In Victorian England, it was customary — and absolutely mandatory — for young couples to have a chaperone present anytime they spent time together. Chaperones planned the dates, decided how much time the couple would have together, and often planned out the lovebirds’ alone time, so that both families felt good about the exchange. After all, courting was like a job for Victorian women; they couldn’t take it lightly.
This sounds creepy and weirdly invasive, I know. But Chris Harrison has been doing this very thing for 20 seasons. He is The Bachelor’s version of the chaperone, and he takes his job very seriously, too. All the date cards come from him, he's always lurking in the shadows during the cocktail parties, and he often has to insert himself in situations to make more drama help the bachelor out.
