Ben Higgins is weighing in on that “really weird” viral throwback photo with his ex-fiancée, Lauren Bushnell, and her now-husband, Chris Lane.
On Sunday, May 5, iHeartMedia Chief Programming Officer, Tom Poleman posted a series of photos from the iHeartCountry Music Festival in 2016, which featured Higgins, Bushnell and Lane.
“How it started / How it’s going… The moment when Chris Lane met his future wife, Lauren, at our iHeartCountry Music Festival in 2016!” he captioned the images. “8 years later, at the same show, we reenacted the scene last night!”
Higgins, 35, admitted during the Wednesday, May 8, episode of his “Almost Famous” podcast that he felt “weird” after seeing the post.
“I thought it put Chris and Lauren in a very awkward situation,” he explained. “These pictures, I thought, would feel weird to them. As a result, I felt weird about that. I also just felt weird that there [were] pictures of Lauren and I together again. I haven’t seen a picture of Lauren I posted in a long time.”
Both Higgins and his podcast cohost, Ashley Iaconetti, speculated that Poleman had no idea what went down between the trio when deciding to post the pics.
“It would have been actually relatively maybe normal if he had poked fun at the fact that you’re sandwiched between,” Iaconetti, 36, told Higgins. “If he made fun of the fact that they met when you and her were still very much together, but there was no mention of this. So, it’s just awkward because you’re just present in all the pictures. And it’s almost as if they’re pretending that you don’t exist.”
Things got even “weirder” when Lane reposted the images — without mentioning Higgins.
Chris Lane and Lauren Bushnell Lane Jason Kempin/Getty Images
“Then I got a text from Chris. It’s very nice of him,” Higgins said of Lane. The former Bachelor star guessed that the text was prompted by some fans wondering whether the post was “a jab” at Higgins. (Lane and Higgins previously crossed paths in 2023 while playing at the same charity golf tournament.)
“As I’ve mentioned before, I really like Chris. He’s a great dude. We’ve gotten to golf together. I have nothing but respect for him,” Higgins continued. “I’m so happy that he and Lauren found each other, and they have a family together. All that’s so good, and there’s never been this animosity. Honestly, there’s never even been a weirdness.”
While some roses stand the test of time, others wilt before the Neil Lane engagement ring can be resized. The Bachelor premiered on ABC in March 2002 with Alex Michel dubbed the world’s most eligible Bachelor. More than 20 women competed for his heart and one of the most successful reality TV franchises was born. […]
After their text conversation, Higgins decided to comment on Lane’s post.
“I had big big plans for the two of you. Life works out exactly as it should my man,” he wrote, referring to Lane’s song “Big, Big Plans” about Bushnell, which was released in July 2019.
Higgins proposed to Bushnell during The Bachelor season 20 finale in 2016, but they broke off their engagement in May 2017. Higgins has since moved on with Jessica Clarke, whom he married in November 2021.
Meanwhile, Bushnell went public with Lane in November 2018, and his June 2019 proposal was showcased in the “Big, Big Plans” music video. The couple got married in October 2019 and welcomed their first child, a son named Dutton, in June 2021. Their second son, Baker, was born in October 2022.
