Breaking the news that he has proposed to his girlfriend Lauren Zima, the TV post deletes all of his Instagram posts apart from the engagement announcement to mark the 'next chapter.'
- Oct 26, 2021
AceShowbiz - Chris Harrison is about to end 2021 on a high note, but not all are congratulating him. The former host of "The Bachelor" and its spin-offs has come under fire after deleting his Instagram posts except for one post in which he announced his engagement to his girlfriend Lauren Zima.
On Monday, October 25, Chris shared pictures of the moment he popped the question to Lauren at a winery in Napa Valley, California. In one of the snaps, he got down on one knee while putting a ring on her finger.
Another photo has the couple smiling and sharing an embrace while looking at the new ring on her hand. The third, meanwhile, shows Chriss sweetly kissing Lauren on the head while they held a champagne class each, with Lauren showing her ring to the camera.
"I love you @laurenzima The next chapter starts now!" he wrote in the caption of the post. Seemingly wanting the engagement to literally mark a new chapter on his social media account too, he deleted all posts apart from the engagement announcement.
Lauren also shared the news on her own Instagram account. She captioned her post, "We tell each other this all the time, and we said it again in an unforgettably beautiful moment this weekend: I didn't know love could be like this. You are the most incredible partner. Thank you for loving me, championing me and asking me to marry you. Here's to the next amazing chapter, and all the rest."
This will be Chris' second marriage. He previously married his high school sweetheart Gwen Harrison and shares two children, Joshua and Taylor. They split in 2012 after 18 years of marriage. He began dating Lauren, a a reporter and journalist for Entertainment Tonight, in 2018. She was also married once before.
While the couple has received congratulatory messages from their friends and followers, some critics have taken aim at Chris' decision to wipe his page clean and accused him of avoiding accountability for the racism scandal he was embroiled earlier this year. The Instagram account for the Date Card podcast called out the 50-year-old for "acting as if nothing happened."
Agreeing, a user commented on Chris' action, "I am both floored and not at all surprised." Another reacted, "i doubt he's sweating this hard about that decision..." Someone else shaded the TV personality, "Chris Harrison who??" while another sarcastically remarked, "incredible."
The engagement comes five months after Chris exited the "Bachelor" franchise. The longtime host came under fire earlier this year due to his response to then-contestant Rachael Kirkconnell's participation in an antebellum-themed sorority party in college. When the photos resurfaced, Chris downplayed Rachael's past actions and received criticism for it.
"I've had a truly incredible run as host of 'The Bachelor' franchise and now I'm excited to start a new chapter," he said in a statement at the time. "I'm so grateful to Bachelor Nation for all of the memories we've made together. While my two-decade journey is wrapping up, the friendships I've made will last a lifetime."
