The Bachelor’s Ben Higgins says a ‘massive parasite’ caused him to lose 30 POUNDS before filming

Bachelor vet Ben Higgins says a ‘massive parasite’ caused him to lose 30 POUNDS before his 2016 season but he was forced to hide it: ‘I was sick the whole time’

The Bachelor star Ben Higgins revealed that just before shooting his 2016 season he got a ‘massive parasite’ that caused him to lose 30 pounds. 

The 31-year-old Indiana native said during a Tuesday interview with Fubo Sports’ Drinks With Binks, that he was ‘sick the whole time,’ but never shared it with anyone for the sake of the show. 

Calling it the ‘craziest thing,’ to happen to him during the franchise, he said it affected every aspect of his journey to find love but he was forced to chalk up his frail physique and sickness to ‘stress.’ 

Parasite plague: The Bachelor’s Ben Higgins revealed in a Tuesday interview that a week before filming his 2016 season he got a ‘massive parasite’ that caused him to lose 30 pounds as he shared he was ‘sick the whole time’

Higgins said that for the first time he was allowed to speak openly about it, saying that he had concealed the truth because ‘it’s not a great look for the show.’

‘I was in Honduras — which is a country I love — for a wedding. I get a parasite in my gut. It hits me the week that filming starts.’ 

He continued, ‘I have an incredible stomach flu for the three months of the season. I lose 30 pounds from start to finish, but it was blamed on ‘being stressed and anxious.’

Despite looking noticeably different than he had when he was a 2015 contestant on Kaitlyn Bristowe’s season, he said he felt the stakes were raised when it was his turn to headline the hit ABC series.  

Under wraps: 'It's not a great look for the show that I was sick the whole time,' he told Fubo Sports Drinks With Binks, adding it affected some more intimate moments on the show; pictured with Chris Harrison 2016

Under wraps: ‘It’s not a great look for the show that I was sick the whole time,’ he told Fubo Sports Drinks With Binks, adding it affected some more intimate moments on the show; pictured with Chris Harrison 2016

Right before: Higgins had attended a wedding in Honduras where he caught the massive parasite which hit a week before filming; pictured at the September 2015 wedding

Right before: Higgins had attended a wedding in Honduras where he caught the massive parasite which hit a week before filming; pictured at the September 2015 wedding

‘It was blamed on being stressed and anxious. You can’t really share this after the show because that isn’t a great look for ‘The Bachelor,’ it’s not a great look for the contestants. It’s not a great look for the show that I was sick the whole time.’ 

Providing some more detail, he said it caused a lot of trouble with his more intimate scenes.  

‘You have to imagine what it’s like to be sitting on a date with somebody else, and all of a sudden, you go “nuh-uh, nuh-uh,”….you tap out. You run, like you RUN!,’ he intimately shared. 

‘That’s the craziest story that I’ve kind of kept hidden and I’ve covered up.’ His season ended in a proposal to contestant Lauren Bushnell but they broke things off a year later. 

In his new book Alone In Plain Sight, he got candid about the breakup and the pain it caused him: ‘I went through a very painful breakup that left me hurting and confused and wondering if I just needed to take a break from dating for a while, maybe even forever,’ he wrote. 

Free to share: 'That's the craziest story that I've kind of kept hidden and I've covered up,' he finally shared; pictured in Honduras 2017

Free to share: ‘That’s the craziest story that I’ve kind of kept hidden and I’ve covered up,’ he finally shared; pictured in Honduras 2017

Their breakup was the most googled celebrity split in 2017, but he said upon leaving the show it was apparent there were fragments in the relationship, and they ended things over the phone. 

Now he is currently engaged to be married Jessica Clarke. The pair have been linked since early 2019 and he popped the question in March 2020. 

Above all he said without the heartbreak of his past relationship, he would not be the man he is today when it comes to Clarke. 

‘Only now am I starting to realize that my response to Jessica, my commitment to her, the way that I express love, and the way we work through difficult situations, all owe a debt to the lessons I learned before.’ 

Love found: Splitting from Bushnell in 2017, he got candid about their relationship in his new book, while also detailing that it shaped him for his life with now fiancee Clarke; pictured 2020

Love found: Splitting from Bushnell in 2017, he got candid about their relationship in his new book, while also detailing that it shaped him for his life with now fiancee Clarke; pictured 2020