Lauren Bushnell Never Wanted To Do 'Happily Ever After'

I hate to say I totally saw this coming, but I totally saw this coming. After Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell announced their breakup last month, Bushnell has been opening up in interviews about exactly what went wrong in their relationship, and now, it sounds like it all began with their reality show. While talking to People recently, Bushnell admitted she didn't want to film Ben & Lauren: Happily Ever After?, the show the couple starred in on Freeform a few months after The Bachelor ended. And having seen the way everything played out, I don't blame her at all.

Over the weeks the short-lived show was on, Higgins and Bushnell were filmed interacting with their former Bachelor cast members, as well as dealing with being engaged and figuring out how to merge their two very separate lives into one. That came with a lot of funny moments, but a lot of relatable ones, as well. Some of it seemed staged, while other parts were painfully real, and even uncomfortable to watch at times as someone rooting for their relationship to work. But knowing that, now what Bushnell is saying about her experience on the show just makes that much more sense.

In the interview, Bushnell said:

"I didn't really want to do it, to be honest. I wanted to move on with our life and have a moment that was just about us. I was like, 'I can still do it. There's so much love there for one another. If I can get through The Bachelor, I can get through this no problem — at least we get to spend time together. But that was a really high stress situation. I didn't feel like I got the support that I needed when we were filming that — just from everyone."

It does sound like a lot for any relationship to endure, even ones that didn't begin over a matter of weeks in front of millions of people. It's hard to imagine the immense pressure that comes with actively filming a reality show about your life, and then add the very real stress of making your TV relationship work in real life? It would be more surprising if it hadn't contributed to their split.

Bushnell added:

"There were certain situations I didn't want to continue talking about. I understand people want to know these answers, but at the same time I really wanted to make this relationship work."

Having watched Happily Ever After as it aired last year, nothing convinced me that their relationship was in trouble more than seeing their fights play out on screen. There was one point where Higgins was so freaked out about the idea of marrying Bushnell that he cried, and that's not a good sign from your fiancé. It was pretty obvious that their communication wasn't great, and as much as they made it seem things were going well on Instagram, it was only a matter of time before their fairytale came crashing down.

But even though their split was predictable, it doesn't make it any less upsetting. Even in this interview, it seems that Bushnell is heartbroken that she and Higgins were unable to make things work.

Hopefully, happier days are ahead of her. This breakup was probably the best decision for both of them — and now, she doesn't have to deal with reality cameras unless she decides to.