Lauren Bushnell's hometown date in Portland, OR, on The Bachelor was one of the best -- if not the best -- of the bunch for Ben Higgins.
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"As much as I had gotten used to (only temporarily) dating multiple women at once, it still felt weird to go from meeting [Amanda Stanton]'s family one day to meeting Lauren's the next. I'll never really get used to this, and I don't want to honestly," Higgins wrote in his People blog.
"But once I saw Lauren (I can drop the last initial now right?) in Portland all the awkwardness just melted away. She was so excited, and after getting past last week and putting all the weirdness behind us, I felt like there was nothing holding either of us back anymore."
Higgins visit to Portland marked his first time there, and he apparently thought it was "such a cool city" he could see himself living in.
"I'm a lucky man in more ways than one. But really I just loved how natural and easy it felt walking the city with Lauren. You guys didn't get to see was when stopped by the craziest and best donut shop I've ever been to. I had heard Portland was the place for amazing donuts, but theses guys went all out and even made us some giant donuts that represented our dates -- a pig, a biplane, all kinds of things," Higgins explained.
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"Anyway, by the time we got to her parents' house, I really wasn't that nervous at all anymore. Any nerves I had immediately went away once I met her family too. It's like they are out of a Christmas movie on television or something! They were so warm and inviting, and I immediately felt at home."
While talking to Bushnell's sister Mollie about what sets the flight attendant apart from the other women, Higgins got choked up and started to cry.
"What surprised even me was how emotional I got talking to her family though! I know this has been the biggest emotional roller coaster that I have ever been on in my life, but I can usually hold it together!" Higgins insisted.
"I don't know what it was that day but when her sister asked me about what was so special about her, I just couldn't hold it back anymore. These women have become so special to me in so many ways, and I am so grateful for them that I just got overcome [with emotion]. But you know what they say, real men cry."
Higgins thought showing a vulnerable side to himself also won him some points with Bushnell's family.
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"I was really happy that Lauren's family was able to see how seriously I am taking this and how much Lauren means to me as well," he wrote in the blog.
The Bachelor airs Monday nights from 8-10PM ET/PT on ABC.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski