The crossover you didn’t know you needed!

This week, “Bachelor Happy Hour” co-hosts Becca Kufrin and Michelle Young welcomed “Almost Famous” co-hosts Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti onto their podcast.

The four talked about all things Bachelor Nation, relationships, and more. During their chat, Ben opened up about proposing to his wife Jess Clarke and got emotional discussing their relationship.

He started off by explaining that he had an original plan to propose, but it was derailed by COVID lockdowns in March 2020.

Ben said, “I had a plan in New York City and we had professional dancers on tour with us for ‘Bachelor Live on Stage,’ so they were getting their friends together to do a massive flash mob to her grandfather’s favorite song. He had just passed away and he was one of her closest family members. It was going to be beautiful. We were going to do it in Central Park and our parents were both going to be there.”

But he went on, sharing, “Then COVID hit a week before that, so her mom and I talked to each other and I knew I was going to propose either way. It wasn’t going to stop me from proposing, so how can I make it special? We set up her favorite flowers, sunflowers, in her backyard on the pond.”

And Ben shared that despite his proposal not going to his original plan, he knew it was an extremely important moment and wanted to make sure Jess knew how he felt.

The former Bachelor said, “I thought a lot about what was important for that moment because you say a lot. I was more nervous for the proposal than I ever was for my wedding. It’s weird! It’s your best friend and the love of your life and you’re looking at them asking this very direct question in a very formal way. It felt different.”

He got choked up, saying, “I just simply wanted to tell her and commit to her that I was grateful that she came into my life. I don’t know why this is making me tear up. This is weird. Last night we had a good old-fashioned marriage conversation about communication and how I need to be better about telling her what’s going on, and I don’t always know how. It was a hard conversation; you know, those things happen in relationships. I just wanted to tell her that I was going to be there forever. I wanted to make sure she knew that I was happy and excited to be there with her in life forever. I wanted to be that man for her.”

The two got married in November 2021 and have since moved in together in Denver, Colorado.

And during their conversation on “Bachelor Happy Hour,” Ben also provided some advice for fellow Bachelor Nation stars, particularly the leads of “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette.”

He said, “My advice is to have a lot more fun with it than you think you’re willing to have because this is a unique experience in life. It’s going to be stressful and feel so serious at times, so when the moments where you are enjoying it, soak it up. Look around you and breathe in the media days, the New York press tours, and all that stuff because it does go away. And it should go away. But while you’re in it, enjoy the opportunity you have.”

Ben went on, “And then my next piece of advice would be to move on. Not from the franchise — I am still part of this franchise; it’s been good to me overall. But move on. We’ve all been asked to be on a dating show. For some of us, we have different star power and this will open up a whole new lane of opportunities. The fame will fade, though, and the celebrity will fade. It should fade. Nobody is meant to be famous. Then, enjoy that ride too of going back to whatever life looked like before a little bit.”

He concluded his advice, saying, “Know it happens to everybody. Every single person who has been the lead of the show has gotten off the show feeling like a rock star, and then over time there is a new person and new year and it goes away. Just know you aren’t alone in those moments where it feels like everything else fades.”

Former Bachelorette Michelle said that’s some of the best advice she’s heard about the role and couldn’t agree more with everything Ben said.

To hear more of the conversation on “Bachelor Happy Hour,” check out the full episode below.