Former Bachelor Ben Higgins and his wife, Jessica Clarke, are expecting their first baby.
“The next chapter of our love story!” Higgins, 35, and Clarke captioned a joint Instagram post on Sunday, August 18, alongside a montage of special moments from their relationship. “Baby girl coming in February ❤️ .” The video ended with a sonogram of the baby.
The couple started dating in late 2018, more than one year after the Bachelorette alum, 32, split from his ex-fiancée, Lauren Bushnell.
The Indiana native waited to introduce the University of Mississippi grad, 26, to his Instagram followers until February of the following year, writing via Instagram: “I’ve been selfishly keeping this girl to myself for too long! Hey friends meet @jessclarke_! I successfully slid into her Dm’s a few months ago. I took a risk, and I am glad I did. She is someone special, and I look forward to where life is going to take us. Stay tuned for the journey.”
The Bachelor Nation member proposed to the SweatNet co-owner in March 2020.
“From my first date in life to the moments in between they all led me to getting down on one knee in front of you @jessclarke_,” the former reality star gushed via Instagram at the time. “This weekend I asked Jessica to give me the honor of being her partner for life. She said YES! I now officially have the most beautiful, kind-hearted, supportive, well-intentioned person to spend life with! Our adventurous ride through life together is just starting.”
The Alone in Plain Sight author wed Clarke in November of the following year in Tennessee, and the newlyweds honeymooned in St. Barts. “Love being a Higgins,” the bride captioned a vacation photo via Instagram at the time.
Ahead of the former ABC personality’s nuptials, Higgins exclusively told Us Weekly about their future family plans.
“We want a family,” the Indiana University alum said at the time. “We’ll have kids some way, either biological or not biological. We will have a family. Just because she’s 26, I’m 32. If I had, like, an ideal timeline where I got to pick, it would be two years when we’d start thinking about it. … We’ve obviously abstained from sex for three years, so we are off to a fast start on trying to start a family. I’m just excited to start to get to know her more, to connect with her more. At some point, it would be great, but I’m fairly selfish.”
The Bachelor Winter Games alum noted that “two to three kids would be awesome,” adding that he and Clarke were both open to considering adoption.
