AceShowbiz - Ben Higgins is waiting for the right time to introduce his secret girlfriend to the public. The season 20 star of "The Bachelor" is not yet ready for his relationship to come under media scrutiny, but he did not mind offering some clues as to who his lucky woman might be.

In a sneak peek at the January 21 episode of his and Ashley Iaconetti's "Almost Famous" podcast, the 29-year-old explained why he's reluctant in giving any details. "The reason that I just didn't want to put out name yet is because at some level I didn't even really mean to slip up. I didn't think I slipped up. I'm not hiding anything," he insisted.

The ex-fiance of Lauren Bushnell further admitted that he wasn't ready for the burden that comes with dating under the spotlight. He additionally stated that he is waiting for the "right timing" to "publicly put everything out there."

In the preview, "The Bachelorette" alum also shot down question if his secret girlfriend is a contestant on "The Bachelor" from season 23 featuring former NFL linebacker Colton Underwood. "Dating is fun and it's exciting and I've been able to get back into it," he said. "So life's good, but she's not from Colton's season. Not at all. Not from the show."

Ben has been dropping hints here and there about his current beau. During the January 14 episode of his "Almost Famous" podcast, he spilled," 'The Bachelor' is a really great thing because it forces you to have conversations and right now, the girl that I'm talking to is long-distance. So we FaceTime a lot, and it feels very similar because we don't get time together."

Ben's admission was quick to send his fans to speculate that he is dating Nashville resident Jessica Clarke. Although he remained mum on who his new girl is, he couldn't help gushing over her. "She's like, the best, purest person I know, so a lot of those conversations are about our lives," he said.