Ben Higgins Popped Up on The Bachelor, and Now We Just Want to Know If He's Single

Bachelor Nation has gotten to know Ben Higgins throughout different stages of his life. After a recent cameo on The Bachelor, we couldn't help but wonder what this handsome man has been up to. We know that the co-founder of Generous International LLC and podcast host at iHeartMedia is very focussed on his career, but, forgive us for asking, is he single?

Ben started out pining for Kaitlyn Bristowe's heart during season 11 of The Bachelorette and, after being runner-up, he became the leading man on season 20 of The Bachelor. He proposed to Laurent Bushnell at the final rose and their engagement seemed picture-perfect; the duo even landed their own show, Ben and Lauren: Happily Ever After?. Sadly, they broke up. Ben ended up on The Bachelor Winter Games, which he left early because he wasn't in the right mind space to be there. It's been a while since then, and it looks like his love life is headed in a positive direction.

First, let's rewind. Ben and Lauren broke up in May 2017, and we didn't get a reason as to why it didn't work out right away. Lauren expressed that she was hurt that Ben loved JoJo Fletcher, the runner-up on his season, even though he loved Lauren more. Pressure from the public eye also seemed to play a role in the split. Although Lauren had moved to Denver, CO, to be with Ben, the two ultimately couldn't make it work.

It appeared that Ben was ready to try dating again when he signed on to The Bachelor Winter Games. However, it didn't take long for him to realise that he shouldn't be there. He decided to leave and told Chris Harrison (in reference to his failed engagement), "as much as I've moved on, and I have, it still hurts." At that point, it seemed that Ben was not ready to date just yet, but things have changed since then.

In August 2018, Ben told Us Weekly, "I'm not dating, but am interesting in dating, open to dating." Now for the million-dollar question: is Ben dating anyone? Yes! On the Jan. 14 episode of The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast where the two Bachelor alumni interviewed Colton Underwood, Ben confirmed there is someone special in his life.

"I was just telling someone the other day I started dating again," Ben said on the podcast. "This is big news, right? I am dating." Although we don't have a name of that person, we'll probably find out who they are soon. "I'm actually dating one person that we will talk about in a couple weeks on the podcast."

In the following week's podcast, Ben confirmed that his relationship is long-distance and, since there was some speculation, no, "she's not from Colton's season." We're not naming names (because we genuinely don't have them), but sleuths on Reddit have some ideas.

Back in 2017, Ben said that it wasn't totally out of the question that he would sign on as the bachelor again. But it looks like he wouldn't do it at this point . . . for the best possible reason!