When Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell called off their relationship last month, many fans of The Bachelor franchise weren't exactly surprised. And now, People reports that Lauren thinks their spinoff show, Ben and Lauren: Happily Ever After?, could have been a contributing factor in their breakup ––a show she was hesitant about to begin with.
“I didn’t really want to do it, to be honest,” Lauren told People. “I wanted to move on with our life and just have a moment that was just about us."
Lauren said the show seriously affected her relationship with Ben. “I was like, ‘I can still do it. There’s so much love there for one another. If I can get through The Bachelor, I can get through this no problem — at least we get to spend time together,’" she said. "But that was a really high-stress situation. I didn’t feel like I got the support that I needed when we were filming that — just from everyone.”
Lauren told the magazine she felt like she couldn't move forward from the memory of Ben telling her and JoJo Fletcher that he loved them during his season of The Bachelor. And who can't sympathize with her?
“I felt like we were stuck in this place that happened seven months ago that I was trying to move forward from,” she said. “There were certain situations I didn’t want to continue talking about. I understand people want to know these answers, but at the same time I really wanted to make this relationship work.”
Regardless, Lauren put on a brave face and tried to stick through it for her relationship. Ultimately, though, things just didn't work out.
“Looking back, I wish I could be like, ‘That’s why it didn’t work out’ — but I think it was just a very abnormal situation and one that unfortunately [didn’t work out]," she said. "I mean, we tried. We went to couples counseling. We continued that after the show and I went to personal counseling. I feel like we gave it everything we could, just at the end of the day, it didn’t feel right anymore.”
We wish nothing but the best for both Lauren and Ben in the future.
