The former Bachelor says he felt like he was 'watching something that I did not need to be a part of.'
Ben Higgins knows a thing or two about being in love with two women, but he would have never put himself in Arie Luyendyk's position on the season finale of The Bachelor.
ET's Lauren Zima sat down with Higgins for a live interview in Los Angeles on Monday, where he weighed in on Luyendyk's shocking decision to end his engagement with Becca Kufrin to pursue a romance with his runner-up, Lauren Burnham.
Higgins had issues with Luyendyk getting down on one knee after being so conflicted about his final choice. On Monday night's finale, viewers saw Luyendyk break up with Kufrin on camera in gut-wrenching, unedited footage.
"Why does this have to happen with cameras around? Why can't this just be done in a private moment away from everybody?" Higgins said. "I also get the idea that he's committed to allowing us into his love story, and part of his love story involves this... but we got to see some unedited video of a breakup that will definitely affect Becca probably for a long time, and Arie also."
Higgins noted that he thought Arie should have broken up with Kufrin off camera, saying, "It felt like I was watching something that I did not need to be a part of."
The reality star feels for Kufrin in the situation, who he guesses "had no clue this was coming."
"Becca was shocked, and I think in his mind he had prepared her for this. He was walking in saying, 'OK, this is going to make a lot of sense to her. She knows how I'm feeling, she's probably expecting it.' And, instead, when we watched it, it was like she had no clue this was coming," he shared. "[And] he didn't leave, he wouldn't leave, and that's where I was feeling very awkward."
"I'm sure that situation for him was difficult, and I'm sure for her it was difficult, but I don't know what else he was trying to get out of it. It was like he needed her to reassure him that everything was going to be OK, and it's just not going to happen right now because it was such a shocking breakup for her," Higgins continued.
As for Luyendyk's relationship with Burnham, Higgins hopes "from here on out, [Luyendyk is] happy and he's committed."
See more on The Bachelor shocker in the video below.
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