Bachelor: Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell talk spin-off

Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell have made Bachelor history by becoming the first couple to launch their own spin-off reality show. Coming to Freeform this fall, Ben and Lauren: Happily Ever After will follow the couple’s everyday life in Denver as they plan their wedding.

EW spoke with the happy couple about what fans can expect from the show.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You all are the first Bachelor couple to get a spin-off show, so I’m curious how this came about and what made you all want to participate?

LAUREN BUSHNELL: It was something that came about very organically. It’s not something Ben or myself have dreamt of. It was presented to us a couple months ago, and at the time, I was still moving to Denver and there was a lot going on and we really needed some time to ourselves. The conversation came up again very recently and that’s when we really sat down and had a conversation about what exactly it would look like and how our life would be affected. As we talked, it sounded like it’s really going to be a show about our life and what it is we’re doing regardless of if there’s cameras there or not. It’s something that kind of made sense and everyone seems to follow our life as it is, whether it be social media or when we’re out at dinner and people ask us questions. It didn’t really seem all that different than what we’re already doing now and I think it will be a great way hopefully for Ben and I to just share our story and do some wedding planning and involve all the people who have watched us and supported us along the way.

In terms of what fans can expect, do you feel like we got a solid, realistic view of your relationship from The Bachelor?

BEN HIGGINS: Yeah, I think they saw a really good start to our love story, kind of our love story coming full circle, but Lauren and I are the first to tell you The Bachelor‘s really great to us. I think you can meet somebody through it, obviously, but you’re also dating somebody else until the moment that you commit to spend the rest of your life with that person, so it’s a weird thing. Our relationship has really grown and built a foundation post-Bachelor even. What The Bachelor didn’t show is the foundational points to our relationship, which are communication, working through issues, our faith. Those things are really important and I hope this new show explores those things.

Ben, for you, was getting into politics something you were interested in before all of this?

BEN: Definitely, yeah. Most of my life I’ve been interested in the issues that are surrounding the areas that I live in, the things that are affecting the community, and also just being involved in a community. Those things were all focuses of my life before The Bachelor. The Bachelor allowed a platform that people started to reach out to me and say, “You should think about this.” As those ideas popped into my head, I was like, why not now? If at any moment, this seems like the right time.

Lauren, what can we expect to see from you?

LAUREN: I’m kind of in that weird spot, mid-20s, trying to figure out what exactly it is I want to do with my life and I think, like Ben, this platform has brought about interest in something for me. I’m realizing what exactly it is I’m passionate about and I’m blessed enough to have the opportunity to perhaps explore different careers. I’ve always dreamt of doing something that’s a little more creative than being a flight attendant, maybe something in interior design. I’m also going to be exploring the blogging world, as I’m interested in fashion and beauty. And I think it’s just a very real thing; it’s what I’m actually going through and I think a lot of people can relate. I want to be a mom one day, I’m getting married, I’m going to be a wife, but I also want to find my own career. It will be fun to show everyone that process.

Fans are very excited about the potential for other Bachelor/Bachelorette alums stopping by the show. Whom do you all keep in touch with?

BEN: I still have a lot of good friends from the show. I still keep in touch with Tanner [Tolbert] and Jared [Haibon] and Ben Zorn and Shawn [Booth] and Chris Strandburg and Chris Soules and JJ [Lane]. I keep in touch with a lot of these guys! I feel like all my days are consisting of crazy group texts. Nick [Viall]. I’m on threads with all of them, so I feel like I know what’s going on in their life. But the coolest part is a couple of these girls have become Lauren’s closest friends in life, so I think a lot of them are involved in our life. I’m sure you’ll see them on the show because they seem to always be around.

Are you all still talking to JoJo?

LAUREN: I don’t think Ben is. [They both laugh.] No, but I am. I text her quite frequently just to make sure that she’s doing okay. I don’t know who exactly she’s with or if she is with someone, but I know I had that support coming out of The Bachelor and I wanted to offer that along to JoJo, especially because we are friends. We also talk about things other than The Bachelor. There is a friendship there.

If you could watch a reality show of any other Bachelor alums, whom would you want to watch?

BEN: I’m pretty good friends with JJ and he lives in Denver. I feel like he would make a pretty entertaining show.

LAUREN: JJ is pretty funny. My vote’s for Amanda [Stanton], because she’s my best friend in the world and I would watch a show just about her two daughters because they’re the cutest girls in the whole world.

Ben and Lauren: Happily Ever After is set to air on Freeform in October.

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