Ben Higgins may have given his final rose to Lauren Bushnell, but he found lasting love with Jessica Clarke.
Bachelor Nation first met Higgins when he competed for Kaitlyn Bristowe’s heart on season 11 of The Bachelorette. After finishing in third place, ABC named the Colorado native the season 20 Bachelor.
Higgins subsequently got down on one knee and proposed to Bushnell during the March 2016 finale. The duo, who landed their own spinoff, Ben and Lauren: Happily Ever After?, called it quits in May 2017.
While Higgins returned to reality TV to compete on The Bachelor: Winter Games in 2018, he quit the spinoff without a love connection. By the end of that year, however, Higgins met Clarke through Instagram.
“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,” Higgins gushed to Us in April 2019. “She challenges me to be more empathetic, more loving, more caring, more kind as well. So I’m very happy.”
The pair’s relationship got serious quick. Higgins proposed to Clarke in March 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. They said “I do” in November 2021, revealing three years later that their first baby is on the way.
Scroll through for Higgins and Clarke’s relationship timeline.
2018
Higgins and Clarke met in late 2018 via Instagram.
February 2019
The reality TV personality introduced his followers to Clarke in February 2019.
“I’ve been selfishly keeping this girl to myself for too long! Hey friends meet @jessclarke_!” Higgins wrote on February 20. “I successfully slid into her Dm’s a few months ago. I took a risk and I am glad I did. She is someone special, and I look forward to where life is going to take us. Stay tuned for the journey.”
March 2019
The pair were in a long-distance relationship when they first started dating.
“Long-distance isn’t ideal, I don’t love it. I want to be around her more and we don’t get to be around each other a ton, so that’s not something I want to keep doing,” Higgins told Us in March 2019. “But I think there’s a good compromise, and that’s giving up more of my time to go see her. And I’m ready for that. … She’s just an incredible person.”
March 2020
Higgins put a ring on it in March 2020. Us broke the news of their engagement.
April 2020
The couple made headlines in April 2020 after Higgins revealed that they were waiting to have sex until they tied the knot.
“It’s just something that we both felt comfortable talking to each other about. I forget the exact scenario that it came up,” Higgins told Us at the time. “We didn’t know at that point — who knew where it was going, but like, you know, [I said], ‘Let’s just make this commitment now.’ We had talked about it and agreed to it. Oftentimes that we bring it up. Like, we still have the desires and we still have the emotions and the physical desires to love each other.”
June 2020
When Higgins’ season of The Bachelor re-aired as part of The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons — Ever! in June 2020, he told Us that Clarke wouldn’t be tuning in.
“She is my partner, and I want her to know that I don’t want her to feel any sort of heartbreak or sadness from that. So she’ll make an appearance on the show, but she will not be watching it,” Higgins told Us about The Bachelor: GOAT. “She’s going to get through that day, and probably the week afterward, with all the comments about my season, and then we’ll move on. But it’s not healthy, I don’t think, for her to probably watch it.”
Clarke took to Instagram to show Higgins support, however. “Cheering you on from afar tonight,” she wrote. “I’m so proud of who you are and happy for all of the steps that led me to you! You make me smile so big it smushes my face.”
November 2020
Clarke shared a photo on Instagram of Higgins kissing her and marked a special anniversary. “Every Thanksgiving from now on, I’ll remember the first message you sent me!” she wrote of receiving a message from her future husband on Instagram. “Waking up 2 years ago and seeing a DM from a random stranger, I never imagined I’d be marrying him.”
“Thank you for supporting me in following my dreams, loving me on my most tired days, making me a better person, and always making me feel like I am good enough just as I am,” Clarke continued. “This photo is from last year when we were traveling all of the time. I remember being so worried that one day life would slow down and we wouldn’t know what to do with one another, but this year I’ve learned that those slow days are my favorite.”
December 2020
Higgins revealed via Instagram that the couple are officially homeowners in Colorado. “Jess and I now own a house together (staying in Denver)! We don’t own any furniture but we are hoping Mr. Claus and Mrs. Claus send some our way this Christmas,” he captioned a photo of the pair in their new home. “Until then, our and probably next many dinners in the new house will be on the floor, just the way it should be! Also, before you start blowing up the comments this will be Jess private VIP party pad until the wedding, then I move in to crash the place! Let the fun begin!”
October 2021
“Had the opportunity to stop watching football on Sunday to go pick up the future wife of the party!” Higgins wrote via Instagram alongside photos of the couple at Clarke’s bridal shower. “Only a month till I get to show off my tux and watch @jessclarke_ cry (beautifully and happily) down the aisle!”
November 2021
The couple exchanged vows at Cherokee Dock in Nashville with Nick Viall, Shawn Booth, Ashley Iaconetti, Jared Haibon, Becca Kufrin, Thomas Jacobs and more Bachelor Nation members in attendance.
November 2023
The couple marked two years of marriage on November 13, 2023.
“2 years. 2 years ago we made a commitment. The commitment that everyday makes me smile with joy, feel a peace in my soul, has allowed every part of me to be even more free than before, brought a hope for the future I never knew existed, helped me see the faults that I want to change and brought a lot of laughs,” Higgins wrote via Instagram. “In the words of my wife @jessclarke_ ‘marriage is great, every night we get to have a sleepover with your best friend’. With Jesus as our foundation and a loving commitment to each other I am so excited for every day in our long future together. Till death do us part hun I love you, happy 2 year anniversary. Goodness gracious she is really gorgeous isn’t she??? Everyone go out and send some love to @jessclarke_ today for 2 years of being the best partner!”
August 2024
The couple announced Clarke’s pregnancy via Instagram, sharing a video that featured their biggest milestones together. “The next chapter of our love story! Baby girl coming in February ❤️,” read the caption.
February 2025
The pair welcomed their first baby. “Update and more to come but baby girl Higgins has entered the world,” Higgins captioned a February 12 Instagram photo of the trio after Clarke gave birth. “She is healthy. @jessclarke_ is doing so well.”
While at the time he didn’t “have words for what just happened,” Higgins said both his daughter and wife were doing well and thanked the hospital staff for their care.
“The nurses and doctors who cared for us should be lifted high,” he said. “Also I am biased but God spent a little more time on our baby girl because she’s real beautiful! This beauty will be revealed soon but first she needs a bath.”