A perfect Ben? Ben HigginsSeason 20 was a great season for drama, even though it may be one of the most beloved Bachelors ever.
After competing for Kaitlyn Bristowe’Season 11: The heart of season 11 The BacheloretteThe Colorado native embarked on his own love journey in 2015 and found the one he was looking for. Lauren Bushnell and … JoJo Fletcher. Ben was criticized for telling the women he loved them in the season finale. However, he eventually proposed to the flight attendant from Portland.
“I don’t know if regret would be the right word, because it’s how I felt, which is messed up, and not great when you then break up and propose to somebody in the same day,” Ben told Us WeeklyExclusively in June 2020, about dropping the L’word twice. “I think at the time I was naive enough to think that it was a way to reassure them, when they left, that this was the real deal, that I really did care about them both. I just don’t think I chose the right words, and I don’t think it was healthy for the long term and the longevity of either relationship. So, necessarily don’t regret it, because it is how I felt. Don’t think it was the wisest thing to do, especially two days before you broke up with one of them.”
Lauren, who didn’t know at the time that Ben told JoJo he loved her too, accepted a proposal during the March 2016 finale.
“It obviously hurt … it was a lot to take in,” Lauren told E! NewsAt the time, it was all about Ben and JoJo. “It felt like a punch in the gut in a way, but it wasn’t anything that made me question him or question our relationship. But it was just more like, ‘Ow, that hurts.’”
They went on to star together in their own Freeform spinoff series. Lauren and Ben: Happily Ever after?They ended their season in May 2017 after only one season.
Three years later, ABC aired a compressed version of season 20 in one night as an episode of The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons — Ever! Ben told Use at the time he doesn’t keep in touch with Lauren but wishes her well.
“Not Lauren, we haven’t talked [about the show re-airing]. She’s married. I’m happy for her, and she found her partner and it wouldn’t … I mean, if she reached out saying, ‘Hey, how are you going to handle this? This is what’s sensitive me …’ I would love to take that call from her, but I don’t think I’m needed in this moment for her,” he explained. “JoJo and I are good friends. Jordan and JoJo have a lot respect in my heart. It’s the same thing if she has a man or a confidant who she can lean on. If I saw her, it would be … I actually saw her in the airport last year. It was awesome to see her and Jordan together, but we don’t keep in close contact. I think just because for me, and probably for them, it wouldn’t be healthy. It’s not smart.”
Scroll through for an update on the most memorable contestants from Ben’s season:
