Inside Their Split

After Months of Disputing Breakup Rumors, Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell Have Finally Called It Quits

The question mark that punctuated the promise of wedded bliss for Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell in their post Bachelor reality show — Ben & Lauren: Happily Ever After? — turned out to be a bad omen indeed. Two years after The Bachelor’s 20th season ended with software salesman Ben, 29, asking former flight attendant Lauren, 27, to spend eternity with him, the troubled couple have called it quits, announcing their intention to “remain friends with much love and respect for one another.”

Their union seemed doomed from the start — Ben’s public declaration that he loved runner-up JoJo Fletcher as well as Lauren was “extremely difficult,” Lauren said, putting it lightly. But insiders say that other issues had long been brewing.