Chris Harrison is engaged! The former ‘Bachelor’ host popped the question to his girlfriend and ‘Entertainment Tonight’ personality, Lauren Zima. Here’s what you need to know about her.
“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,” wrote Lauren Zima on Monday (Oct. 25) while sharing the news that she and Chris Harrison are engaged. Lauren, 33, said Chris, 50, was “the most incredible partner” and thanked him for “loving me, championing me, and asking me to marry you.” Lauren ended her message with a toast: “Here’s to the next amazing chapter and all the rest.”
Both Lauren and the former host of The Bachelor shared photos of the engagement, including a pic of Chris down on one knee. Another photo showed the two of them in a warm embrace while holding champagne glasses. Lauren’s new ring was visible in this photo, and the size of the ring was not one to scoff at. Chris and Lauren confirmed their relationship in 2019, appearing as a couple at Entertainment Tonight’s pre-party for the 2019 SAG Awards. There was some speculation they began dating earlier in 2018, per Elite Daily, especially after Lauren got flirty on Instagram.
It seems Chris found the woman he wanted to give his final rose to, so as these two plan their wedding in ‘paradise,’ here’s the scoop on Chris’s bride-to-be.
1. Lauren Is An Entertainment Reporter
Lauren was born on Nov. 30, 1987, and grew up in Elgin, Illinois. The Chicago native got her master’s degree in broadcast journalist (and Bachelors in magazine journalism) at the University of Missouri. She moved to Los Angeles in 2010. After a stint at news network Newsy, she joined Entertainment Tonight in 2015, according to the Chicago Tribune. Lauren served as a host and senior producer for ETonline, hosted ET Live, and in 2019, became ET’s “newest correspondent,” according to Entertainment Tonight.
2. She’s Not Above Fangirling Out
Though Lauren’s work with ET has her speak face-to-face with Hollywood royalty, she has done her best to stay professional. However, there was one celeb that got her. “I don’t really get starstruck because I am so focused on trying to do my job right, but I will say Richard Gere — that Richard Gere got me. He was charming and disarming on [a] red carpet.”
3. Surprise! She Is A ‘Bachelor’ Fan
Call it mixing business with pleasure, but Chris Harrison’s new fiancée is a massive Bachelor fan. Like, seriously – she loves The Bachelor world. “Roses and Rosé is my Bachelor franchise recap review show, so I created and host that under the umbrella of Entertainment Tonight,” she said during a 2020 episode of In The Know’s podcast, We Should Talk (h/t Yahoo).
It’s a recap show that has won as many fans as some Bachelor seasons. “I don’t think there was ever one moment specifically,” she said, “but I do remember when I did sort of peek my eye open and look at some of the comments on YouTube, because our YouTube manager told me, ‘You have unusually positive YouTube comments.’ And people were saying they loved it. That response, as small as it might’ve been at the time, I just thought, ‘If people like something — if you have an amount of people who like something — how can you look at what they’re liking, magnify that, explore that, build it up? And then more people will come to that.’ It was like I had this little focus group. I’ve truly just worked on building it over the years. We didn’t have one moment where a clip went viral. It’s just been a slow and steady build.”
4. She Loves Wine, Coffee, & Chris
“I love working out in a way where I can get outside. I love biking on the beach here in California. I love going on a hike,” she said when joining ET as a correspondent. Lauren also noted that she relaxes with a glass of wine. When asked how she starts her day, she said, “Dancing and drinking coffee. I get a quad shot of espresso, blast the latest song I’m obsessed with in my car … and drive to work. I like to start my day in a good mood, no matter what — today is a new day, and that means new opportunity.”
When she and Chris started dating, she made sure that things were on the level and no conflicts of interest. “I went and talked to everybody at ET about it when we were getting serious,” she said on We Should Talk. “We both kind of made that decision that we were only going to go public with this if it was really serious because otherwise, it wasn’t worth the trouble. It was never a problem. It was just because we really tried to handle it like adults and just say, ‘We’re two adults in a relationship.’ Shockingly, we have a lot in common, and we do so much of the same thing that, at one point, when we were both single and available, we realized, ‘Oh, we’re bonding over this, and we’re attracted to each other.’”
5. She Stood By Chris’s Side During His ‘Bachelor’ Exit
Chris exited The Bachelor in June 2021 after 20 years with the franchise, following a controversy where he defended Rachael Kirkconnell, a contestant on season 25, for attending an antebellum-themed party while she was in college. Fans called out Chris for giving Rachel a pass instead of acknowledging that these parties tend to glorify a part of America’s past where slavery was a common practice. Though Chris apologized and took a hiatus from his Bachelor hosting duties, it was time to walk away.
During this controversy, Lauren acknowledged where her boyfriend had gone wrong but did so in recognizing that Chris could grow from this experience. “What Chris said was wrong and disappointing,” she posted to her Instagram Story. “Defending racism can never happen. Accountability comes first, what’s next is learning and growth.”