Former host Chris Harrison is 'leading his best life' after his 'Bachelor' exit, says the show's stylist

• Chris Harrison is "leading his best life" after exiting "The Bachelor," the show's stylist says.
• The former host left in 2021, after defending a contestant accused of racially insensitive behavior.

A year after Chris Harrison dramatically stepped back from "The Bachelor" franchise, the former reality television host is living his "best life," according to the show's longtime stylist.

Cary Fetman told Insider he began styling "Bachelor" contestants soon after the first season aired in 2002, around the same time that Harrison was introduced as the show's host. While Fetman is still working on the dating program, Harrison cut ties with the ABC network franchise in 2021 amid strong backlash. Harrison defended a contestant accused of racially insensitive behavior while doing an "Extra" interview with former "Bachelorette," Rachel Lindsay.

Criticism of his stance was given by viewers, "Bachelor" alumni, and specifically former BIPOC contestants, Insider reported at the time. He subsequently issued an apology while announcing in an Instagram post that he was "stepping aside" from the show for a "period of time."

"By excusing historical racism, I defended it," Harrison wrote in his post. "I am ashamed over how uninformed I was. I was so wrong."

News then broke that Harrison was permanently stepping down from his hosting role, but not before reportedly cutting an eight-figure deal with ABC.

Despite the controversy, Fetman said he is supportive of Harrison.

"He is a man I absolutely adore and love," Fetman said, noting that after over 20 years of travel and work together, he cannot imagine not having a love for one another.

"As hard as it was, the love will never go away," Fetman said.

As for Harrison's day-to-day, post-"The Bachelor," Fetman said he's "leading his best life" and is happier than ever. The former coworkers see each other regularly for dinner, Fetman added.

From Harrison's Instagram account, which Life & Style Magazine reported he wiped clean after his controversial exit, his time away from the show appears to be relatively quiet. Most of his posts are of himself, his children, and his fiancée, Lauren Zima, to whom he proposed in October 2021.

But not everyone is on such close terms with Harrison

One person who doesn't appear to have maintained a relationship with the former "Bachelor" host is Lindsay, who became the show's first-ever Black "Bachelorette" in 2017.

Speaking on "The View" in January, Lindsay said she had post-traumatic stress disorder from the interview she did with Harrison. She said she has not spoken to him since he publicly apologized.

"He publicly talked about being my friend but unfollowed me on all social media accounts channels after he said that he was listening and learning," Lindsay said.

She also said that she received "death threats" from fans of Harrison for months after the interview.

"I got blamed for his actions, for the rant that he had on television," Lindsay said. "The aftermath of that interview, I felt I was doing my job. I was being professional, and I was being personally attacked for doing my job."

Representatives for Rachel Lindsay did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.