Here’s Why Chris Harrison Says ‘Bachelor’ Star Colton Underwood is Like Sean Lowe…
Colton Underwood and Sean Lowe have a lot in common, and it's not just the virginity connection according to Chris Harrison.
The Bachelor host opened up about the upcoming season of the ABC dating competition series on the red carpet at KIIS FM's iHeart Radio Jingle Ball on Friday, telling ET Online that like Lowe, Underwood is going to be "a really good Bachelor."
"I'm actually very eager and excited for everyone to finally get to know him. I think for The Bachelorette, and even for [Bachelor in] Paradise, you really didn't get a great sense of who he was. That's just how the show is. The show's not about him. It's about Becca [Kufrin], and then Paradise was kind of about everybody. So this show is obviously about his story and who he is," Harrison said.
A number of Bachelor fans have made the connection that, like Underwood, Lowe was abstinent during his season. Harrison said there's more to it than that, though.
"He kind of reminds me of Sean Lowe in that Sean was really popular, but no one really got to know him until it was his turn to be the Bachelor. And then everyone fell in love with him, and I think that's the way Colton's going to be. Everyone has this idea of who Colton is, but until you really dive into this season, you're not really going to know. And even the naysayers, everyone who was all upset, I think will fall in love with Colton," Harrison added.
Despite promotional clips for the upcoming season playing up Underwood's virginity, Harrison is looking forward to getting into other aspects of who the Bachelor star is and he thinks fans will enjoy it, too. Underwood's virginity will come up throughout the season, but viewers can expect a more full look at why he's chosen to wait and more when the show premieres in January.
"I'm really excited, in all seriousness, to get by the whole cocktail joke version of him being a virgin and talking about his virginity and everyone's kind of laughing about it, and get to the reason of why he is the way he is, what he stands for, what it means to him and how he got to this point," he said.
"He's a very open, vulnerable guy this season, very emotional, so I was kind of proud of him. I give him a lot of credit, because it wasn't easy to do. It's not easy to come on as a man and say, 'Here I am, this is what happened, and this is why.' But he did this season," Harrison added. "It's a great, great season and credit to him."
What else can you expect from the 2019 Bachelor season? The unexpected, according to the show's host.
"This season is pretty outrageous," he revealed. "There's twists and turns this season unlike anything we've ever had before, and that's just because of who Colton is, things that happen on the show, things that he brought out, the women. So it's a wild, emotional ride, for sure."
The Bachelor premieres Monday, Jan. 7, 2019 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Don't miss it!