Host of The Bachelor/announcer of the final rose/wrangler of contestants Chris Harrison has a new lady of his own in his life. After their all-important red carpet debut earlier this year, Chris announced to the world that he was dating Entertainment Tonight producer Lauren Zima.
Unfortunately, Chris just told People he missed their first Valentine's Day, due to work (duty calls in the form of one fence-hopping Colton Underwood). "I have begged her and asked for forgiveness that we’re postponing," he said. "We’re doing a belated Valentine’s on Saturday. I will be making up for it and doubling down and making sure it’s killer on Saturday night."
So what do we know about Lauren, and how did she manage to nab Chris's final rose?
She's from the Midwest.
Lauren hails from the Elgin Township, IL, and studied journalism at the University of Missouri in Columbia.
She appeared on an MTV reality show.
Nowadays, she's in front of the camera as a host (more info to come!), but she actually appeared on MTV's Disaster Date at some point after she moved to Los Angeles in 2010. In case you don't know what that show is about, because I did not, it's a fake blind date/hidden camera situation that sounds...very stressful to me.
She's an industry pro, too.
Lauren is now a senior producer and host on Entertainment Tonight (she joined them in 2015), and her focus is all things Bachelor. So, chances are she's known him for years—Chris regularly shows up at ET to talk The Bachelor.
She hinted at their early relationship.
Hilariously, this photo, from Lauren's Instagram, was snapped probably riiiight around the time they started dating (see below). So, there's some added weight to Lauren's comment that "Chris was lookin’ FLY at the taping 👏." VERY subtle.
They got together last summer.
Harrison told People, "Officially, we’ve set the date on six months. People just didn’t know, but it was actually this summer." So this is the real deal, looks like! (Chris split from his wife Gwen in 2012, and has two kids.)
Their love of 'The Bachelor' keeps them strong.
I mean, I assume there are other things too, but Lauren said Chris and Colton were her two main guys, in life. So.
They made their red carpet debut in January.
Chris and Lauren attended Entertainment Weekly‘s pre-Screen Actors Guild Awards party together last month—and hilariously, Lauren's employer Entertainment Tonight covered the new relationship. Lauren captioned the photo with a heart emoji, so you know they're serious.
She's also a huge fan of Hannah B.
She's posted a couple of Instagrams about Hannah, writing: "Wishing this beauty/BEAST (in the best way) love — it all begins tonight and from the interviews I’ve done and promos I’ve seen, this season is going to be 🔥! "
She's open about mental health.
In a moving Instagram post, Lauren wrote: "Last night I couldn’t fall asleep; stress was just taking over. The clock went to 2 am...3... and I mentally descended into a somewhat irrational tornado of decision-questioning and anxiety. This feeling is rare for me, and I don’t like being out of control and unsure."
I kind of love this pairing!
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