\n<\/p>\n
The Bachelor<\/span><\/i><\/a> alum <\/span>Ben Higgins<\/b><\/a> shares where he and ex-fianc\u00e9e<\/span> Lauren Bushnell<\/b><\/a>\u2019s relationship stood before they called off their engagement.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were kind of more work associates,\u201d Ben, 35, said about his and Lauren\u2019s relationship before they called off their wedding during the Tuesday, May 28, episode of \u201cThe Bachelor Happy Hour\u201d podcast<\/a>. \u201cWe were living in the same house, we weren\u2019t really speaking to each other off camera because the cameras would leave at nine o\u2019clock we\u2019d be exhausted. I might be having to go to work the next day. She would be doing her thing with her job, and so she was still flying as a flight attendant a little bit and we\u2019d just be like, dead tired.\u201d<\/p>\n After the pair got engaged during season 20 of The Bachelor<\/em> in 2016, they went on to document their love story on Ben & Lauren: Happily Ever After?<\/em><\/a> in 2017. Ben admitted that he and Lauren, 34, were \u201cstruggling for about a month\u201d into filming the spinoff series, and they were \u201creally trying to make it work.\u201d<\/p>\n As the wedding planning process continued, former franchise host Chris Harrison<\/strong> asked the couple if they wanted their nuptials to be televised<\/a>. \u201cWe were not doing it. I mean, we were butting heads,\u201d Ben recalled, adding that they were \u201calready kind of not talking\u201d when they were approached by Chris, 52, with the offer.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wouldn\u2019t talk to each other. We hadn\u2019t talked to each other really truly in weeks<\/a>,\u201d Ben continued.<\/p>\n While the pair eventually agreed they would televise their wedding<\/a>, Ben and Lauren ultimately decided they weren\u2019t ready to tie the knot while they were filming the final episodes of Ben & Lauren: Happily Ever After?<\/em><\/p>\n Ben and Lauren later concluded that their relationship was \u201cdone\u201d<\/a> and it was \u201cnot healthy\u201d for either of them after they stopped filming the spinoff.<\/p>\n While their romance wasn\u2019t meant to be, both Ben and Lauren have moved on and found happiness with new partners. The Alone in Plain Sight<\/em> author wed Jessica Clarke<\/strong> in 2021, and Lauren married country singer Chris Lane<\/strong> in 2019. Ben and Jessica, 28, don\u2019t have any children<\/a>, though Lauren and Chris, 39, welcomed son Dutton in June 2021 and son Baker in October 2022.<\/p>\n Lauren and Chris previously opened up about transitioning from being the parents of one to two kids<\/a> during an exclusive interview with Life & Style<\/em> in February 2023. \u201cI feel like that just sums up kids in general \u2014 challenging but the best thing we\u2019ve ever experienced,\u201d Lauren said at the time. \u201cI feel like being a family of four, I feel even more complete. It\u2019s so fun.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n