Falling in love is wonderful. Falling in love on a reality TV show is maybe not as wonderful.
“The Bachelor” stars Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell sure looked like they found their fairytale ending on Season 20 of the hit ABC dating show, and yes, the pair are still together and very much in love. But in a new interview with People, Higgins and Bushnell have revealed that now, 10 months after their engagement, they are in couples counseling to iron out some of their issues before walking down the aisle.
“We’re not the perfect couple. Far from it! But we are trying really hard, and we love each other a lot,” Higgins, 28, told the magazine.
The pair, who are set to debut their new reality series, “Ben & Lauren: Happily Ever After?,” on Freeform Oct. 11, moved in together in April and have been attending couples therapy at their church in Denver, Colorado.
“We want to get a foundation that is healthy and pure and honest, with some help from a mediator,” Higgins explained. “’Bachelor’ or not, our life is not easy to navigate. We have our struggles. But we won’t give up. And for every argument, we’re stronger for it.”
Bushnell, 26, agrees. The lifestyle blogger says she’s learning so many things about their relationship, and herself, through the program.
“Even facing situations I didn’t know if I could handle, running away was never an option for me,” she told People. “I am so committed to Ben. I love him so much and at the end of the day, I want to spend my life with him.”
A lot of the couple’s issues stem from “The Bachelor.” Although they like to think they’re in a “normal” relationship, Higgins and Bushnell definitely realize they experience some things other couples don’t have to face.
“There are so many weird elements to being in a relationship after ‘The Bachelor,’” Bushnell said. “We’ve gotten in arguments like any other couple, but about some things that other couples wouldn’t have to fight about, like the fact that we met when he was dating other women. You can say that’s what I signed up for, but it’s still real life and it’s still hard.”
Either way, it’s impressive that Higgins and Bushnell are taking the necessary steps to make sure their partnership is as strong as ever before they say “I do.”
“We don’t have a date yet, but we have kind of started the initial phases,” Bushnell said of the wedding plans. “We both kind of talked more about maybe a winter wedding.”
“Ben & Lauren: Happily Ever After?” premieres Oct. 11 on Freeform.
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