On Monday, People reported that Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell called it quits. In a joint statement from the couple, they said:
"It is with heavy hearts that we announce our decision to go our separate ways. We feel fortunate for the time we had together, and will remain friends with much love and respect for one another. We wish nothing but the best for each other, and ask for your support and understanding at this time."
For months, rumors surfaced, alleging that the Bachelor alumni’s rocky status. Exactly what went wrong? Now, as reported by Us Weekly, Higgins is speaking out about his former fiancée.
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In an upcoming episode of his podcast with co-host Ashley Iaconetti of Bachelor Nation, Higgins said:
"Just to be as politically correct as possible and to also be as truthful as possible, Lauren will always be one of my best friends," Higgins, 29, said, according to Us. "It's [a relationship] where I learned a lot about myself; I think she learned a lot about herself. Obviously, she knows me better than anybody else that has gone through this experience, and really probably anybody else in the world. It's tough."
Thankfully there’s no bad blood between the two exes.
"I would say the joy that we felt toward our relationship at the beginning was — for some reason — slipping away," Higgins continued. "And we were both working very hard to bring that joy back. And it just never seemed to get there. So it was a long time coming but it wasn't necessarily like we dragged it out. … It's hard to say goodbye to somebody that you spent so much time with and it's hard to say goodbye to somebody that you really did believe was the one for you."
You can listen to the full interview on the podcast Ben and Ashley: Almost Famous via the iHeartRadio app on Tuesday, May 23.