Ben Higgins has been playing by his own set of rules when it comes to his season of The Bachelor. Besides sending multiple women home before rose ceremonies and telling two women he loves them, on Good Morning America Bachelor Ben announced he was engaged — yeah before the finale had even aired. Yet, now that the episode where he told both JoJo and Lauren B. that he loved them and The Bachelor: The Women Tell All have aired, is Ben still so happily in love — and happily engaged? He told Chris Harrison on The Women Tell All that he'd marry the woman he chose "tomorrow" if he could, but alas, that does not stop The Bachelor rumor mill from churning.
While Ben has wished on The Bachelor that there could be some sort of rule book about being in love with two women (oh, that poor soul Ben is sure having it rough), he probably wouldn't have followed that hypothetical book anyway. And perhaps all of this rule breaking is having a negative impact on his engagement to either Lauren or JoJo. Hollywood Life wrote that according to a source for In Touch magazine, Ben's fiancée is "having a very hard time getting over the fact that Ben told another woman 'I love you' within hours of proposing to her." The source also reportedly said that, along with the pair "fighting nonstop," the chosen woman doesn’t know "if she can go through with the wedding. She feels like their trust is broken."
Since I could not find the article from In Touch online that Hollywood Life wrote about (although it's possible it came from the print magazine), who knows how truthful these rumors are? I'm inclined to ignore any gossip from an unnamed source. Yet, I wouldn't blame JoJo or Lauren for struggling to watch these final episodes of The Bachelor as Ben is shown being super conflicted on who to chose. While dealing with your guy dating multiple women is something you sign up for when you agree to do The Bachelor, I still am amazed at what the contestants are willing to go through all in the name of love.
Since revealing he proposed, Ben has not said that there are issues between him and his fiancée, so Ben is most likely still engaged. While the finale on March 14 will prove just who he is engaged to, here are some moments from The Bachelor that either JoJo or Lauren B. will likely have to get over in order to move on with a happy, healthy relationship.
His History On The Franchise
In the world of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette this is ancient history, but let's not forget that Ben was the second runner-up on Kaitlyn's season of The Bachelorette. While he has more chemistry with JoJo and Lauren B. than he had with Kaitlyn, he still went to the Fantasy Suite with the most recent Bachelorette. Of course, both Lauren and JoJo knew this going in, but if the chosen woman is having doubts, it probably doesn't help the woman's confidence in their relationship.
Ben Playing With Amanda's Kids
I was not a huge fan of Amanda, so although it was slightly cruel that Ben sent Amanda home after meeting her two daughters, I thought he made the right decision. Yet, that doesn't mean his fiancée enjoyed watching his playdate with her children on the beach. As Lauren is still friends with Amanda (as shown through Lauren's Twitter account), if she is the one Ben chooses, she must feel very secure in their relationship. Besides just feeling uncomfortable watching Ben with Amanda's kids though, wouldn't his current fiancée be upset that the Ben she loves couldn't have figured out Amanda wasn't the one for him before he met her children? Guess it's all in the name of the game when it comes to The Bachelor.
The Fantasy Suite With Caila
While the Fantasy Suite definitely doesn't always have to mean sex, it has to be hard to watch your man take all three women along for the night. I adored it when Ben was rejecting Caila that she called him out and asked him if he knew he loved the other two girls — and not her — before he took her to the Fantasy Suite. He said he hadn't been sure, but it was still a jerk move (yeah, I said it — I don't care if Ben is the most beloved Bachelor), and I'm sure that must have been hard for his current fiancée to watch.
How He Loves Both JoJo & Lauren
By far the biggest strain on Ben's engagement has to be the fact that The Bachelor is showing him stressing out about who he is going to choose. Now, The Bachelor keeping the finale as suspenseful as possible is nothing new, but Ben is the first Bachelor to ever tell two women he loves them. Even if the series is exaggerating how torn up Ben really is, seeing the man you are going to marry telling another woman he loves her too isn't really the most stable way to start a marriage. But, all is fair in love and The Bachelor, so what else could Lauren and JoJo expect?
Although I think that Ben will stay engaged to whichever woman he ended up choosing, I'm sure his fiancée isn't going to have as much fun watching the season finale as the rest of Bachelor Nation.
Images: Matt Dunn/ABC; Giphy (5)
