ABC/Matt Dunn
Inside Ben Higgins’ Dramatic ‘Bachelor’ Season With Lauren Bushnell, JoJo Fletcher and Caila Quinn
Ben Higgins had a whirlwind ride with his final three Bachelor contestants Lauren Bushnell, JoJo Fletcher and Caila Quinn on season 20. From saying “I love you” to two women to a finale filled with tears, the drama was turned all the way up.
The Indiana native, who was just 26 at the time, headed to Jamaica with his remaining contestants for the finale. After spending the night in the fantasy suite, Caila proclaimed she was falling in love with the Generous Coffee founder. Unfortunately, the leading man revealed to the Ohio native he was in love with Lauren and JoJo and sent her packing on the spot.
The former software salesman admitted his feelings to Caila, but no one expected him to actually drop the L-bomb to *both* Lauren and JoJo during his final dates with them. Some fans thought it was an unfair thing to say when one of the relationships was bound to end in heartbreak, but Ben stood by his decision following the season.
“Maybe I’m confused, but when I started this experience no one gave me a playbook or rules to follow,” Ben told E! News at the time. “They say, ‘Do this how you think you should do this,’ and you don’t always know the best answer to questions and sometimes you do develop feelings you don’t expect. What I committed to was expressing those feelings, but no one ever said, ‘Don’t do that, don’t do this!'”
The season ended with Ben getting down on one knee and proposing to Lauren. They were engaged for over a year before breaking up for good in May 2017. The former flight attendant is now married to country singer Chris Lane.
As for JoJo, she went on to become the Bachelorette during season 12. She is still with season winner Jordan Rodgers. The pair were supposed to get married on June 15, but sadly had to postpone their wedding another year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Caila is also currently engaged to Nick Burrello. The adorable pair are having a swanky Italian destination wedding at Lake Como in May 2021 followed by a ceremony in the starlet’s hometown of Cleveland the following July.
It’s clearly Bachelor wedding season because Ben recently got engaged to Jessica Clarke. The two took their relationship public in February 2019, and he proposed in March 2020. The restauranteur confessed exclusively to Life & Style that his bride will not be watching his season reair for The Bachelor: Greatest Seasons Ever.
“I think Jessica will be taking that evening away from the TV,” he explained. “I think the thing is, I can watch and be pretty unaffected. Because, I mean, I lived it and I was there and know what happens.”
It’s been quite the journey!
