Lauren Zima Causes Chaos on Social Media: ‘It’s the Delusion For Me’

Chris Harrison and Lauren Zima

Getty Chris Harrison and Lauren Zima attend Clayton Kershaw's 7th Annual Ping Pong 4 Purpose.

It has been more than a year since “The Bachelor” franchise and former host Chris Harrison parted ways. Harrison may be gone, but it appears he has definitely not been forgotten. In fact, a social media comment recently left by entertainment reporter Lauren Zima, who also is Harrison’s fiancee, garnered a fair amount of attention. Zima may have thought this would go mostly unnoticed, but that definitely is not what happened.

Here’s what you need to know:


Zima’s TikTok Comment Prompted a Big Response

It appeared the drama started on a July 13 TikTok post made by “Zachary Reality.” He posts content on “The Bachelor” franchise, as well as other reality television shows, and this post was about low ratings for season 19 of “The Bachelorette.” He suggested several potential reasons for the decline in ratings, including wondering if it was tied to Harrison’s departure. About a week after the post initially went live, Zima commented. “It’s Chris Harrison for me,” she noted.

Now, Zima’s comment pops up as the top one on that TikTok. She received over 460 “likes” for it and 30 comments. Some “Bachelorette” fans agreed they missed Harrison and wanted him back. Zima got quite a bit of pushback though, too.

“He was on each episode for 5 minutes an episode. Nah keep him retired,” replied one person.

“Wasn’t he the host for the years long ratings decrease to start with baby girl? It’s the racist boyfriend for me,” clapped back someone else.

“Wait, you really think your racist bf’s 2 minutes of screentime each week were the reason viewers tuned in? Karen Zima still living up to her name,” countered another critic.


The Clap Backs Continued Beyond TikTok

Zachary Reality made an additional TikTok post on July 27 pointing out Zima’s previous comment and sharing the backstory on her romance with Harrison. Around the same time, Reddit caught up to Zima’s comment and a lengthy thread built within “The Bachelor” subreddit from there. Several posters pointed out that television, or streaming, viewers have many more dating-related shows to choose from now than they had in the early days of “The Bachelor” franchise. A few people even admitted they enjoyed Jesse Palmer hosting more than they had enjoyed Harrison in the role. Some people agreed they sincerely missed Harrison, but there were plenty of comments taking aim at Zima.

“I think if she is bitter about losing her podcast talking about the show and being able to be involved more when CH was the host, the person she should take that out on is her fiance. I think she loved the show and being affiliated so strongly with it. Reads like petty and someone wanting something to fail since she is no longer able to be a part of it,” noted one critic.

“I think she meant it less as petty and more as cutsy…But still I can’t believe she commented at all. I think she coulda just left that alone,” acknowledged the Redditor who started the thread.

“Imagine leaving public comments defending your racist boyfriend’s dried-up career that circled around emotionally abusing twenty-somethings. Give it up chica, no one wants Chris Harrison back when they have an inoffensive, hotter version to do the basic a** hosting gig,” declared another critic.

Over the course of just a day, nearly 300 comments poured in and few of them praised either Zima or Harrison. In fact, most Redditors’ comments suggested people in that subreddit essentially agreed with one another. As one person noted, “It’s the delusion for me,” and that sentiment seemed a popular one.