Everything We Know About Ben Higgins’ Girlfriend Jessica Clarke
A lot can change in three years. Back in early 2016, fans watched as Ben Higgins proposed to Lauren Bushnell in The Bachelor Season 20 finale, but these days, there’s a new woman on his arm.
And that new woman is Jessica Clarke — a 24-year-old University of Mississippi graduate currently residing in Nashville.
“I have a girlfriend, and we are in a committed, exclusive relationship,” he told Entertainment Tonight back in February. “It’s really exciting, and there’s a ton of peace behind it.”
Read on for everything we know about Ben’s new relationship with Jessica.
They met online
Ben revealed he “successfully slid into [Jessica’s] DMs” (translation: he wrote her via Instagram direct messages) to get the conversation started between the two. “I took a risk and I am glad I did,” he wrote on Instagram. “She is someone special, and I look forward to where life is going to take us. Stay tuned for the journey.”
They’re in a long distance relationship, but don’t plan to be forever
Ben admitted back in June that the couple has a plan to discuss “next steps” by August 2019. “We’re gonna talk about, ‘Hey, what’s the next move even?’ Or ‘Hey, how do we make this thing a little more close to each other? How do we continue to move this forward in the right direction?'”
Well, time is passing and August is almost over — will Ben and Jessica be making an announcement sometime soon?
Ben has the “wedding bug” after Ashley and Jared’s nuptials
Ben and Jessica attended Jared Haibon and Ashley Iaconetti’s wedding together in August 2019, and the celebration of love gave Ben a sense of excitement about his own relationship.
“I think it’s exciting, right? Especially to see two people walk into marriage with such a positivity to it, such a confidence,” he told Us Weekly, “So that gives me the wedding bug, is just seeing how confident they are in walking into that special day.”
But the wedding didn’t come without a little bit of drama. One user on Instagram poked fun at Jessica after Ben shared a boomerang of the two from the event. “Legit looks like she’s in high school lol,” the user wrote.
Ben, proving that he’s a man who will defend his lady, quickly clapped back, “I think she looks like a beautifully spry, youthfully joy-filled, and optimistically wise 24 year old….but that’s just me. And I think she’s smoking hot.”
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