Exclusive

Chris Harrison: The Bachelor Winner Will "Shock" Fans, But "Jake Is Happy"

Exclusive scoop on how Jake is feeling about his choice, and whether Vienna is really that bad

By Kristin Dos Santos Feb 11, 2010 3:50 PMTags
Tenley, Gia, Vienna, Ali, The Bachelor, Jake PavelkaABC/Greg Zabilski; ABC/Craig Sjodin

Millions of fans will be disappointed.

But at least one guy will be happy.

That's what The Bachelor host Chris Harrison says will go down in the big season finale, in which Jake Pavelka will make his final choice for love. "I know for a fact Jake is happy with his decision," Chris tells me.

Hmmm…So will it be Vienna? Gia? Tenley? Or now that Chris has revealed Ali is back, could she be the one?

Here's the exclusive scoop Chris tells me...

ABC

"As far as everyone's opinion," Chris says when asked about the winner, "I will steal a line from Jake. He has said, 'I will shock people, I will disappoint people,' but he did what he feels was right, and I totally support him. Good for him."

Internet rumors have long speculated that the big winner of this season will be Vienna, and if that is the case, many viewers will indeed be let down. She's arguably the most hated housemate of the current season.

So why would Vienna make it so far? "I will say I was surprised that he kept her around," Chris tells me. "And I even asked him, 'Really? Why?' Every time I asked him about Vienna he said, 'I know that the other girls don't love her, but I see a side in her that they don't, and I'm not going to let the cattiness and the competitiveness ruin what I have with her. And what I have with her is real.' I have to give the guy credit to have the balls to go against what everybody's saying."

Chris also says she's not quite as evil as she may appear. "I think Vienna has a bit of a bad rep," he explains. "I think she was put behind the 8 ball in the beginning, because when you are one on the front-runners early on, there is a target put on your back. So, there is competitiveness, there is jealousy from the other girls. But in the other girls' defense, I don't think Vienna went out of her way to fix that problem. She even stoked the flame a couple times. And so by the time she tried to apologize and make things better, that ship had sailed and it was just too late."

So was it all in the editing? "I don't think Vienna is the devil that she's made out to be," Chris says. "I'm not going to completely absolve her, but I think the real Vienna, I think there's a mix. I think I would go somewhere between the Vienna we saw in the house and then the very warm, touching, vulnerable Vienna that we saw in her hometown."

Would you be disappointed if Vienna were to win? Who are you rooting for? Comment below...