They did meet and fall in love in the land of champagne and red roses, but for Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnella, life outside of The Bachelor is decidedly more real.
“We’re not the perfect couple,” Higgins, 28, tells PEOPLE
exclusively. “Far from it! But we are trying really hard and we love
each other a lot.”
It was just 10 months ago that Higgins and Bushnell, who are starring in spinoff show, Freeform’s Ben & Lauren: Happily Ever After?, got engaged on the
finale of The Bachelor. In April, she moved in with him in Denver.
“There are so many weird elements to being in a relationship after The Bachelor,”
says Bushnell, 26. “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.”
To help guide them through the process, Higgins and Bushnell undergo
couples counseling at their church. “We want to get a foundation that is
healthy and pure and honest, with some help from a mediator,” says
Higgins. “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.”
Adds Bushnell: “Even facing situations I didn’t know if I could
handle, running away was never an option for me. 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.”
