Tragedy struck this year's Bachelorette franchise like never before. 2014 contestant Eric Hill died last week as a result of a paragliding accident. Andi Dorfman was reportedly devastated when she received the news on set with the rest of the crew. Though she has yet to make any public statements, Season 17 Bachelor Juan Pablo sent his condolences the very day the details were released.
Host and often spokesperson for the Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise Chris Harrison revealed that the producers made no attempt to keep the news of Eric Hill's death secret from Andi Dorfman and the rest of the crew--though they knew it would disrupt the series (via E! News):
"We never would have kept it from them...He was a good friend of theirs. Absolutely, they know.
"It was really something we'd never dealt with before but we did it as delicately and respectfully as we could.
"They're still dealing with it, still making decisions and trying to come to terms with it because his funeral was a few days ago we all decided, 'Let's deal with this and get past it and heal ourselves.
"Everybody's very emotional right now and that's never a good time to make a final decision."
A production insider told In Touch that Andi was especially broken up over Eric's sudden demise; they had felt some sort of a spark during their time together--even though she had already kicked him off the show:
"Andi is heartbroken...She had a very strong connection with Eric, so this has been tough on her."
"SAD to hear the NEWS about Eric Hill... Prayers to his FAMILY and FRIENDS."
Let's hope the franchise is able to absorb this tragic loss.
