Former Bachelor Ben Higgins Is Keeping Busy All Over The Place In 2018

Bachelor Nation fell deep in love with sweet and adorable Ben Higgins for the first time when he competed for Kaitlyn Bristowe's heart on the eleventh season of The Bachelorette. He managed to remain a fan favorite even when he was sadly eliminated in the eighth week. Luckily, fans got to experience a whole lot more of Ben when he was chosen as the star of Season 20 of The Bachelor. Though he fell hard in love with and became engaged to contestant Lauren Bushnell during his turn as the star, the couple broke off their engagement in the summer of 2017. So, what is Ben Higgins up to in 2018?

Poor Ben has seemingly had a bit of a tough time with his break up from Lauren and it is probably compounded by the fact that she has moved on with someone new. That is never an easy thing to reconcile for any ex. Per Us Weekly, Lauren confirmed that she was dating a special guy named Devin Antin in an interview with the magazine in May 2017. When asked about how they met, Lauren said that they actually met on the dating app Tinder before she even appeared on The Bachelor. Once she and Ben broke off their engagement, the two reconnected and the now she says, "“I do see a future with him, but I want to be 1000 percent sure before I get engaged and even more sure before I get married. And for me that takes time.” Longer than a season of The Bachelor apparently.

At the time of the split, Ben spoke to Ryan Seacrest on his radio show, On Air With Ryan Seacrest, to discuss the breakup and what he was up to following it. Ben explained, "I don't want to speak for Lauren on any of this, but I think both of us for so long thought this was the right thing and thought this was going to be something." He added, "We're extremely lucky we met on this crazy show that brought us together. We thought we'd be spending life together, so yeah, it did come as a shock."

When discussing whether he was dating anyone, Ben told E! in Sept. 2017 that he was starting to feel ready to at least give the potential for a new relationship a shot again. He explained, "I'm not trying to hide anything. I've gone on a couple dates. It's been nothing but dates. I think it's been blown out of proportion. I'm not exclusively with anybody. But I am starting to put my foot back in the water." So, although it doesn't look like he is settling down with anyone anytime soon, he at least seems like he is rebounding back a bit from heartbreak.

Besides his romantic life starting to feel healed again, Ben is currently co-hosting his own podcast on iHeart with fellow Bachelor Nation alum Ashley Iaconetti. The show, cleverly called Almost Famous, is described on iTunes as:

"Fan Favorite and one of the most popular Bachelor’s Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti, the notorious crier from ABC’s Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise, will be covering everything relationships and breaking down the new season of the Bachelorette. They will include interviews with celebrities, past Bachelor and Bachelorette contestants, and interactions from their most loyal fans."

Even though there were rumors that the two co-hosts could possibly be dating, Ben assured fans on Ryan Seacrest's show that their relationship is strictly professional and platonic.

Along with becoming a podcast host, Ben tried his hand at standup comedy. No, that is not a joke. Ben performed a five minute set for New Talent Night at Comedy Works in Denver. The set was actually filmed for a segment on NBC New York's entertainment and travel series, 1st Look for airing at a later date. Obviously, keep your eyes peeled for that gem.

As if he wasn't busy enough, Ben, along with two of his friends, also started a charitable coffee company called, Generous Coffee. The idea of this non-profit company is to improve the lives of the coffee farmers that the company purchases the coffee from. Basically, they are aiming to save the world and that is simply rad. From the company's website:

"Our commitment is to create life-changing stories by improving the lives of the coffee farmers we work with, and by donating our profits towards efforts focused on bringing hope to the world. With Generous, our purchases help to create a world we all want to live in. Be Generous. Because you don’t have to."

His romantic life may have taken a hit this year but it looks like 2018 will be a great time for Ben to start fresh and focus on his professional endeavors, his charity work, as well as the potential for a new love to share it with.