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Ben Higgins was once a Bachelor success story. Even though he said “I love you” to both of his final contestants, he ended up choosing Lauren Bushnell over JoJo Fletcher at the end of Season 20. He and Bushnell seemed hopelessly in love over their year-and-a-half engagement, but all of that came crashing down in May 2017 when they went their separate ways.

Since then, Bachelor Nation has been pulling for Higgins to find his happy ending — preferably as the Bachelor for the second time. Here’s everything that makes us think we could see his return, including what Higgins has said about the possibility since his denial in the past.

He denied the possibility in the past

Ben Higgins
Ben Higgins previously denied that he would return to the show. | Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

Pretty much immediately following Higgins’ split from Bushnell, Bachelor Nation crossed their fingers in the hopes that he’d make a return to the show. In August 2017, he explained that he definitely wasn’t ready on his podcast that he hosts with fellow Bachelor alum, Ashley Iaconetti.

On The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast, Iaconetti asked, “Let’s talk about the real question here. Ben, would you ever be the Bachelor again?” Higgins answered:

At this point in my life, I am not ready to be the next Bachelor, I will say that. It just doesn’t feel right. For whatever reason, it doesn’t feel like a time in my life that I would be the best man possible for the women that would come on this season. And you know, honestly, when you’re fresh out of a relationship, I just feel like that’d be almost disrespectful, too, right? It would be really hard for me to imagine — if I were to watch my ex go and be the Bachelorette and it’s all over TV, it’d be hard for me.

Next: His initial return to the franchise didn’t go as expected.

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