New year, new romance! Bachelor Nation’s Ben Higgins confirmed he has moved on from his ex-fiancée, Lauren Bushnell.
Higgins, 29, and fellow Bachelor Nation star Ashley Iaconetti recently had current Bachelor Colton Underwood as a guest on their podcast and Higgins was inspired to reveal that he is giving love another shot.
“I was just telling someone the other day … I’ve started dating again,” he said on the Monday, January 14, episode of the “Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous” podcast. “This is big news, right? I am dating.”
Underwood, 26, was curious whether the former Bachelor uses dating apps, but Higgins admitted that they aren’t necessary right now because he is “actually dating one person.” He added, “I’m excited about it.”
The Indiana native didn’t give too many details about his new significant other, but couldn’t help but gush about the mystery woman. “She’s, like, the best, purest person I know,” he said.
Higgins also revealed that he and “the girl that [he’s] talking to” are currently in a long-distance relationship and do a lot of their communication over FaceTime. The Bachelorette season 11 contestant confessed, however, that his time on the show prepared him for the separation.
“The Bachelor’s a really great thing … because it forces you to have conversations,” he explained. “It feels very similar because we don’t get time together. It’s very intentional. It’s very focused. And if we’re gonna spend any time together, it’s gonna be in conversation and a lot of those conversations are about our lives.”
The business analyst and Bushnell, 28, ended their engagement in May 2017. Two months later, the former flight attendant moved on with Devin Antin, but they called it quits in August 2018, Us Weekly exclusively revealed at the time. Bushnell is currently dating country singer Chris Lane.
Higgins previously told Us that he tried to date following his breakup with the Dear Rosé founder, but he didn’t feel fully ready to move on. “It’s not like I haven’t [dated] since Lauren,” he said in August 2018. “I guess maybe it’s just a weird place where I am at in life. … So, I guess I would say I’m not dating, but am interested in dating — open to dating.”
Higgins competed for Kaitlyn Bristowe‘s heart on season 11 of The Bachelorette in 2015 before leading The Bachelor the next year. He later appeared on Bachelor Winter Games in 2018.
