Spilling the tea.

Fans got to know and love Ben Higgins on various Bachelor Nation shows over the years. Ben famously became the Season 20 Bachelor and got engaged to Lauren Bushnell on the season finale. The two ultimately went separate ways and both found love off-screen with their respective partners. 

Ben married the love of his life, Jess Clarke Higgins, in November 2021, and welcomed their daughter Winona (Winnie for short) early last year. 

The former Bachelor also co-hosts the “Almost Famous” podcast, and this week shared some interesting information about his “Bachelor” season. 

While answering a variety of fan questions, Ben was asked if any of the women from his season reached out to “shoot their shot” with him again after his engagement to Lauren ended. 

The Bachelor Nation star revealed that none of the women reached out and he never heard from any of them, except for a select few. 

“No. I think they said, ‘Hey, we got lucky when we weren’t chosen,’” Ben teased. “I can’t remember even hearing from any of those girls until honestly I got married. And JoJo [Fletcher] and my wife kind of connected about mom stuff, which was very sweet. But I don’t, other than Becca Tilley, I haven’t even really had any contact with any of them.”

Reflecting more, Ben confirmed that he hasn’t gone on a date with anyone from Bachelor Nation outside of his seasons. 

“I think I can confidently say I didn’t even go on a date outside of Kaitlyn during her season, and then my season,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve even gone on a date with anybody from the Bachelor franchise outside of my time on the show. I could be wrong there… I can’t remember, though, but I don’t think I did.” 

The former Bachelor also shared one of his biggest regrets and what he would've changed from his season. 

“I did the best I could,” he stated. “I would definitely not share, you know there’s a level of me, I’ve said it publicly. I don’t even know how to make sense of it. The double ‘I love you’s.’ I would’ve been wiser in my communication in what I said and didn’t say.”

Ben recalled telling both Lauren and JoJo “I love you” because it was how he felt at the time and wanted to affirm that he genuinely cared for each person. But he also admitted that it added a layer of confusion and felt like it might’ve been “manipulative” on his part. 

He confessed, “I think I was doing it more for myself wanting both of them to know, ‘Hey, I really care about you. This isn’t going to work out for both of us, all of us, but I want you to know how meaningful you are to me.’ I think I was doing that more for myself than I was for them. And I don’t think at the time I was wise enough to decipher who I was actually doing it for.”