Mr. and Mrs.! Bachelor Nation alum Ben Higgins exclusively tells Life & Style the “cool parts about marriage” and “the biggest obstacle” he and wife Jessica Clarke have faced since walking down the aisle in November 2021.
“She just makes my life better,” the former Bachelor, 32, gushes about being married to Jessica after their engagement in March 2020 while promoting the 2022 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. “A piece of advice that I got — but also something I’m seeing — [is] you always are learning something. You’re always learning how to be a better partner and you’re always learning how to communicate better. You’re learning things about yourself. So yes, every day I feel like there’s something that happens now.”
That being said, Ben admits Jessica wants him to “thrive” but almost “to a fault” at times.
“This is definitely a selfish thing for me to say … but she just wants to see me happy and living the best life I can possibly live and being the best friend and the best son and the best husband. That’s just every day of my life,” he said, adding that he encourages his wife to “be selfish sometimes.”
However, he admits answering what he “loves most” about Jessica is an “impossible question” because he “loves her” and “likes her.” There’s no denying that Ben is in it for the long haul, and he even got his wedding ring tattooed on after their nuptials.
“I am married, and I’m going to stay with her for the rest of my life,” he began to explain why he and his dad got matching tats to commemorate their marriages. “My dad has never worn his wedding ring because it hasn’t fit on his finger. I know my mom would always have wanted him to. I don’t like to wear a ring … I just have a weird feeling about a ring. So, we decided to get tattoos — my dad and I did, of our wedding rings on our fingers … So we both have it now.”
Ben added, “I can play golf with it on, and I can work out with it on now to take it off. To me it’s as symbolic — if not more — than a ring because this thing’s not coming off.”
Among all the new things happening in their lives, the pair have also moved into their Denver, Colorado, home together after spending their entire relationship long distance, which Ben called their “biggest obstacle” as Jessica lived in Tennessee. The esthetician moved into their new abode first after they purchased it in 2020, but Ben did not because they were waiting until after the wedding to live together and be sexually involved.
“It’s awesome. We love it. It’s going really well,” the Bachelor Live On Stage host said about cohabiting with his longtime love. “We’re super happy.”