Skip to content

Top Navigation

EW.com EW.com
    • All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • Recaps
    • What to Watch
    • Winter TV
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Family
    • Horror
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
    • All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
    • All Music
    • Music Reviews
    • All What to Watch
    • What to Watch Podcast Episodes
    • TV Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
    • All BINGE
    • EW's Binge Podcast Episodes
    • Recaps
    • Survivor
    • This is Us
    • RuPaul's Drag Race
    • Stranger Things
    • The Boys
    • The Blacklist
    • The Walking Dead
    • Better Call Saul
    • All The Awardist
    • The Awardist Podcast Episodes
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
    • All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
    • All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
    • All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Subscribe

Explore EW.com

EW.com EW.com
  • Explore

    Explore

    • The 10 best songs of 2022

      The 10 best songs of 2022

      From disco-trap to deconstructed techno to Dolly-style country, we rank our favorite tracks this year. Read More
    • The 10 best movies of 2022 (and 5 worst)

      The 10 best movies of 2022 (and 5 worst)

      Let there be Mavericks, Bollywood magic, and a Cate Blanchett maestro on the loose. Read More
    • The true story of the g-strings and murders behind Welcome to Chippendales

      The true story of the g-strings and murders behind Welcome to Chippendales

      A look back at the crazy true story of Chippendales founder Somen "Steve" Banerjee and the murder and murder-for-hire plots at the center of the Hulu series. Read More
  • TV

    TV

    See All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • Recaps
    • What to Watch
    • Winter TV
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Family
    • Horror
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
  • Movies

    Movies

    See All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
  • Music

    Music

    See All Music
    • Music Reviews
  • What to Watch

    What to Watch

    See All What to Watch
    • What to Watch Podcast Episodes
    • TV Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
  • BINGE

    BINGE

    See All BINGE
    • EW's Binge Podcast Episodes
    • Recaps
    • Survivor
    • This is Us
    • RuPaul's Drag Race
    • Stranger Things
    • The Boys
    • The Blacklist
    • The Walking Dead
    • Better Call Saul
  • The Awardist

    The Awardist

    See All The Awardist
    • The Awardist Podcast Episodes
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
  • Books

    Books

    See All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
  • Theater

    Theater

    See All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
  • Events

    Events

    See All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. Gallery
  3. 'The Bachelorette': 12 Burning Questions

'The Bachelorette': 12 Burning Questions

Why wasn't Bentley booted? Who came up with comedy roast idea? What's the toughest part of hosting the show? You asked, Chris Harrison answers!
By Lesley Savage Updated July 15, 2011 at 02:00 PM EDT
Skip gallery slides
FB

1 of 12

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

1

The Bachelorette | To Ashley Hebert, Bentley Williams — handsome, charming, and a devoted single dad — seemed like the complete package. The only catch? He talked trash…
Credit: Craig Sjodin/ABC

Bentley clearly stated during the casting video that he wanted Emily. Why keep someone for Ashley who is definitely not into her? —Teresa

I think Ashley actually answered that best herself when I talked to her the other day. She said, ''Whether people come on for the thought of Emily being the Bachelorette or just the adventure and you're not quite sure about it, you never know what's going to happen.'' That was our thinking — if he ends up not liking her, he'll leave.

1 of 12

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 12

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

2

The Bachelor | You've said that producers didn't tell Ashley about Bentley's bad behavior because they wanted her to experience her own journey. Why, then, in past seasons…

You've said that producers didn't tell Ashley about Bentley's bad behavior because they wanted her to experience her own journey. Why, then, in past seasons did they tell Jake about Rozlyn's inappropriate relationship with the producer, and Ali about Rated R's girlfriend? —Bean

Jake and Rozlyn were very different because we were involved. She was involved with a producer, and that was partially on us — and he was fired essentially. With Ali and Rated R, we didn't step in; we set Ali up with the girlfriend to talk. We never told her anything. Same thing with Ashley. She gave me the information about Michelle Money's text message [to her] and that Bentley may not be here for the right reasons.

2 of 12

3 of 12

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

3

Do you think Bentley will come to the Men Tell All reunion special? —Mandi I hope he does. I want to know his motivation. I…
Credit: Rick Rowell/ABC

Do you think Bentley will come to the Men Tell All reunion special? —Mandi

I hope he does. I want to know his motivation. I want to know why he did the things he did. As a host, I've never just gone after anybody or thrown anybody under the bus until they deserve it. I know people are like, ''If anybody deserves it, it's Bentley.''

3 of 12

Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

4 of 12

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

4

Who cleans up after these guys? Do they cook for themselves? —Pamela They do cook for themselves. It's funny. There's always the one girl or…

Who cleans up after these guys? Do they cook for themselves? —Pamela

They do cook for themselves. It's funny. There's always the one girl or the one guy who kind of becomes the house mom or the house dad and is the cook. You get pigeonholed pretty quickly about what your job is around the house.

4 of 12

Advertisement

5 of 12

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

5

It seems like the format of the show has changed. With all of the international trips, it's more like a travelogue. Was this intentional? —Jenn…

It seems like the format of the show has changed. With all of the international trips, it's more like a travelogue. Was this intentional? —Jenn

Yeah, it's become the norm. It started with Ali's season, where we went to Iceland and Istanbul and then into Portugal. We like the change of scenery. It's part of the escape of our show now.

5 of 12

6 of 12

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

6

Now that they travel so much, what do [the contestants] do all day when not on dates? Sightseeing? —Marcy They're not allowed to just go…

Now that they travel so much, what do [the contestants] do all day when not on dates? Sightseeing? —Marcy

They're not allowed to just go out on their own. Our producers will take them out. I know, for example, in Taipei, they all went out and got suits made. From time to time, they'll get out and about, but it's always with a producer. They're not allowed to go sightsee on their own.

6 of 12

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

7 of 12

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

7

The Bachelorette | How much downtime does Ashley get to recover from jetlag, before dates? —KGB Luckily, she is 5 foot 2 and weighs 80 pounds, so she…
Credit: Kenny Ting/ABC

How much downtime does Ashley get to recover from jetlag, before dates? —KGB

Luckily, she is 5 foot 2 and weighs 80 pounds, so she curls up in these airplane seats and crashes on planes. She doesn't have a lot of time — I know it's an amazing experience for the Bachelor and Bachelorette, but it is exhausting. For the most part, she's going nonstop, and when I say nonstop, a date will go until two, three, four in the morning and we're up on an 8 o'clock flight. No one ever complains because who is going to complain about going to all these amazing places?

7 of 12

Advertisement
Advertisement

8 of 12

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

8

The Bachelorette | Why are there so many more physical challenges, like boxing and boat racing, this season? —Joe It was something that just happened. Someone else mentioned…
Credit: Dave Hagerman/ABC

Why are there so many more physical challenges, like boxing and boat racing, this season? —Joe

It was something that just happened. Someone else mentioned the lack of hot tubs and helicopters [this season]; that wasn't a decision either. I think The Bachelorette lends itself to more competitive challenges because it's a bunch of guys, and guys by nature are testosterone-driven. Guys are a little more awkward if you take them on a date and they just sit around. They just don't give you as much good content as women do sitting around in a romantic setting.

8 of 12

Advertisement

9 of 12

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

9

Was the ill-fated comedy-roast date Ashley's idea, or did the producers make her do it? —Fred It's not like [the Bachelors or Bachelorettes] have no…
Credit: Rick Rowell/ABC

Was the ill-fated comedy-roast date Ashley's idea, or did the producers make her do it? —Fred

It's not like [the Bachelors or Bachelorettes] have no say in the dates, but obviously the dates we set up take months of planning. For the most part, the dates are pretty much set and produced before they ever get on the show. The roasting date, I still stand behind it. It wasn't the worst date ever. What William did was the worst idea ever.

9 of 12

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

10 of 12

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

10

Is it me, or is Constantine and Ben F. the same person? —Taylor I'm pretty sure they were separated at birth. Same mom, different dads.…
Credit: Craig Sjodin/ABC

Is it me, or is Constantine and Ben F. the same person? —Taylor

I'm pretty sure they were separated at birth. Same mom, different dads. I think Ben's dad was definitely Rafael Nadal. He's his twin brother as well. I want to put the three of them in a room, Rafael Nadal and Ben and Constantine. It's funny, at first, like everybody else, I had the same trouble. I'm like, ''Which one are you?'' But when you get to know them they look so different because of their personalities. We've never, in the 10 years that I've been doing this, had contestants look so much alike.

10 of 12

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

11 of 12

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

11

The Bachelorette, Ashley Hebert | When will the show return to casting new Bachelors and Bachelorettes? —Dawn I don't know if we ever will. The reason soap operas are successful…
Credit: Rick Rowell/ABC

When will the show return to casting new Bachelors and Bachelorettes? —Dawn

I don't know if we ever will. The reason soap operas are successful is they have a continuing story line. So do we. The hardest part is getting people involved and caring about the characters. We have already crossed that bridge before we even start our show because you already care about the character.

11 of 12

Advertisement
Advertisement

12 of 12

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

12

Chris Harrison, The Bachelorette | What's the hardest part about being the host? —Bentley I think the hardest thing is trying to walk that line of host and confidant and…

What's the hardest part about being the host? —Bentley

I think the hardest thing is trying to walk that line of host and confidant and friend. Ashley was a great example of that this year. I felt like she was kind of heading down a bad path, heading in the wrong direction. As a friend, maybe I would have done a little bit more and stepped in, but there is also that line of host where we're only supposed to know so much. I try to give her as much information as possible, but at the same time, you have to let them go through this journey and you have to let them live it and do their thing. That's kind of what happened with her. That's the hardest thing, walking that fine line of friend and host/confidant.

12 of 12

Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Lesley Savage

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 12 1
    2 of 12 2
    3 of 12 3
    4 of 12 4
    5 of 12 5
    6 of 12 6
    7 of 12 7
    8 of 12 8
    9 of 12 9
    10 of 12 10
    11 of 12 11
    12 of 12 12

    Share & More

    Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message
    EW.com

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Meredith© Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright EW.com. All rights reserved. Printed from https://ew.com

    View image

    'The Bachelorette': 12 Burning Questions
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.