'The Bachelor' star Ben Higgins gets engaged to girlfriend Jessica Clarke in Tennessee

The Bachelor star Ben Higgins and girlfriend Jessica Clarke are engaged to be married!


Jessica revealed Sunday on Instagram that she happily accepted Ben's marriage proposal in her hometown of Franklin, Tennessee.

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"I don't remember everything you said, but I know that I said yes. I woke up in a dream today and I get to live in this dream every day from now on (eeeep)," Jessica captioned a few photos from the big moment.

In addition to two photos of the couple embracing and kissing behind a tree, Jessica also shared a picture of Ben down on one knee in a grassy field next to a pond, with a bench and large planter of sunflowers nearby.


Ben popped the question to Jessica, who currently lives in Nashville, TN, on Friday, according to Entertainment Tonight.

Ben and Jessica received well wishes and congratulatory messages from Bachelor Nation members including Jared Haibon, Sydney Lotuaco, Christen Whitney, Danielle Maltby, Caelynn Miller-Keyes, Becca Tilley, Kristina Schulman, Cassie Randolph, and Raven Gates.

Jessica also posted photos from the marriage proposal on her Instagram Stories.

"It happened!!!!!!!!!" Jessica shared. "Still feeling like it's a dream. Thank you for capturing it all!"

Jessica also posted a video of her ring, which boasts an oval diamond in the center with a smaller diamond on either side.


Jessica revealed she and Ben are currently in Nashville and feel "very loved."

Ben had reportedly been planning his proposal for months, but "everything changed" due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

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Ben originally wanted to propose marriage in New York City, where he and former The Bachelorette star Becca Kufrin were set to put on a show for The Bachelor: Live on Stage tour.

However, the tour was put on hold due to the coronavirus outbreak, and so Ben had to switch to a Plan B, ET reported.


Ben and Jessica had been self-quarantining together with Ben's parents, but since Ben knew Jessica would want her family present for her engagement, the couple drove to Franklin on Friday for the proposal.

Ben told ET that Jessica just thought they were going to visit her family, who secretly knew about the former The Bachelor star's plans.

"I went back to a pond behind her house, and we had set it up with sunflowers near a bench. It's right in their backyard, but a little hidden. I proposed and her family and mine were watching from a distance, and then we all celebrated together," Ben revealed.

"I was super nervous. She's my best friend, my partner and I love her. I was nervous to kind of do this whole thing in front of her. I wasn't anxious, it's just a big moment!"

Ben said he started to cry even before he and Jessica reached the proposal spot, and so Jessica immediately teared up as well.


"She said it was one of two things: either I was ending our relationship, which would have been a huge shock... or I was proposing," Ben shared.

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"I still just can't believe it," added Jessica, who initially threw a wrench into Ben's plans by saying she didn't want to go for a walk and "get sweaty" before dinner.

Luckily, Ben was able to convince her to take a walk, and Jessica gushed to ET about how her marriage proposal was a dream come true.

"This is exactly how I would have wanted it to be. Central Park would have been magical and special in its own way. But it's really cool that we just got to be together last night and not really have to talk to anyone else but my family. It was great. It was perfect. I couldn't imagine it a better way," Jessica said.


Ben revealed he had worked on designing Jessica's engagement ring for about three months with the help of a jeweler in Denver, CO. He wanted to get her the ring she had "dreamed of."

"I got the ring like, two days before we came to [Tennessee], so that was a stressor on me," Ben admitted. "I'm pretty happy with it. It took a lot of work and big team effort."

And Jessica noted, "This ring's never coming off!"

After competing for Kaitlyn Bristowe's heart on The Bachelorette's eleventh season, Ben starred on The Bachelor's 20th season in 2016.

Ben got engaged to Lauren Bushnell during the season finale that aired in March of that year, and after starring on a Bachelor spinoff called Ben & Lauren: Happily Ever After? on Freeform, they split in May 2017.

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Ben said after experiencing many "ups and downs" in The Bachelor franchise, he's excited for this new chapter in his life.

"It's a chapter for me to have a lot of peace when it comes to romantic love, a lot of confidence in our partnership and who we are to each other, and kind of to start a chapter of no more tears and no more heartbreak," Ben explained.

"I'm not going to break this girl's heart and I know she's not going to break mine. It's time to start a new, more confident journey forward... [She fits this] feeling of what I thought love was supposed to be -- euphoria and overwhelming."

Ben gushed, "[Jessica] makes me a better man and enhances every aspect of my life. We are each other's biggest fans. I would give my life for her."

Ben added that The Bachelor family has been "really great" to Jessica, "including Chris Harrison."

Jessica apparently knew she wanted to marry Ben after they took a trip to Honduras last year, followed by more service trips with Humanity & Hope.


"We had only been dating for like, two months, but that was the first time I really saw him lead other people and love other people that we didn't even hardly know," Jessica shared.

"He's always been challenging to me, and helping me become the person I want to be to others. And seeing him in that environment, I knew it then, and that feeling's never gone away."

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Ben concluded, "It's an easy yes with her. In thinking of committing to my life with her, there's no anxiousness."

Ben told Us Weekly in January he was "definitely" going to pop the question by the end of this year after more than one year of dating Jessica. He also anticipated Jessica would be moving to his home in Denver soon, both for her work and to advance their relationship.

Following his split from Lauren, Ben announced he was in a new relationship in January 2018 on his The Ben and Ashley I. Almost Famous Podcast, but he chose not to identify Jessica as the woman in his life right away.


Several weeks later, Ben introduced Jessica -- who was a 24-year-old University of Mississippi graduate reportedly selling LED lighting for a living at the time, when the cute couple went Instagram official.

Ben previously disclosed he first saw Jessica by stumbling across her Instagram profile when looking for posts about a Nashville hockey game.

Ben acknowledged he was taken with her beauty and decided to direct message her around the time of Thanksgiving 2018.

Jessica reportedly answered Ben's message, and then in December 2018, Ben flew her out to Denver, CO, so they could meet face-to-face.

As for Lauren she is married to country singer Chris Lane and living in Nashville with him.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? (PHOTOS)


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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski