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    1. Culture
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    Get to Know Jessica Clarke, Ben Higgins' Fiancée

    She'll likely make an appearance on The Bachelor: Greatest of All Time.

    Katherine J. Igoe's avatar
    By Katherine J. Igoe
    Published 27 June 2020 In Features

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     Jessica Clarke & Ben Higgins
    (Image credit: David Becker)
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    Tonight, on the latest episode of The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons—Ever!, we'll get the Ben Higgins story. If you recall, Higgins famously told two women he loved them on his Bachelor season—Lauren Bushnell, his final rose (whom he broke up with in 2017) and JoJo Fletcher, who has since gone on to get engaged to her final rose pick, Jordan Rodgers. Get ready to relive that craziness—or, in my case, watch it for the first time since I wasn't following the show yet. Since then, Higgins has found love again with Jessica Clarke, and the two will undoubtedly make an appearance on tonight's broadcast. Chris Harrison is clearly dying for some dramatic news he can share (apparently Jason Tartick was offered the chance to propose to Kaitlyn Bristowe last week during their interview) but the pair already got engaged earlier this year and have said they're probably going to have a long engagement. But, it'll be the chance for Bachelor Nation to officially get introduced to the new love of Higgins' life. So what do we know about her?

    Jessica Clarke is an entrepreneur and student.

    Clarke, who's 25, lives in Nashville, graduated from the University of Mississippi, and apparently sold LED lights but is apparently now co-owner of fitness platforms SweatNET Nashville and SweatNET Denver. She's also just announced she's going back to school to get her esthetician's license. "I am excited to learn about ingredients, treatments, and how products can improve different skin types and tones! Then I’ll come back here and get to share my knowledge with all of you," she explained on Instagram.

    Higgins explained that he technically met Clarke by sliding into her DMs several months before he announced the relationship in February 2019, but that they met a couple weeks later IRL. "Jessica kind of came inside this whole thing and said ‘I get your struggles, and I just like you for who you are,’” he said. “With the right person this does feel great, exciting, peaceful. And I know that I’m not super messed up! Somebody actually likes me!” 

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    Clarke and Higgins got engaged in March.

    Another quarantine proposal! Higgins detailed that he got down on one knee in her backyard, since they've had no contact with the outside world, and it sounds really sweet:

    A post shared by Ben Higgins (@higgins.ben)

    A photo posted by on

    "I’m full of love for you," Clarke said one month later.

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    Until quarantine, the two hadn't lived in the same city together. They shared that they're waiting to have sex before marriage, even though they're currently in the same house together. Quarantine may affect their wedding planning, he said: "I have a feeling it's gonna be a longer engagement and here's why. We don't know what this virus is going to affect."

    Higgins also explained recently that they'd like kids, and are particularly thinking about adoption in the future. Clarke also wants a puppy, which, same.

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    Higgins isn't exactly looking forward to his own season.

    Much like Kaitlyn Bristowe, Higgins acknowledged the epic weirdness of watching yourself fall in love with a bunch of women while literally everyone watching knows that it all fell apart:

    Hey #bachelornation I decided to watch the screener for tomorrow nights #TheBachelorGOAT. And when I say watch I mean covering up my eyes, smacking my forehead, turning red and praying for grace from all of you tomorrow! See you all tomorrow!June 21, 2020

    But Higgins has also said that he and ex Bushnell are in a good place after their split: When Bushnell got engaged in 2019, he congratulated her warmly and explained, "I hope this is a chapter being closed completely because I don't know Lauren anymore and my life isn't tied to her."


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    Katherine J. Igoe
    Katherine J. Igoe
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    Contributing Editor

    Katherine’s a contributing syndications editor at Marie Claire who covers fashion, culture, and lifestyle. In her role, she writes stories that are syndicated by MSN and other outlets. She’s been a full-time freelancer for over a decade and has had roles with Cosmopolitan (where she covered lifestyle, culture, and fashion SEO content) and Bustle (where she was their movies and culture writer). She has bylines in New York Times, Parents, InStyle, Refinery29, and elsewhere. Her work has also been syndicated by ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, Seventeen, Good Housekeeping, and Women’s Health, among others. In addition to her stories reaching millions of readers, content she's written and edited has qualified for a Bell Ringer Award and received a Communicator Award. 

    Katherine has a BA in English and art history from the University of Notre Dame and an MA in art business from the Sotheby's Institute of Art (with a focus on marketing/communications). She covers a wide breadth of topics: she's written about how to find the very best petite jeans, how sustainable travel has found its footing on Instagram, and what it's like to be a professional advice-giver in the modern world. Her personal essays have run the gamut from learning to dress as a queer woman to navigating food allergies as a mom. She also has deep knowledge of SEO/EATT, affiliate revenue, commerce, and social media; she regularly edits the work of other writers. She speaks at writing-related events and podcasts about freelancing and journalism, mentors students and other new writers, and consults on coursework. Currently, Katherine lives in Boston with her husband and two kids, and you can follow her on Instagram. If you're wondering about her last name, it’s “I go to dinner,” not “Her huge ego,” but she responds to both.

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