Chris Harrison Reveals the Real Reason Hannah Is Keeping Luke P. Around on The Bachelorette

Warning: Bachelorette spoilers ahead.

The road to love on The Bachelorette is never easy, but is it too much to ask for a bit more Tyler C. and a little less Luke P.? You know it's reached new heights when even Chris Harrison feels your pain. "This went much further than I wanted it to," Harrison tells Glamour. "I wanted this to come to a resolution, good or bad, and let her move on."

Spoiler alert: It does not. And that's where we pick up with tonight's episode, after Hannah shockingly told Luke that she couldn't give him the rose on their one-on-one date. But as any good Bachelor Nation fan knows, saying goodbye to the so-called villain is never that simple. Remember in the preview when we saw Luke praying in church, wearing different clothes from what he's wearing on his date? Yeah, this may not be the end of his journey, after all.

But while fans at home may want Hannah to cut her losses already and move on, Harrison says things are more dire for her than we realize. In fact, he says what happens to Hannah tonight is her version of Colton's fence jump. "That's rock bottom for her," he says.

So as we count down the hours until we find out what happens next, Harrison fills us in on what we're not seeing between Hannah and Luke, and why their connection is different from those she has with the other guys. Read on.

Glamour: Are you as exhausted from this Luke P. craziness as all of Bachelor Nation seems to be?

Chris Harrison: There’s definitely some Luke P. fatigue, and I understand that and I probably suffered a little bit myself, as did Hannah. It was exhausting. I think the problem is, most of our villains, if you want to call them that, are not that near and dear to our Bachelor and Bachelorette’s heart. They see through everything and they’re gone. The problem here is that Luke P. is a central figure in Hannah’s heart. I don’t know if you want to call him a front-runner, but he’s up there. As much as she maybe wants to choke him and shake him, she also really adores him and has this amazing bond. Their lives and their values align in a lot of ways, from religion to their conservative ways to the way they live their life, and that is what drives her crazy. And it’s gonna drive us crazy a little longer. He’s not going anywhere. She likes this guy.

When you mention his conservative ways, what does that mean exactly?

Well, Hannah’s a really religious woman, and I understand Hannah because I’m from the South. I grew up in the Bible Belt, and so I get that. I’m a faith-driven person as well. I understand where she’s coming from. She’s also very conservative, and her faith is very near and dear to her. And she has that connection with Luke P. She’s had it from the start. They talk about religion. They talk about their values. They talk about Scripture. They talk about their favorite verses, and they connect on that level. She doesn’t really have that with any of the other guys. Ironically, it’s also what will drive her crazy about him because as much as it brings them together, it will also create a divide that they will battle over, and that’s the interesting thing about religion. I think that’s something we’re all going to debate: that religion is something that should bring us together, but at the same time history tells us it creates a lot of wars. And it will maybe create a big war between these two.

Would you like to see religion discussed more on the show?

It really depends season to season. I like that we’ve taken this dive into this season because it is a central part of it. We will show Luke P. going to church in Scotland and praying and getting some alone time. It’s a huge part of his life, and it really drives him. And it’s about to drive the storyline between him and Hannah. Would I like to see more? Only if it fits and only if it really plays a central figure in the show. I’m glad we’re not shying away from it in this instance because it is a part of it. And whether it’s sex or religion or both of those and how they mix, I’m glad we never shy away from those sometimes taboo social issues that will cause a lot of debate around the country.

At the end of last week’s episode, Hannah tells Luke she can’t give him the rose, but as any die-hard fan knows, it doesn’t mean that it's the end of things. So does she really not give him a rose, or could it mean she’s not giving it to him right now but perhaps he could get it at the rose ceremony?

I can tell you that she does not give him the rose. But I can also tell you if you’ve ever seen an episode of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, there’s also a big "but." While there is this Luke P. fatigue, all I can tell you is there is this amazing, bizarre, combative bond between these two people, and it’s like they’re magnets. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a relationship on this show quite like this where there’s just something there, but they get on each other’s last nerve. It’s almost like a sibling rivalry—and I hate to say that ’cause it sounds so weird, but the only thing I can even put a finger on is that it’s just such an interesting relationship. I know it might drive people crazy, but I find it fascinating to watch.

In tonight’s preview we see you giving Hannah a hug. Is this a heart-to-heart or more of an intervention on your part?

I hate to make myself sound old, but that was more of a dad moment. I wear a lot of hats on this show, and that was a moment with this young woman that I adore that was hitting rock bottom and had just had enough and was so frustrated she couldn’t see straight. That was an "I’m there for you" moment.

How serious did this get for Hannah? Obviously it’s not like Colton jumping the fence and saying he was going to quit the show, but you do ask Hannah if she feels like she can continue.

Yeah, it’s funny. People relate things to Colton jumping the fence, and that really was Colton’s version of throwing a temper tantrum. That was his way of dealing with anxiety and dealing with being hurt…and he ran. He ran into the Portuguese countryside. This is Hannah’s version of that. She’s just not going to run away. She’s not the type of woman that runs away from her feelings and runs away from a problem. One of the things I really love and respect about her is she may break down, but by God, she doesn’t quit. She’s a fighter, and I love that about her. Heaven forbid you get between her and what she wants.

Now that we’re at the halfway point, is there a connection between Hannah and one of the guys—other than Luke P.—that surprises you?

Because of Luke P., I’m not even sure where everybody lies. I think people see the connection with Tyler, with Peter, with Garrett, with Jed, with Big Mike…we all love Big Mike. He’s like America’s big brother that we all wish we had. I think for the first time in a long time, people aren’t sure where to put their allegiance and put their love yet, because of this huge shadow that Luke P. is casting on the show. There’s no way to fight this or defend it, that’s just where the season took us. People have to understand it’s not like we lay this out or script this out. It’s not how I honestly wanted it to go. I don’t want a central figure like Luke to cast such a dark shadow over the entire season like this. This went much further than I wanted it to. I wanted this to come to a resolution, good or bad, and let her move on. That’s where you see us having this conversation in Latvia, where she’s saying through tears that she doesn’t know how this works. And that’s rock bottom for her.

I speak for myself and I think all my friends when I say that we would prefer the Tyler C. hour instead of even five more minutes with Luke P.

So would a lot of people! When you see her with Tyler, I mean, the chemistry between them is pretty undeniable. I think she has a hard time even having conversations with him because they just look at each other and it’s over. They have this insane chemistry. We’ve all had those relationships before where you just have that person that you can’t keep your hands off of. You think about them day and night and attack each other. But at the end of the day, is that someone you marry and spend the rest of your life with? Is there more? Again, is there that spiritual connection, or do you want to just throw that person on a pool table?

Well, that was another guy. That was Peter.

[Laughs] No, I know.

What can you preview about the coming weeks?

When I sat down with Hannah in Latvia, all of us producers and I were hoping, "Okay, let’s reset and do a 180." We were like, "This is going to be positive. We’re out of Scotland. That was a terrible week, so let’s aim for the stars and let’s go." And that conversation took a really big dive. I didn’t expect a bottoming-out and tears. That will lead to us this reset—tell-all, if you will—for about 30 or 40 minutes [in tonight's episode] where I talk to her and try to figure out where she stands in all of this. Because I didn’t see it getting so dark.

The Bachelorette airs tonight on ABC.

Jessica Radloff is the Glamour West Coast editor. Follow her on Twitter @JRadloff and on Instagram @JessicaRadloff14.

Originally Appeared on Glamour