The former flight attendant and the reality star, who is now married to Chris Lane, shares in a new interview that she was 'really in a low place' when she and Ben called off their engagement in 2017.

• May 18, 2022

AceShowbiz - "The Bachelor" alum Lauren Bushnell is looking back at the time when she split from Ben Higgins almost five years ago. The former flight attendant and the reality star shared that she was "really in a low place" when they called off their engagement in 2017.

"I was kind of at that rock bottom place," Lauren shared with Page Six while recently discussing her partnership with Wyndham and its Extra Mile program. "I needed to get there, though, in order to reflect and figure out who I was and what I wanted. I think I needed to just be alone, refocus on myself and rebuild who I was without a camera in my face."

Revisiting the time, Lauren shared that the outlet she doesn't "think it was the best idea" to appear on "Ben and Lauren: Happily Ever After?". She "was definitely still processing a lot of what happened" and "having doubts" about their relationship.

She claimed that she didn't "necessarily like all eyes on me," adding, "there was a lot of criticism involved. The foundation was rocky already, and not just the relationship but my own mental health." She continued, "I enjoyed my time on 'The Bachelor' more than I enjoyed doing that show. I was more comfortable in a setting like 'The Bachelor' where you're one of 20 or 25 women and it wasn't just cameras on you all day long, every day."

Lauren eventually broke up with Ben because they simply weren't the best match for each other. "I think we shared a lot of the same core values, but personality-wise, I don't think we were super compatible," she explained. "I don't even think it had anything to do with the show or the spotlight or anything like that. Also, I was young. I think I needed to do a lot of reflecting on myself, and I had a lot of growing to do."

As for Ben, he shared that he didn't think they could get back together. "I think mutually Lauren and I saw that life was getting more difficult," he told fellow Bachelor Nation member and co-host Ashley Iaconetti on a 2017 episode their show "The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast". "I would say the joy that we felt toward our relationship at the beginning was, for some reason, slipping away, and we were both working very hard to bring that joy back. And it just never seemed to get there. So, it was a long time coming, but it wasn't necessarily like we dragged it out," he said.

Lauren and Ben have both moved on. Lauren got married with Chris Lane in 2019, while Ben tied the knot with Jessica Clarke in November.