The Bachelorette Host on Eric's Final Episode: It's Hard to Know the Right Thing to Do

This week's emotionally charged two-part episode of The Bachelorette wrapped up by discussing late contestant Eric Hill following his exit from the show.

On Monday's episode, Eric and Andi got into a confrontation about their relationship not moving forward after their initial one-on-one date. Andi ultimately decided it was best for Eric leave prior to the rose ceremony, but tragically that was the final conversation they'd have before his unexpected death in a paragliding accident in April. As host Chris Harrison tells us in our weekly chat, the show eventually decided to cut the rose ceremony and instead air an intimate conversation between Harrison and Andi about Eric. Read on for more of Harrison's take on the episodes.

Was Sunday night's group date performance of Boyz II Men's "I'll Make Love to You" better or worse in person?
Chris Harrison: It was worse. It was right up there with the Sister Christian performance on Bachelor Pad. The only good part was that there were so many people there screaming and yelling that it made it somewhat OK.  But they were terrible. The funniest part was the opera singer who was taking himself so seriously.

The Bachelorette's Andi: Boyz II Men performance was the "date of a lifetime"

I can't get a read on Nick. What are your thoughts about him?
Harrison: It sounds weird, but he's incredibly confident [on the outside], but deep down he's not, and you can tell he's unsure of this. Andi has this great ability to make the guys feel like they're the only one in the room and then ... when they're on the group date they think, "She didn't really pay attention to me." So, I think they all have confidence with her alone, but when they're not it's tough.

What about J.J. who got a rose on his one-on-one. 
Harrison: He's easy. He's a decision right now that she doesn't have to think about, but he's definitely going to have to step it up.

During Sunday's cocktail party, some of the guys confronted Andrew about getting a waitress' number. Do you know what really happened?
Harrison: I didn't know it was going on, but in talking to the guys after, it's one of two things: either some really cute girl shoved her number in his hand and he didn't tell people, but they found out. or he asked for her number, got it and bragged about it. Everyone can deduce their own conclusions of what happened, but how did everyone find out if he didn't tell anyone?
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On Monday's episode, Dylan opened up about his tragic family history. Were you surprised he got the rose at all?
Harrison: A lot had to do with how much he opened up -- not that she wasn't going to give him a rose anyway -- but they shared such an intense moment. I think she likes him.

Marcus also had a great one-on-one and he is not afraid to talk about his feelings for her!
Harrison: I mean, he's falling in love with her already! It might be too much too soon for her.

What was your take on Eric and Andi's confrontation?
Harrison: It was a weird argument. Eric kind of stepped in it and was knee-deep in the situation. I'm not sure why she thought she didn't know him very well because he was so open about his family and religion, and I don't know why he thought she was being fake. I don't think he meant exactly what he was saying, it just didn't come off so well. All of a sudden it escalated. And also it was the wrong place, wrong time, wrong thing to say. Andi was tired, she was a little bit upset with the guys because they had been bro-ing out a lot and not paying as much attention to her as they should and it was a perfect storm and a bad situation for Eric.

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When did you decide that you and Andi would sit down for an interview instead of airing the rose ceremony? 
Harrison: We left the rose ceremony in [the initial edit] and then we all watched it and thought, "This doesn't feel right." We circled back [because] it's hard to know what the right thing to do is. And Andi was reluctant to sit down and talk about it. Even when we sat down, we weren't sure what the conversation would be and if we'd use it But it turned out, I think, really well for what we wanted it to be, which was an homage to Eric and dealing with the situation. Like Andi said, you always get to come back and have that moment at "Men Tell All" and he would've laughed it off, it would've been water under the bridge. They didn't get that chance. I think it was respectful, and I stand behind it. I think we did the right thing.

Eric passed away while you were filming hometown dates. Have you figured out if you'll air that initial conversation when you all first found out?
Harrison: We're making decisions as we go. We'll decide when we get there.

Any final teases for when the show returns in two weeks?
Harrison: There's the emotional follow-up that spills over. And Marcus is the first who really falls in love, and it gets serious quick.

For more on the #LiveLikeEric foundation head here.