The Bachelor 's Lauren Bushnell Lane Says Her Breakup with Ben Higgins Left Her 'in a Low Place'
David Becker/Getty Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell in 2016
Lauren Bushnell Lane is opening up about her hard breakup with Bachelor Ben Higgins.
The former contestant, 32, who was the recipient of Higgins' final rose on the season 20 finale of The Bachelor, said her split from Higgins left her facing an emotional uphill battle.
Higgins and Bushnell Lane officially ended their relationship in 2017, calling off their engagement after a year of dating.
"I was really in a low place. I was kind of at that rock bottom place," Bushnell Lane told Page Six.
"I needed to get there, though, in order to reflect and figure out who I was and what I wanted," she explained. "I think I needed to just be alone, refocus on myself and rebuild who I was without a camera in my face."
Bushnell Lane previously told PEOPLE that they jointly decided to end the engagement, claiming their emotional connection "fizzled" despite their lingering physical connection.
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Chris Lane and Lauren Bushnell Lane
The Bachelor alum told Page Six she thinks their decision to star in their own spinoff reality show, Ben & Lauren: Happily Ever After?, which aired just months after the on-screen proposal, wasn't "the best idea to do because, at that point in time, I was definitely still processing a lot of what happened."
While she said she "was having doubts" about her engagement, finding herself suddenly famous was causing her significant anxiety.
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"I don't necessarily like all eyes on me. There was a lot of criticism involved. The foundation was rocky already, and not just the relationship but my own mental health," she told the outlet.
Both parties have since moved on and ultimately married new partners. Bushnell Lane married country singer Chris Lane in 2019. The couple welcomed their first child together, son Dutton Walker Lane on June 8, 2021.
Higgins, 33, tied the knot with his wife Jessica Clarke last November in a Nashville, Tennessee ceremony. The former reality TV star previously spoke about his and his wife's decision to abstain from sex prior to marriage earlier this month.
RELATED: Ben Higgins Reflects on Split from Lauren Bushnell: 'We Weren't Each Other's Best Fits'
Ben Higgins/Instagram Ben Higgins, Jess Clarke
"We both believe in Jesus. That is something that is at the foundation [and] the corner of our life. It is what we try to have everything come out of," he said on the Talking It Out podcast.
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"We also, because of that, do believe that sex is sacred. We believe it is something very powerful. Something very important to consider and hold dear, to talk about, to express. We also believe it's an awesome thing. It's a gift."
