Stuck between a rock and a hard place. Ben Higgins revealed how hard it’s been to see Becca Kufrin and Garrett Yrigoyen struggle with their relationship after Yrigoyen’s controversial police post.
“It’s tough, man,” Higgins, 31, told Us Weekly exclusively on Thursday, June 18, while promoting his partnership with Jared. “I spent a lot of time with him on tour. We were doing The Bachelor Live on Stage tour together [and] Garrett was there for a lot of it.”
The former Bachelor star, who cohosted the live tour with Kufrin, 30, before it was halted amid the coronavirus pandemic, explained that he learned about the pair “struggling or that they were trying to process it” from a news headline.
“It hurts because I know how good they can be, and I know how hard this situation is for them,” the Indiana native told Us.
Earlier in the month, the former Bachelorette star revealed on her “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast that she doesn’t know what’s going on with her relationship after her fiancé, 31, came under fire for posting support for the police amid the Black Lives Matter protests.
“It’s something that we are trying to work through and discuss and do work on at home at this time and that’s where the work will remain and that’s really the best can give you at this point,” she told her listeners and cohost Rachel Lindsay on June 16. “But I wanted to share this — I know I’ve been rambling for a bit — but to give a little bit more context and to give you, Rachel, my apology and to really throw my voice and hat in the ring to say things need to change within the franchise and within myself as well.”
Higgins, for his part, noted that he’s talked to Kufrin about the situation saying that “any time relationships end, it’s tough. But I also know that you need to be with somebody that, morally, you agree with.”
The Generous Coffee Co. cofounder said that he doesn’t know what Yrigoyen is “standing on these days,” which is part of the issue. “I haven’t heard him really respond with ‘Hey, this is what I meant or this is how I feel.’ It’s just hard to walk through this, especially as a couple. It’s really tough,” he added.
The “Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous” podcast cohost explained that he’s witnessed the good within Kufrin and Yrigoyen’s relationship, but pointed out that it’s better to have these hard conversations now than after you’ve gotten married.
“I can’t say anything more than I’ve them together. I’ve seen how much they love each other,” Higgins said. “I know this is a unique scenario that is probably raising some really good and healthy and deep conversations for them, things I would hope they would figure out before they would get married. And if they disagree, then it is best that they separate.”
When it comes to his own relationship, the Denver resident revealed he’s “spent a lot of time talking about this stuff” with his fiancée, Jessica Clarke.
They’ve asked one another, “What do you feel, what do you think? Tell me honestly, what is it in your life that you feel like you are maybe wrong on or some opinions we disagree on?”
Higgins added: “If those ever became in between our relationships on the outside, I think we’d have some big issues. It sounds like they are confronting that right now.”
In addition to talking things out with Clarke, 24, ahead of their big day — the two got engaged in March — Higgins is helping other couples find their happily ever after with Jared.
The former reality star re-upped his officiant certificate last year and is now going to officiate three virtual weddings as a part of Jared’s efforts to give couples affected by COVID-19 postponements a way to get married online.
“[The couples] can write in with their story. And in three of those couples will be able to be chosen from the big list,” he explained of the process. “But a lot of couples are going to be able to be married virtually from Jared’s platform, but I’m lucky enough to get three of them. And I’m so pumped for it.”
With reporting by Marc Lupo
