Former 'Bachelor' Ben Higgins Met His Fiancé in the Most 2020 Way Imaginable
Jun. 22 2020, Updated 5:32 p.m. ET
Bach Nation was slightly worried that Ben Higgins would never truly find love. He failed to win over JoJo Fletcher in Season 11 of The Bachelorette in 2015, proposed to Lauren Bushnell during Season 20 of The Bachelor and got dumped a year later, and ultimately had to leave The Bachelor: Winter Games back in 2018, because he was still heart-broken. However, it seems as though things have finally turned around for him, as he popped the question to his girlfriend of almost two years, Jess Clarke.
How did Ben Higgins meet Jess Clarke? Some might say the start of their relationship was "untraditional," while others would simply call it a modern love story.
How did Ben and Jess meet?
A few months after 31-year-old Ben chose to leave Winter Games two years ago, still crushed from his widely publicized breakup with Lauren, he met Jess by sliding into her Instagram DMs at the end of 2018, according to Us Weekly. Like we said, it was a modern love story, and apparently, their relationship became very serious, very quickly. Only a few months later in April 2019, Ben expressed his adoration for her in an Us Weekly interview and his sentiments were incredibly heart-warming.
"She’s a very kind, pure, emphatic and supportive person in general. And she’s not only like that to me. I’m part of that, but she’s like that to everybody around her... She challenges me to be more empathetic, more loving, more caring, more kind as well. So I’m very happy,” the Bach Nation alum said affectionately.
Ben had initially planned to propose in New York City, during the Bachelor: Live On Stage tour, according to USA Today, but sadly, the tour ended up getting postponed indefinitely due to COVID-19. Ben didn't want to wait any longer to pop the question, ultimately deciding to ask Jess in her hometown of Franklin, Tenn., so her family could be present. The photo, which Jess posted to Instagram, is seriously adorable.
What is Jess Clarke's job?
Unlike Ben, Jess isn't a reality star. According to People, she graduated from the University of Mississippi back in 2018 with a degree in integrated marketing and communications, and started working at Valet Energy in Nashville as a Key Account Manager only a few months later. She also co-owns SweatNET Nashville and SweatNET Denver, which are sites that offer coupons for workout classes.
According to Marie Claire, she also recently announced plans to go to beauty school, to learn more about skin health. And when Jess isn't slaying in the world of marketing and beauty, the 25-year-old is a dedicated runner as well as a philanthropist. In fact, she recently stayed in a special needs orphanage in China for 10 days, which must have been an incredibly rewarding experience.
The couple hasn't yet announced a wedding date, though Ben responded to a fan via Instagram the date will be sometime next year. And whether or not we're invited, we are so, so happy for Ben and Jess. Congratulations to the happy, newly engaged couple.
