Jesse Palmer had big shoes to fill when replacing Chris Harrison as host of The Bachelor, and so far, he seems to be well-received.
Jesse’s hosting style has felt very similar to Chris Harrison’s. However, the former quarterback didn’t get any pointers from Harrison before his big hosting debut.
In a recent interview, Jesse revealed why he chose not to talk with Chris Harrison and detailed the pressures he felt when accepting the historic hosting gig.
Jesse Palmer wanted to figure out how to host The Bachelor on his own
Jesse Palmer spoke with Us Weekly and opened up about what he wanted to accomplish as host of The Bachelor.
Authenticity was crucial for Jesse, and it seems he wanted to host in his own way rather than be a replica of Chris Harrison.
Jesse shared, “I didn’t talk to [Chris Harrison], but part of that was me wanting to just really sort of do this and figure this out kind of my way, on my own.”
With so much anticipation surrounding who would replace Chris Harrison, there naturally was a lot of pressure for Jesse to do well when he was announced as the new host.
Jesse revealed the “biggest pressure I felt was trying to help” Clayton Echard find love since “that’s the host’s big job at the end of [it] all.”
Jesse recalled that the questions he asked himself as host included, “Am I giving him the right advice when he asks for it? Am I giving him enough?”
Jesse also shared what he most wanted to avoid, sharing, “One thing I really wanted to be careful of, I just didn’t wanna be overbearing. I didn’t want to be like the old Bachelor who always would kind of pop his head in at the wrong time and go, you know, ‘Clayton, on my season, I would’ve said this. You screwed that up, young whippersnapper! You need to go ahead and do it this way.’ I didn’t wanna be that guy.”
Jesse later continued, “the biggest pressure for me was just being there in the most truthful, sincere, and best way to help Clayton get what he is looking for.”
Jesse Palmer viewed himself as a ‘servant to Clayton’
In helping Clayton, Jesse felt it was important to stress to Clayton that every journey is different and, while he’d be there for Clayton and give advice when asked, only Clayton can figure out what his heart truly wants.
Jesse shared, “I tried to go into it with an open mind and really just see myself as essentially a servant to Clayton. I mean, this is really about him. I put a lot of pressure on myself to try to help him get what he’s looking for at the end of all this.”
Interestingly, Jesse was asked if he would be interested in hosting Bachelor in Paradise and The Bachelorette like Chris Harrison did in the past.
Jesse appeared open to the idea of taking on more hosting duties within the franchise, saying, “I have my hands full just trying to help Clayton. But again, as I’ve said, as a member of Bachelor Nation as a huge fan, I would absolutely be open to having those conversations moving forward. But right now, I’ve got this 6-foot football player guy looking for love. He’s overwhelmed at times. He’s so excited. I’m just trying to keep my focus on him.”
The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.