker 1: As are you, yes, planning a wedding? Help me with that? Yeah,
Speaker 1: there's a few of us in a row here what
Speaker 1: we're Where are you guys? And all this? I know
Speaker 1: I talked to Jason a lot, but we honestly, believe
Speaker 1: it or not, don't talk a lot about the wedding. Um,
Speaker 1: where are you guys in all this? It's we suck,
Speaker 1: like we just honestly anytime we go to sit down
Speaker 1: to talk about it, we literally want to do something else.
Speaker 1: And that sounds so terrible because it should be a priority,
Speaker 1: but it doesn't feel like one. And we're both okay
Speaker 1: with that. Well that's all. That's all that matters. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I feel like, you know, it's there's so much noise
Speaker 1: about like, well, why don't you guys talk about the
Speaker 1: wedding or why is there not a wedding happening? And
Speaker 1: it's like, I don't need to prove our relationship to
Speaker 1: you through a wedding, Like that's I don't know, I
Speaker 1: just don't. We both literally sat down the other day
Speaker 1: to maybe go through like start a guest list, and
Speaker 1: then we're we saw Yasi and like a bottle of wine,
Speaker 1: and like should we just play yasi and like drink
Speaker 1: wine instead? And then we that's what we did. And
Speaker 1: Lauren and I have been there as well, where we
Speaker 1: it's not the biggest priority in our life. We've both
Speaker 1: done it before, so you know it's not our first
Speaker 1: and um, we're not worried about children and all that
Speaker 1: in our lives. And so you're in a different place
Speaker 1: and and so as long as you guys are communicating,
Speaker 1: as long as you're having you know, you're on the
Speaker 1: same page, that's all that matters. That's all that matters.
Speaker 1: Are you happy, are you in love? And are you
Speaker 1: happy with where you are? Then that's it. I know,
Speaker 1: why is it so hard for other people to understand
Speaker 1: that though it's not about them? And I mean, and
Speaker 1: I know you do. I mean case in point of
Speaker 1: this whole thing in this interview you did. It's uh
Speaker 1: And I know you and I know things become about
Speaker 1: you and you internalize things, but it's not it's not
Speaker 1: about everybody else and how they feel. And you know
Speaker 1: what articles are written about you and Jason it's it's
Speaker 1: about are you happy and are you in love? And look,
Speaker 1: you'll get there or guess what if you don't, So
Speaker 1: you're Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn the rest of your life.
Speaker 1: Who cares, you know, and you're eternally dating. That's not
Speaker 1: such as you know. I just had Michelle money on
Speaker 1: and I know you know money, you know, and and
Speaker 1: it's funny we have the same conversation because she and Mike,
Speaker 1: who I adore, we're just going to be forever partners. Great, whatever,
Speaker 1: And then it just changed for them all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: it just changed for them. You know what, No, we
Speaker 1: do want to get married, great, so then do that.
Speaker 1: But it's not about pleasing everybody else. It was about
Speaker 1: this made them feel good. And Elz and I got
Speaker 1: to the same places. I really felt the same way.
Speaker 1: And then I'm like, no, no, no, I don't I
Speaker 1: don't feel that way. I want to get down one knee.
Speaker 1: I want to propose to this woman. I want to
Speaker 1: change I want to change this and take it to
Speaker 1: a different place. And we did and then that felt
Speaker 1: and that felt right, and then the next step will
Speaker 1: feel right. So that's so that's okay. Just go at
Speaker 1: your own speed in as long as you guys are happy,
Speaker 1: that's all anyone should care about. Thank you for that.
Speaker 1: I needed that. See, this is what I need in
Speaker 1: my life, the Chris Harrison advice. I appreciate that. And
Speaker 1: you know I love you and Jason and that will
Speaker 1: never change. And then, if anybody takes anything away from
Speaker 1: this show, I want everyone to know that in no
Speaker 1: way was I upset by that interview. I wanted to
Speaker 1: clear some things up, yes, and but in no way
Speaker 1: was upset and I was in no way upset that
Speaker 1: you and Tasha were hosting the show, and I love
Speaker 1: you both. I'm glad everybody got to kind of watch
Speaker 1: this and share share you and I going through a
Speaker 1: real life moment. Yes, I agree with you when you
Speaker 1: said back at the start of the podcast that I'm
Speaker 1: actually not. Of course, I wish I would have connected
Speaker 1: with you, but I'm glad we didn't until this moment
Speaker 1: because I love authentic conversations that are real, and we
Speaker 1: probably would have just gotten into this on the phone.
Speaker 1: So it's nice to have like the real chat on
Speaker 1: the podcast. But I will say, people want to hear
Speaker 1: from you, and it's cool because we've seen you as
Speaker 1: Chris Harrison the host for so long, um, but we
Speaker 1: don't actually get to know you as a human being.
Speaker 1: And a podcast gives you that opportunity to be a
Speaker 1: real human being. And I think that's awesome for you. Well,
Speaker 1: And what I what I love is that I get
Speaker 1: to do for everybody what I did for you and
Speaker 1: what I did for all the bachelors and bacherettes for
Speaker 1: so many years, where I get to kind of dive
Speaker 1: into the life and listen and try and help journalism
Speaker 1: one oh one. Don't ever talk to a guest before
Speaker 1: you interview them, And although we tried to break that rule,
Speaker 1: we didn't. And and as far as genuine conversations go,
Speaker 1: I hope everybody's enjoyed this one, because this has been
Speaker 1: very genuine. This was Caitlin and I talking for the
Speaker 1: first time in quite some time, and I'm so glad
Speaker 1: we did. You are a dear friend. I love you,
Speaker 1: I love Jason, and I appreciate you coming on and
Speaker 1: talking in this manner because I'm sure this is a
Speaker 1: little trepidacious for you. I'm sure you were a little
Speaker 1: worried of like, oh God, how is this going to go.
Speaker 1: I was like, I've done this before. He's good, he's
Speaker 1: really good. I don't know what he's going to get
Speaker 1: out of me. No, you're amazing. You're meant to be
Speaker 1: doing this. This is you know, Like you said, the
Speaker 1: time is right and it's nice for you to have
Speaker 1: a voice. And I'm really excited for you to be
Speaker 1: in the podcasting family. There's room for all of us.
Speaker 1: There is room for all of us. And as I
Speaker 1: said at the wedding, I'm always here for you. Oh
Speaker 1: I love you. Thank you for having me on and
Speaker 1: for having this conversation with me. I can now sleep
Speaker 1: at night. Good. You can go on to the next
Speaker 1: thing you can be nuts about. Thank god, Caitlin Bristow.
Speaker 1: Thank you for your time, thank you for joining me,
Speaker 1: and I will see you very soon, next time with
Speaker 1: a beautiful bottle of wine. Yes, that's now. I'm gonna
Speaker 1: make you come online and then I'm going to feed
Speaker 1: us wine again, because remember my golden rule of life,
Speaker 1: life is too short drink good wine to drink crappy wine.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, life for her to drink rappy wine.
Speaker 1: You do say that. That's that's why I came up
Speaker 1: with my own line, because then I'm like, I just
Speaker 1: get it for free all the time. That's even better.
Speaker 1: Or I guess the new line is the best wine
Speaker 1: is free wine. All right, Caitlin, thank you again and
Speaker 1: I will talk to you Sarah. You've learned a big
Speaker 1: hug for me. I will do it by again. My
Speaker 1: thanks to Caitlin for joining me. And she didn't have
Speaker 1: to do this. We could have just talked on the phone,
Speaker 1: aired out our dirty laundry together and work through this,
Speaker 1: but she chose to come on here to let everybody
Speaker 1: share in this, and I really appreciate that and hopefully
Speaker 1: it helped. Hopefully it was cathartic, not just for Caitlin
Speaker 1: and I but for everybody just to see how we
Speaker 1: work this out. And I have nothing but love for Caitlin,
Speaker 1: for Jason, and I am excited to hear whatever their
Speaker 1: relationship turns into, whether it's a marriage or a forever partnership,
Speaker 1: it doesn't matter. All that matters in life. Are you happy?
Speaker 1: Are you treating others well? Are you taking care of
Speaker 1: those around you? Are you a good citizen? Just worry
Speaker 1: about that. The rest we'll take care of itself, take
Speaker 1: care of each other. Thanks for listening today, and I
Speaker 1: will talk to you next time because we have a
Speaker 1: lot more to talk about. Thanks for listening. Follow us
Speaker 1: on Instagram at the most Dramatic pod ever, and make
Speaker 1: sure to write us a review and leave us five stars.
Speaker 1: I'll talk to you next time.