Ben Higgins had a bit of a blindside when he heard the news about former fiancée Lauren Bushnell’s new boyfriend. The Bachelor star, who split from Bushnell last year, told Entertainment Tonight he had “no clue” that his ex was dating country singer Chris Lane.
Higgins learned of Bushnell’s’ new relationship when she made her red carpet debut with the singer at the 66 th Annual BMI Country Awards in Nashville last week. Bushnell recently ended a year-long relationship with Devin Antin, whom she met on Tinder shortly after she ended her engagement to Higgins. Now, Higgins says he hopes his former love finds what she is looking for.
“This one was one I didn’t know about. I think the first time, when she was dating Devin, I remember that feeling — like the Band-Aid getting ripped off. This time, and I mean this, I really want Lauren to be fulfilled and happy, whether it’s with Chris or not.”
Higgins also revealed that he was aware of Chris Lane’s friendship with Lauren Bushnell when they were still a couple. The Bachelor star doesn’t seem to have any hard feelings over the fact that Bushnell’s onetime friend is now her boyfriend.
“I know they were friends when we were dating, and I know she always admired him and thought he was a good dude. I still care a ton about Lauren. …When it comes to her and her future relationships, I hope they’re healthy and good and I hope they’re bringing her joy. It’s a weird thing when you date somebody, you care about them and then you hear they’re dating somebody else. I just sit back and hope it’s good.”
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Ben Higgins also predicted that if he ran into Lauren Bushnell now, he thinks it would “be OK.” The Bachelor star admitted that he hasn’t seen his ex in a long time, but it sounds like he wishes nothing but the best for her.
Lauren Bushnell and Chris Lane made two red carpet appearances last week. In addition to the BMI Country Awards, the new couple posed for pics at the 2018 Country Music Awards. A rep for Lane confirmed to E! News that the country singer is in a “relatively new” relationship with Bushnell, whom he hung out with at Stagecoach in April when she was still dating Devin Antin.
Bushnell recently admitted to Us that she tends to fall in love very fast.
“I think going through the past and my past engagement and The Bachelo r has made me want to just take things a little bit slower and not rush anything, so maybe I’m a little bit overly cautious now.”
The Bachelor returns to ABC on January 7.