Former The Bachelor lead Ben Higgins is engaged to his girlfriend of more than a year, Jessica Clarke, after the coronavirus outbreak interfered with his original plans to propose.
Higgins first appeared on the 11th season of The Bachelorette, where he was the third place finalist for Kaitlyn Bristowe before he went on to be the lead of the 20th season of The Bachelor. Higgins chose Lauren Bushnell in the end and while the couple stayed together for over a year, they couldn’t make it work and ultimately broke up in May 2017. In February 2019, the Almost Famous podcast host revealed on Instagram that he was dating Jessica Clarke after he slid into her DMs, and now more than a year later the couple has announced more exciting news.
On Friday, Higgins proposed to Clarke in Franklin, Tennessee, (via ET Online) at her parents home, with both their families secretly watching “from a distance” according to the Generous Coffee co-founder. “I was super nervous” admitted the 31-year-old, clarifying that “I wasn’t anxious, it’s just a big moment,” and he said he was “nervous to kind of do this whole thing in front of her.” Higgins started to tear up before even reaching the spot he was planning to propose at, which led Clarke to believe “it was one of two things: either I was ending our relationship, which would have been a huge shock… or I was proposing.” Clarke says that the proposal was “exactly how I would have wanted it to be” and said that she “couldn’t imagine it a better way.”
While this proposal turned out well for the couple, Higgins was originally planning to propose in New York City during a stop on his The Bachelor: Live on Stage tour with Becca Kufrin, but due to the coronavirus outbreak, the tour was put on hold. Clarke told ET that “Central Park would have been magical and special in its own way” but she’s thrilled with this one because “it’s really cool that we just got to be together [on Friday] and not really have to talk to anyone else but my family.” The proposal was almost foiled a second time that day when Clarke told Higgins she didn’t want to take a walk and “get sweaty” before dinner, but Higgins was able to convince her. When it comes to the ring, Higgins spent about three months designing it with a jeweler in Denver. The Bachelor National alum says he’s “pretty happy” with how it turned out, and Clarke loves it, exclaiming that “this ring’s never coming off!”
With the proposal only having happened a few days ago, the couple is still basking in their new engagement and there hasn’t been any mention of wedding details. Ben is a fan favorite from his time on The Bachelor and as he’s still heavily involved in Bachelor Nation with his podcast and his live tour, there’s a chance that a televised wedding officiated by Chris Harrison could be a possibility for viewers.
Source: ET
