Lauren Bushnell is diving into what went wrong in her former relationship with The Bachelor's Ben Higgins like never before.

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Lauren and Ben got engaged at the conclusion of The Bachelor's 20th season in early 2016, only to announce their split a little over one year later in May 2017 due to "a combination of reasons," according to the former flight attendant.

Lauren has since moved on with boyfriend Devin Antin, and during Reality Steve's podcast on Thursday, she opened about about her whirlwind The Bachelor romance and failed engagement.

"I honestly don't think there was one main reason," the 28-year-old aspiring model told Reality Steve spoiler blogger Steve Carbone of her breakup with Ben.

"It wasn't this bad blood situation or blow-up fight -- it's nothing I can really pinpoint. It just came down to compatibility... I don't necessarily think at the end of the day we were the most compatible."

Lauren admitted she actually had a feeling something was wrong the morning she got engaged to Ben on the reality show, but she ignored the warning signs.

"There's so much doubt in your mind and I remember waking up that morning and I kind of had an idea that I was possibly going to get engaged and I remember having so much anxiety about it, which looking back, I don't know if that was my gut being like, wait, timing-wise, this is too rushed or what," Lauren explained to Carbone.

"But I remember being really anxious that morning to the point where like I kind of snapped at my producer, which I had never done. We were super close and good friends. I remember locking myself in the bathroom and just being so overwhelmed and anxious, to be quite honest with you."

Lauren wondered whether she just had butterflies at the time, but hindsight is 20/20.

"Now looking back, I wonder if it was my gut being like, 'This isn't the right timing. You guys need more time.' I don't know. Who knows?" Lauren revealed.

Shortly before Ben proposed marriage, he had also confessed his love to the season's runner-up, JoJo Fletcher. Lauren, however, didn't know Ben was in love with two women until after they got engaged.

"Coming out of a show like The Bachelor is very stressful," admitted Lauren, who said she craved normalcy.

"Then having to rewatch everything adds a whole other level of stress. And then I think the second spinoff show was also a lot of stress."

While Lauren was dealing with negative press and trying to adjust to her new life with Ben in Denver, CO, the pair starred in a Freeform spinoff titled Ben & Lauren: Happily Ever After?, which aired for only one season and featured a lot of ups and downs in their relationship.

Lauren told Carbone she was not excited about the project because she was still completely overwhelmed by sudden life changes as a result of The Bachelor.

Ben, however, was trying to get into politics, and so he thought the show would be "a great platform" for his career aspirations. (The show's direction ultimately evolved into Ben and Lauren planning -- and Ben later calling off -- a televised wedding).

Since it meant a lot to Ben, Lauren said she agreed to star on Happily Ever After? despite having "concerns."

"Obviously we had lots of talks and by no means was my arm twisted to force me to do anything. At the end of the day, I made my own decision, but I remember initially the show was supposed to be about Ben running for office," Lauren explained.

"And not only did I not want to do a reality show, but I also really didn't want my life to be a politician's fiancee or wife or whatever. That's just not something I want in my life... Politics is not necessarily something I want to get into."

Reports circulated for months before Ben and Lauren's breakup that the California girl was struggling to love their life in Denver and the pair were frequently fighting.

Following their Spring 2017 split, Ben opened up about his troubles with Lauren during his very first episode of the Almost Famous Podcast he hosts with The Bachelor alum Ashley Iaconetti.

"I just don't think you should ever use or let anyone around you use a breakup or a tough situation or actual personal feelings or personal life to promote something or benefit off something or profit off something," Lauren told Carbone.

"It just makes me feel uncomfortable... I was automatically kind of the bad guy and he was kind of the victim so that was a hard pill to swallow. But at the end of the day, I'm glad I kept true to who I was... I just don't think I'd necessarily talk about those things right away."

Lauren met Devin on Tinder about four or five months before she appeared on The Bachelor, but nothing happened because the timing wasn't right. Once Lauren and Ben split and she moved back to Los Angeles, the pair reconnected and have been together ever since.

As for Ben, the software salesman revealed to Us Weekly late last month he's dating again.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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