So, who will win Bachelorette star Katie Thurston's heart in the end? According to former Bachelor Ben Higgins, the love of Katie's life might have just exited the series.
The beloved Bachelor Nation star exclusively revealed his predictions for The Bachelorette finale, and hinted that a surprise engagement may be in the works. During the July 27 episode of E! News' Daily Pop, Ben dished to co-host Justin Sylvester and guest co-host Loni Love that he "doesn't know who else is around" that Katie would end up with after single father Michael A. left the ABC reality show.
"I think he was 'the one,' if he was around," Ben explained. So, will fans maybe see Michael A. make his big return during the finale?
"At the end of all this, if it doesn't end in that one true love that she's been talking about, I think they're going to try," Ben teased. "That's what made the show special: an engagement at the end. If there's no engagement, I think they are going to try to get something to happen."
Of course, before any of Katie's final three pop the question, she must meet their families on hometown dates. "You always try to figure out who you're into most, but it really was the siblings and the family dynamic that sold it for me," Ben confessed. "Siblings get really protective and they don't really love the idea that their sister is dating someone who is dating four other people also. It played a lot in how I made my final decision."
And the most "awkward" part of hometowns as the Bachelor?
"For me, you ask every father if you can get the permission to ask their daughter to marry you," Ben reflected. "That's really awkward to do it four times in a row."
Ben also opened up about how being on the hit ABC show can affect Bachelor Nation alums' mental health after filming. "For me, I was from a little town in Indiana, I get thrown on a show and within six months, I'm being talked about, criticized, celebrated and then dating a bunch of people I've never met before," Ben, who is getting married in November, opened up. "And then when that show ends and maybe the fame starts to fade, you start to ask yourself, 'What was this all for? What did this all mean?' You're not really prepared."
He continued, "I don't want to make this critical for them, but they have 30 new people twice a year going through the show. That's a massive undertaking, but that would be one idea is to give them support because sometimes even as the Bachelor, when that next person's named to be on the show, it's quiet, and you kind of sit alone and wonder what's next. I think they could maybe give some backing and support to people who have been through the experience."
The Almost Famous podcast host credited his "breaking down that leads to break-throughs," and admitted that every day is a journey.
Watch the full interview above and don't miss episodes of Higgins' podcast Hope Still Wins every Tuesday.