Ben Higgins Is the New 'Bachelor' Star
— -- Ben Higgins is looking forward to being the new star of "The Bachelor."
The announcement was made on Monday night's episode of "Bachelor in Paradise: After Paradise."
Higgins, 26, flew overnight to New York City and appeared live on "Good Morning America," where he said being the next "Bachelor" is the opportunity of a lifetime.
"I think opportunities like this don’t happen to people like me," Higgins said. "Last night, when I was flying here, was my first time in like a first-class lounge. I had no idea those things existed."
"I really want to take the opportunity to do this," Higgins said.
Higgins, a software salesman from Denver, Colorado, was a fan favorite during Kaitlyn Bristowe's season of "The Bachelorette," which aired earlier this year.
The new "Bachelor" said he learned "a lot" from watching Bristowe's search for love.
"I think you have to just try to be true to yourself, fair to the people involved. I think Kaitlyn did that to the best of her ability," Higgins said. "I think Kaitlyn and I have different personalities and different things that we look for, obviously, she’s with one of my best friends now, but, you know, I think I did learn a lot from Kaitlyn."
The man Higgins called one of his best friends, Bristowe's now-fiancé, Shawn Booth, told reporters after the finale of "The Bachelorette" that he hoped his one-time competitor, Higgins, would become the next "Bachelor."
"He's just an amazing guy — one of the nicest people I've ever met with the biggest heart and he deserves nothing but the best," Booth said. "I think he's as genuine as they come and I think he'd make the perfect 'Bachelor.'"
A native of Warsaw, Indiana, and the only child of parents who have been wed for 34 years, Higgins says he is most nervous about dating 25 girls at one time.
"I haven’t dated one well, ever," Higgins joked. "I don’t think there’s any training for that...I’m processing how to do this."
"I’m nervous meeting the women who are, you know, taking time out of their lives to come hang with me for a while," he said.
If one of those 25 women happened to be Amy Schumer, the comedienne who made a hilarious guest appearance on Higgins' season of "The Bachelorette," Higgins says he would not mind.
"I think we should push for it," Higgins said. "She’d make everything extremely interesting. She’s hilarious. She’s been great to the show and if she wanted to come out, I would not be against it."
