What Happened To Lauren Bushnell After The Bachelor?
The 20th season of The Bachelor, which aired in 2016, ended with Ben Higgins proposing to Lauren Bushnell. They announced their breakup in May 2017. The split wasn't exactly shocking since it came after the couple had their own reality show called Ben & Lauren: Happily Ever After? on Freeform. During a November 2016 episode, Ben called off their wedding, but they didn't break up yet, justifying that question mark in the show's title.
After they parted ways, Ben started a podcast with fellow Bachelor franchise fan favorite Ashley Iaconetti. He dished on his split from Lauren during the show's first preview clip, which dropped in May 2017. Ashley shared, "I'm looking at Ben's phone right now and there's a picture of what his family room looks like right now after Lauren moved all her stuff out. And because it's technically her furniture, she basically took it all except for one mirror on the wall." Ben added, "My house and I are feeling very similar: sad, mourning, a little empty."
In June 2018, Lauren told Reality Steve their breakup was perceived as her fault when they just weren't "the most compatible." People reported that she explained, "I feel like that almost exacerbated the situation, where again I was the bad guy and he was the victim because he had this platform where he was talking about all the ways he was feeling, which I wasn't sharing."
While Lauren didn't share as much, that doesn't mean she hasn't made the most of her life post-show.
Lauren Bushnell found a guy who was there for the 'right reasons'
In August 2017, People reported that Lauren Bushnell became Instagram official with a new guy, a real estate developer named Devin Antin. Lauren revealed that they met via Tinder a year before she went on The Bachelor and they reconnected after her split from Ben Higgins. A year later, Us Weekly reported that the couple broke up.
Three months later, Lauren and country singer Chris Lane confirmed that they were dating with a red carpet appearance at the Annual BMI Country Awards. In March 2019, Lauren moved from California to Nashville to live with Chris. At the time he told People, "Lauren moving to Nashville has been the best thing for our relationship. It's been such an easy transition and she makes each day even better."
In June 2019, Chris and Lauren confirmed their engagement during an interview with People. The country crooner popped the question in the backyard of her family's Oregon home. He played Lauren a song he wrote for her called "Big, Big Plans," which included lyrics about asking her to marry him and then he dropped down on one knee, which was also filmed for the song's music video.
In October 2019, they tied the knot in front of "160 family members and friends" in Nashville, which they confirmed to People. He said, "I feel like I'm the luckiest guy in the world to be marrying her." Lauren felt the same way, gushing, "I feel like the luckiest girl."
Lauren Bushnell is thriving as a social media influencer
Just like other popular Bachelor alums, Lauren Bushnell is raking in the cash as a social media influencer. As of this writing, she has more than one million Instagram followers. Lauren has leveraged her popularity to push toothbrushes, candy, and skincare products among other items with sponsored posts on her Instagram page. She also had her own blog called Sparkle In Her Eye, but she hasn't updated it since 2018.
Aside from promoting her favorite products from other brands, Lauren has collaborated with major companies. In October 2019, she launched the "Love, Lauren" collection for JustFab, which included clothing, shoes, and accessories. At the time, she told Us Weekly, "What I love about this collection is that it's really true and authentic to my personal style." She also gave her husband some credit for influencing her fashion, remarking, "We help each other. Chris [Lane] has great style and I do ask him for outfit advice — he's always very honest!" She also collaborated with ISH to create an all-in-one eyebrow pencil.
Although Lauren never looked for love on another Bachelor show, she and Chris appeared on an April 2020 episode of The Bachelor Presents: Listen To Your Heart. Even though Lauren and Ben Higgins will always be associated with each other thanks to their Bachelor engagement, they're both thriving in their own ways. Ben got engaged to Jessica Clarke in March 2020 and has a popular podcast. Lauren is living her best life Instagram influencing from Nashville.