Ben Higgins Says His 'Life Is Only Better' with Girlfriend Jessica Clarke 'in It'

It’s been more than a year since Ben Higgins started dating girlfriend Jessica Clarke, and life for the former Bachelor star has only gotten better with her in it.

“She’s just insanely supportive of me,” Higgins, 30, told PEOPLE TV’s Reality Check on Wednesday. “She just wants to see me be my best self.”

“I think she literally walks into every day going, ‘How can I just make Ben feel a little bit better about himself?’ It’s insane, it’s been a year of that,” said Higgins, who starred on The Bachelor in 2016.

In February 2019, one month after Higgins revealed on his podcast that he was dating someone new, he made his relationship with Clarke Instagram official. Since then, the happy couple has frequently posted pictures to their respective Instagram accounts of life events they’ve experienced together.

Currently, Higgins is preparing to make his way across America with the Bachelor Live on Stage Official Tour, which he will host. But before he said yes to the role, the couple discussed whether time apart would be healthy for their relationship.

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“When the tour came, there was logistical questions: How can we do this and be apart? Is this going to be healthy or not for our relationship?” said Higgins.

“But ultimately, what we decided is this can be great! We’re going to take a road trip together in a tour bus and see the U.S.” Higgins said about traveling with Clarke. “Like, it can’t get much better.”

Higgins added of his girlfriend, “She’s just the best. She’s my best friend and she’s fun and she’s exciting. And I think my life is only better with her in it.”

Last February, after Higgins introduced his new girlfriend to the world, he invited Clarke to call into an episode of The Ben and Ashley I. Almost Famous podcast — and when his co-host Ashley Iaconetti asked about their first kiss, the couple revealed that it happened the very first time they met in person. (They first started talking after he slid into her DMs.)

“I think I walked outside and just laid it ,” he recalled.

“I thought it was romantic,” gushed Clarke. “Mostly because when I saw you I was like, ‘Okay, do I make a joke or do I just say hi?’ And then you just kissed me so I didn’t have to do either of them.”

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“I just went for it and she didn’t say no,” Higgins added.

Though Clarke was aware of who Higgins was when he slid into her DMs, she hadn’t watched his season of The Bachelor.

“Her mom loves the show so much, so she called her mom right away and was like, ‘What is happening here?’ and her mom was like, ‘I don’t really know, but you should at least message him back.’ So she didn’t watch my season, which is actually good,” Higgins told Reality Check on Wednesday.

And according to Higgins, the likelihood of them ever sitting down together and revisiting his Bachelor days is slim to none.

“The very first time she ever saw any piece of my season was watching the Bachelorette reunion show that came out last year. And it was when JoJo and Lauren were both there with me at the end,” Higgins explained, noting his exes. “And it crushed Jessica. She’s like, ‘I don’t want to ever see this again.’ So I have no doubt we will never watch my season.”

from PEOPLE.com https://people.com/tv/bachelor-ben-higgins-says-his-life-is-only-better-with-girlfriend-jessica-clarke-in-it/