Ben Higgins Today: Where Is the ‘Bachelor’ Now?

Season 20 Bachelor star Ben Higgins is now engaged to Jessica Clarke after breaking up with ex-fiancee Lauren Bushnell in May 2017. Higgins, the co-founder of Generous Coffee, went public with his relationship with Clarke in February 2019.

Higgins Was Afraid to Make Their Relationship Public at First

It wasn’t easy for Higgings to come forward with his relationship, telling Entertainment Tonight part of his identity was as a single man. But Clarke is an “incredible” woman and he couldn’t keep their relationship a secret.

“I am a little concerned because this is a big identity shift and switch for me, and that feels weird. But I’m ready for it, I’m excited about it and I wouldn’t do it with just anybody,” he told the outlet.

Like many modern couples, the duo met through social media. One of the things that made Clarke so easy to love was that she didn’t judge Higgins.

“It’s been incredible to, at the end of the day, have somebody to talk to without fear of judgment, getting yelled at or criticized,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “Just somebody to talk to and enjoys you, appreciates you and tells you that and shows you that. It’s nice to have a partner who thinks I’m awesome. I like being with somebody who thinks I’m pretty great!”

On Instagram, he joked that he had kept Clarke a secret for too long. “I took a risk and I am glad I did. She is someone special, and I look forward to where life is going to take us. Stay tuned for the journey,” he wrote last year.

Clarke has watched The Bachelor before, but she didn’t watch Higgins season–and she probably never will. “The very first time she ever saw any piece of my season was watching the Bachelorette reunion show that came out last year. And it was when JoJo [Fletcher] and Lauren [Bushnell] were both there with me at the end,” Higgins said, referencing his exes, on Reality Check via People. “And it crushed Jessica. She’s like, ‘I don’t want to ever see this again.’ So I have no doubt we will never watch my season.”

Higgins Proposed During the Coronavirus Pandemic

In March 2020, Higgins revealed he asked Clarke to marry him. “This weekend I asked Jessica to give me the honor of being her partner for life. She said YES! I now officially have the most beautiful, kind-hearted, supportive, well-intentioned person to spend life with!” he wrote in his Instagram announcement.

Clarke was thrilled to be engaged to the Bachelor alum. “I don’t remember everything you said, but I know that I said yes. I woke up in a dream today and I get to live in this dream every day from now on (eeeep),” she wrote.

Higgins had been planning to propose to Clarke in New York, but the coronavirus pandemic ruined that plan. Instead, he got down on one knee near a pond behind her house in Franklin, Tennessee. “I was super nervous,” he told ET. “She’s my best friend, my partner, and I love her. I was nervous to kind of do this whole thing in front of her. I wasn’t anxious. It’s just a big moment!”

Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell’s Break Up: Why Did They Split?