From the final rose to forever! Bachelor Ben Higgins and his bride-to-be, Lauren Bushnell, have been publicly engaged since March, when the season 20 finale aired. So are they ready to lock it down? Not quite yet. But they’ve been loving every minute together.
“We have really been trying to focus on our relationship and taking everything day by day,” Bushnell, 26, told Us Weekly at The Knot Gala 2016 in NYC on Monday, October 10. “Life has been so crazy that I think if we start to think [about airing a wedding special], we get a little overwhelmed, and we’re just finishing up this project.”
The project in question? Their Bachelor follow-up, Ben and Lauren: Happily Ever After. And Bushnell promised that if you tune into the premiere, which airs Tuesday, October 11, on Freeform, you’ll get the scoop on their upcoming nuptials. “You’ll see kind of where we are at on the wedding process on the show, so you’ll need to tune in to find out about that,” the travel and style blogger shared. “For now, we’re just enjoying each other’s company and trying not to think too far ahead into the future.”
Her love, 28, backed her up completely, confirming that they’re in no rush to get to the alter. “I think we both get really excited about that next step, especially when it comes to our wedding,” Higgins said. “But what we realized is that sometimes, when you take those steps so quickly, it becomes a chore instead of something to celebrate. We want to make sure we’re in the right headspace and calmed down, and that our life has slowed to a point where we can start planning a wedding with the mindset of a celebration, not just to get it done.”
That said, while there may still be a few details to sort — the dress, the decor — Higgins noted there’s one thing set in stone: “I’m going to be marrying Lauren!”
In the meantime, the couple has been nesting in their new home, redecorating a 1910 house with modern Joss & Main pieces — including a pristine white sofa. “We haven’t been home a lot, so our white couch is still very white. It hasn’t got a lot of use lately,” Bushnell told Us Weekly. “We figured why not make our house really bright and white while we don’t have kids or pets. Eventually I’m sure that’ll have to change, but for now it’s great.”
Higgins admitted that he was “nervous” about sitting on it at first, but Bushnell put him at ease. “It was so sad. He was like, ‘Can I actually sit on it?’ I was like, ‘Of course! That’s why I got the couch.'” But she suspects that her snow-white settee might not be so perfectly clean for long. “It’s gonna happen, [we’re going to drop something on it],” she said. “It’s 100 percent gonna happen, and I’ll be frantically scrubbing it off!”
