So there you have it. Now you all know how it ended and you get to judge for yourself what the circumstances were that surrounded Jason’s decision. Today’s blog will give you the facts, as I know them, of what happened, but in the end it’s your decision what you believe. I’m going to deal with most of what took place on the show today but I will also put up another more detailed blog on Wednesday after you have all had a chance to see ATFR part 2. Just to give you all a timeline of the events, here’s what went down.
Jason proposed to Melissa right before Thanksgiving over in New Zealand. It was an awesome day and night. They couldn’t have been happier. I have an amazing picture of the three of us that I took on my phone right after the proposal. They were both very much in love and the scene couldn’t have been better. It appeared to us he had found a terrific woman who would become his wife. You have to understand that we want a proposal and we want a true happy ending. I would have sworn up and down that that is what we had that night. I thought on the flight home that you, the viewers, are going to eat this love story up. I talked to Jason and Melissa several times after the proposal and all was going well.
After the holidays something changed. Jason was struggling with Melissa and he told me something was wrong and things had changed between them. A few weeks after that I heard that Jason was going to break up with Melissa and that he still had feelings for Molly. I will be honest when I tell you that my heart sank. I loved Jason and Mel as a couple and selfishly knew that their success together would be great for our show. A true love story with a perfect ending, but all that was shattered with that phone call. My first thought was, Oh my god, he’s going to do the unthinkable and make the switch. Turns out I was right. Jason knew he and Melissa were through and wanted another shot with Molly, who he had also fallen in love with. So here we are in the middle of the Bachelor season on TV and our Bachelor is breaking up with the woman he chose and going after the one that he let go. We had a decision to make. What do we do with this situation and this information? Do we let all of America just keep going along with this happy little fairytale only to find that in the end it all blew up a month and a half prior? It’s not like Jason was breaking up with Mel and just going away. He was asking for a shot with the girl you saw him break up with in New Zealand. I know this has been controversial but in my mind the only thing we could do out of respect for all of you watching was to show, as delicately as possible, what the hell was happening. Not that it makes it any better or easier, but the fact is everybody knows when they sign up for this show everything about their story will be public. It’s a TV show and that is not a big secret. They are well aware of what they got into.
We quickly put together the first After the Final Rose special and brought the three of them together to play it out. I won’t speak for Melissa but I can tell you she wasn’t blindsided. She knew things weren’t going well. Did she know Jason was going to break up with her? Honestly, I don’t know. You’ll have to ask her, or you could ask your double top-secret source who’s second cousin knows a guy who saw the Bachelor once ( I love the ”Source” — great stuff). Believe me when I tell you that was the hardest, most uncomfortable show I’ve ever hosted. I like Melissa very much, and in fact we’ve talked several times since the taping including Friday before the second ATFR special. Of course, she was hurt and pissed that night we shot the special, but she feels, as do I, that everything happens for a reason and that she’s better off. I consider Melissa a friend of mine, and when I go home to Dallas she’ll be the first person my wife and I will call to have a cold one with. I know it’s hard to see this but these are real people trying the best they can to deal with real issues. As I’ve said before, that’s what makes this show so incredibly compelling to watch.
Because we shot the special and because what happened was so explosive, I assumed it would leak out. We could have been real A-holes and held off till we were closer to the end but that wouldn’t have been fair to anybody. So we shot that special six weeks ago. It’s unfortunate things leaked out like they did but we know how that happened and who’s responsible. We were also well aware of the ”bonus” information you have been given. I’m not sure why ruining the ending of one of the most successful shows on TV wasn’t enough for people but it should have been. To hear these ”people” go on and add their own twists and turns to the story was not only laughable but flat out ridiculous. To be quite honest, I could care less, but I know Jason, Molly, and Melissa have been hurt by all this and that’s where I draw the line, and I do care about that. We said this on the show but I want to make it very clear to you, that when Molly walked on that stage six weeks ago that was the first time she had seen Jason since the finale was shot. A quick side note: When you’re making up stories, try to make it somewhat realistic. Do you really think we would fly anybody into the Bachelor’s hometown for a date after the show was wrapped? Not even Melissa met him in Seattle. Come on people, I expect better rumors and lies from you by now. Try meeting in Mexico or Canada that would have been so much more believable.
A lot has happened in the six weeks since we shot that first special and that is what you will see on March 3 on After the Final Rose part 2. I think we did a pretty good job of answering most of the tough questions surrounding the decision and what has happened since. I wasn’t real sure, since we have never done this before, how it would go and if it would help at all, but it did. I’m not saying that if you’re really mad it’s going to make everything all better but I could tell from the audience that they could at least now understand and see both sides. I know many of you have sworn to me that this is it — you will never watch again. To those of you who have said that and feel this way I say this: I’m sorry your feelings were hurt and I’m sorry you didn’t get the magical ending you thought you were going to get. My promise to you is that no matter what happens on this show, good or bad, we’re going to show it. We can’t have a show where we only show the good parts and when things turn ugly, as life often does, we stop pack up our stuff, apologize to the millions watching, and just go home. Jason chose this path. I hope you will come back and watch the show, but if not, thanks for your support and thanks for seven great years together. I’ll keep your side of the bed warm in case you decide to come back home. Again, I will be back with a special blog on Wednesday that will wrap this up and give you what final thoughts I have on this season. Unfortunately, I can’t wait to read your comments and then write Wednesday’s blog, but I will be reading all of your comments as usual. See you tomorrow!
Now check out our exclusive deleted scene below and then read Kristen Baldwin’s ‘Bachelor’ recap.
More on ‘The Bachelor’:
Chris Harrison blogs ‘The Bachelor’: After the Final Rose, part 2
‘The Bachelor’ finale recap: This is (not) your wife
Comments (1-30) of 2897 Add your comment
FAKE FAKE FAKE!
“Wanna get some coffee”
Give me a break!
I guess the thing is…no matter what the truth is behind Jason’s decision, breaking up with Melissa on national television is just low. Asking out another girl 15 minutes later is even lower. It’s sad how little respect he showed for Melissa. She was definitely my favorite all season long.
I think it’s funny when people say they’re going to stop watching. I’m guessing most don’t really mean it. Why get mad at the show because you don’t like what Jason did? Because ultimately, even if you believed Jason was encouraged by the show to behave a certain way, it’s HIS decision what he does. I’ll definitely still be watching the Bachelor. It makes for great entertainment!
http://corefourreviews.blogspot.com/
Chris I don’t believe that Jason didn’t talk to Molly before hand…He was way to sure of himself.
It would have been way smarter of this show to just say that Melissa broke up and that Jason/Molly were together than to have us watch Melissa react like that.
totally appalled! and I really thought jason was a good guy. that man is never going to have true happiness, and that makes me sad.
thanks for the season chris! definatly entertaining! and love the blog.
for those who think it was fake and chris is just lying… get a grip!
JAson is a total d*****bag!
Thanks for the insight, Chris. I think a lot of the anger on some people’s parts is because SO many people were routing for Melissa and so few people liked Molly (either due to editing or just their personalities that did or didn’t come through). People are upset because Mel was hurt, and no one got the ending they were hoping for. I honestly believe that if the situation were reversed and he picked Molly first and then changed his mind to end up with Melissa, there would be a HUGE number of people who would have a different attitude about all of this and wouldn’t be so quick to judge everyone. They would be happy that they got the ending they wanted and would be willing to overlook the editing and other stuff. Maybe some would still be outraged by a televised breakup, but there wouldn’t be as big of an outcry as there is.
Don’t be condescending – by now few expect a happy ending from your show. But nobody enjoys seeing a nice girl humiliated on national television.
Don’t try to deny your role in it. If you really liked Melissa, why did you and your producers let Jason dump her on camera? All of your comments this whole season have been favorable to Jason, when he acted incredibly poorly.
I used to think you were really funny and a great part of the show. Not anymore. You are almost as gross as Jason.
you know chris, i could not even finish reading your blog…after tonight’s show, i see right through you.. you are another man sucked into the money and fame that hollywood offers..making ppl heartless..you knew exactly what ABC was doing. please, please don’t say you had no idea. we knew this was happening and we watched closely to the acting. jason needs to win an oscar for such great acting.. jason was a good man to many of us before this show aired, now he’s just the biggest jerk because he knew exactly what happened. first off, it did not make any sense that jason a guy who’s family oriented would propose to melissa.. we saw it in his face at the proposal that he wasn’t even that madly in love with melissa but he went through with it. molly, well, she was just full of herself in the car ride back..he made a mistake…did she once mention how she felt for him? i would laugh my socks off when the announcement of jason and molly breaking up. i would not be surprised.
Well if that wasn’t the suckiest ending ever. Don’t know if I’m more disgusted with Jason or with Molly. I mean, have a little dignity woman! And what about your colleague through all these – Melissa? Let’s just laugh with glee over her gasping corpse. Yuck. Way to suck the joy out of this show for me. I think the only way I’ll come back is if they make Melissa the b’ette to have her shot at destroying someone…er, falling in love, I mean.
Chris, your blog was obviously well thought out and I believe you do care about the people involved but to be honest it makes no difference to this viewer in the end. Nothing you said or that I saw tonight made me feel anything other than this: Jason is the world’s biggest indecisive douchebag, Molly was asinine to jump all over taking him back 2 minutes after he dumped Melissa on national TV, and Melissa is the only one of the 3 I give a rat’s patooty about. She may have known things weren’t “good” but you’ll never convince me she was ready for him to drop her to go back to Molly. The only thing Jason said that I agreed with tonight was that “this wasn’t the classiest or coolest thing to do.” Truer words never spoken and the end of my viewing of The Bachelor which isn’t the end of the world or anything, just a very small sliver of it. Good luck to you and Melissa in the future but a big pffffft to Jason and Molly. You may like him but not too many other people in America do tonight.
In the final analysis…….Jason’s actions show him to be indecisive and unreliable. Sounds like the poor guy needs a shrink, not a life partner.
im shocked. jason was always my favorite. now i see him as the dog he is. he needed to show mel more respect. and molly if he did that to a great girl like mel he will do it to you too.
Chris, why even show the breakup on national TV? To me the whole show seemed fake and scripted. Melissa’s emotions and reaction weren’t nearly as dramatic as they should have been. Besides, Jason commented on Jimmy Kimmel that he and Melissa were already broken up before the ATFR was taped, so why even bother with the show? Molly seemed as though she was reading from a cue card. Sorry, but I think Reality Steve hit the nail on the head when he said Jason chose Molly early on and ABC came up with the plan that we, the fools who watch this crapfest, saw play out on TV. Why won’t ABC just tell us the truth? So what if Jason and Molly hit it off early on? Just go with it. The viewership will still be there, and you might even give the show a little morre credibility.
hello all, thank you Chris for trying to clear things up for us viewers! I read your blog, and it clarified some things for us, but of course, I am shocked and in disbelief that this has happened. This season has been by far, the most crazy, insane, entertaining season! for many that have said, I will never watch this again, I have said that at one point when it came to Brad dumping Deanna, and then when it came to Deanna dumping Jason, and I have still watched all of the seasons. and now this season, I still love the Bachelor. I am looking forward to after the final rose part two, even though I am confused as to how it will go?, since I thought this was the final ATFR.. Anyways, I will tune in, for the upcoming episode, and for upcoming seasons. I hope either Jillian or Melissa get to be the next Bachelorette!! Thanks, Ciao!
It’s not what he did that ticks me off. It’s how he did it. The whole official breakup should have been done off camera. Period. There was no need to humiliate Melissa like that. It’s bad enough to be told you want to date the other girl. Jason is a tool. Plain and simple.
I don’t care I think it was a low blow. Everything he said to molly about falling in love is the exact thing he said to melissa. He doesn’t know what he wants and molly give me a break how could you take him back after he dumped you then change his mind. what makes you think he isn’t going to change his mind again. have some self respect
Thanks for the honesty, Chris. I have watched the show for years, but I felt so sick watching Melissa get her heart broken on National TV. Then to see Molly & Jason kissing minutes later made me incredibly uncomfortable.
I think you did a fantastic job of handling the situation that was obviously a first for you.
It’s obvious from your blogs that you get to know these people and consider them friends. Makes me see you as very down to earth, and also as very compassionate to the extraordinary circumstanced these people place themselves in to find love.
Blessings to you and your family.
I hope Jillian takes care next season and has more integrity than Jason…
It’s nice that this roller-coaster is finally over and we can see how things are instead of seeing bits on forums and blogs. What a ride this season has been.
BS!!!
Molly and Jason might not have SEEN each other (cough, cough) but she sure as hell wasn’t surprized. They definitely were in contact. Phone, texting, emails etc. I don’t believe anything isn’t planned or known in advance including Jason’s decision to dump Melissa on tv. What a crock of crap. No respect for Melissa. What about HER feelings Jason, or is it only about you?
Well I hope Tys mother gets full custody. How confusing for the poor kid.
Thanks but no thanks. Why would you as a sensible married producer/host ever advise Jason to break up on TV and then in the same show engineer a get together with the runner up.
Do you not see that as bad Tv and despicable? You looked like the cat who swallowed the canary. Your partner gloated about the ending in the national media.
Bad producers! You should have let them fake their way through the ATFR and broken up quietly like every other bachelor has in now 13 tries.
Your glee was palpable and your backpedaling nice guyisms are not going to erase our memories. Toss the extra pillow on the couch, America is not crawling back between your sheets.
Jason is a spineless coward.
The one and only concern would be that Jason had contact and/or met with Molly while he was engaged with Melissa. Can you state how you know for certain that this did not occur?
Also, Chris, did Melissa’s parents have anything to do with the break up, or was it just based on the chemistry of the two? Please discuss these two questions I have (and I’m a journ major; I try to ask the good questions). Thanks.
It really isn’t the fact that Jason changed his mind that is offensive. That happens and, on this show, it almost always happens. No big surprise there. What’s humiliating is ABC “out of respect” (laughable) for the parties, filming the actual breakup. It would have been enough to allow Jason and Melissa to do that privately and then to have Jason explain that the relationship has ended etc… This is especially true when he’s going to be kissing someone else minutes later. That’s really offensive. That’s where ABC blew it credibility. It was NOT necessary to put the breakup on TV. It was not unfair to the viewers to leave that out. It was humiliating to Melissa.
As for Jason, no big deal that he changed his mind, but this guy has asked two women to marry him in less than a year and he’s apparently working on a third. This guy doesn’t have a clue as to what love is. Molly appears to be a good person. I hope she doesn’t get hurt again.
Chris, you just have to admit — what Jason did tonight was really low and pathetic. Everyone still married knows that a successful marriage takes work; what we saw tonight was a soap opera and in no way can constitute “real life”. Melissa definitely deserved better.
Thank you for your blog Chris. I have enjoyed the human perspective you have put on the show and the focus you have put on that face that everyone on the show are in fact real people. I think you are a great host, and I think you did as best as could be expected in the after the final rose.
People need to remember that relationship and feeling are randoms — how perfectly did your love lives play out? Yes, hurting Melissa was shitty. And poor Molly, looking like someone punked her. But is it really worse than the others who just break up 3months after the show is over? Jason has always been upfront and real, showing us all the confusion and things he is feeling. It was easy to see that he was not sure about his decision. And Molly is only human – if someone gave you back what you wanted and thought you had lost, wouldn’t you take it? Leaking it, to those who did, didn’t make it better. These are real people, and thanks for showing a story that showed both the ups and downs.
I’m willing to put aside the fact that Jason dumped Melissa on National tv…but I just can’t get over how tacky it was that he was making out with Molly 10 minutes after Melissa left the room. I mean come on show a little class. I will however continue to watch your show Chris. It is like a train wreck you just can’t take your eyes off of…I just couldn’t look away. Thanks for a captivating season, even if it didn’t turn out exactly how I wanted it to.
WOW I feel horrible for Melissa!! What a shocker. But you are right things happen for a reason. She may not see it now but one day. Hope Molly and Jason are happy together and it works out. Otherwise it was for nothing. I’m glad that the hype leading up to the finale really did live up to my expectations… drama, drama, drama!!!
My last advice… please have Jillian back on the show!!! I love her. i wish I had know you were in Kelowna!!! I was shocked because that is where I’m from.
Best blog on the site. Till next season!
I have watched the Bachelor/Bachelorette for years. I was so happy that Jason picked Mel and than to find out that he was still in love with Molly was shocking. I feel bad for Mel, but how can you trust Jason after what he did. I think he is totally confused and of course, out of line. I am sure I will watch again. It seems that not very often that you get a fairy tale ending. My heart goes out to Melissa. Melissa you will find your prince charming. Thanks Chris for your thoughts.
CHRIS: WHAT AN AWFUL BLOG YOU JUST WROTE. EVERYONE KNOWS THIS WAS A SET UP SO YOUR SHOW AND NETWORK COULD GET ‘HOPEFULLY’ BETTER RATINGS AND YOU KEEP YOUR STUPID JOB. MELISSA WHILE CUTE KNEW ALSO ABOUT THE SET UP AND SO DID HER PARENTS. THAT IS WHY HER PARENTS WERE NEVER SHOWN! MOLLY KNEW THE OUTCOME TOO! AS A PSYCHOLOGIST YOU ALL SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES TO MAKE A BUCK BECAUSE THERE IS ONE PERSON THAT YOU REALLY SCREWED UP HERE AND THAT WAS A 4 YEAR OLD CHILD. HAHAHAHA WHAT A LAME FINALE YOU PUT ON AND TOMORROW NIGHT TOO WHEN YOU HAVE JASON NOW PROPOSE TO MOLLY AND TRY TO SHOW HOW THEY ARE ALL SO HAPPY. YOU ARE ALL SO DESPERATE AT YOUR SHOW TO TRY AND SHOW PEOPLE FALL IN LOVE ON THEIR AND WELL YOUR % IS PRETTY DARN LOW. VERY LAME FINALE TONIGHT (MON 3/2) AND FOR TOMORROW NIGHT AS WELL (TUES 3/3).
It was SO obvious that he and Molly had been talking before “After the Rose”. She was not surprised at all to hear about him and Melissa. They were equally bad actors about “reuniting” – they may not have seen each other but they definitely had spoken. Jason – good luck. Molly – you’ll need it more.