Ben Higgins has made an unfortunate admission as part of a recent podcast interview:
The former Bachelor lead says things are not exactly rosy for him these days.
Sitting down with Trista Sutter on the latest episode of “Better Etc.,” Higgins got very real and very candd about how being in the public eye has impacted his mental health.
Five years after anchoring this ABC smash hit, Higgins admitted he’s returned to his native state to do some much-needed soul searching.
“I am back in Indiana right now because of a breakdown, again, in my life where I don’t know what’s happening,” Higgins said on air.
“I don’t know what this next season of life looks like for me.
“I’m farther and farther removed from the show, and at the same time, I need to figure out what my life is going to look like and what my legacy is going to be.”
Higgins is engaged to a woman named Jessica Clarke and said his troubles have nothing to do with their relationship.
Without delving too deeply into specifics, Higgins said he’s trying to keep a positive attitude.
“It’s a really exciting season. The seasons are unfamiliar to me, but it’s also really hard because I’m at a low place,” he continued.
“I don’t see myself as this thriving figure right now. I’m kind of lamenting and separating myself from a lot of things that I’ve held close.”
Higgins made his small screen debut on Kaitlyn Bristowe‘s of The Bachelorette in 2015.
He finished as second runner-up and was later named the lead for season 20 of The Bachelor.
As such, Ben proposed to Lauren Bushnell during the March 2016 finale, only the pair ended their engagement in May 2017.
Landing this lead role opened the door to many opportunities for Higgins, however, even if it didn’t end with a marriage.
“All of a sudden I go from feeling like I’m an outsider to, over a period of time, having enough people tell me that I’m awesome to start feeling pretty good about [myself],” he said on Tuesday.
“I start building an identity around that. I started to really feel like, ‘Oh, my gosh, this is the thing that I was needing to fill me…
“‘I’ll be in the in-group forever.’”
Eventually, though?
Higgins confessed to Sutter that his “infatuation” for fame “started to fade” — and the more he tried to “reach” to stay relevant, the more he felt like he’d “lost” himself.
He explains:
“I was living not just for other people, but just for other people’s attention.”
Pretty interesting, right?
Yes, being a part of Bachelor Nation “might be the best thing that ever happened” to him, Higgins said, he acknowledged that he’s also not sure of his place within that world anymore
“I don’t know how to make it my purpose now. I don’t know what to do with it anymore,” he said on Sutter’s podcast.
“It’s not really a piece of me anymore. I can talk about it, I can share my experience about it but ultimately, I was just telling Jess this the other day, I was like:
“‘I feel like my only role in the Bachelor now is to be there for the contestants that want me to be there for them.'”
Earlier this year, Higgins opened up about his past addiction to pain killers, having thankfully overcome the obstacle several years ago.
Higgins said he now understands first-hand “how good it feels when fame is just being poured all over you.”
But he also understands how “hard it feels when that’s ripped away from you and people move on and a new generation comes up through and you don’t even understand them.”
Again: Pretty interesting, right?
We send our absolute best to Ben Higgins and we salute him for his honesty.
If you or someone you know needs mental health help, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, please contact the SAMHSA substance abuse helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.