EXCLUSIVE: Lauren Bushnell and Ben Higgins Open Up About Body Shaming, Reveal Advice For Nick Viall
Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell found love at the end of the last season of The Bachelor, and the two are still going strong, even in the face of critics who have been body shaming the 26-year-old flight attendant for being too skinny.
The couple spoke to ET at the iHeartRadio Music Festival at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Friday, where they opened up about dealing with online haters and moving on with their lives.
"It is hard because you start to question yourself, but I think for me, I've really tried to accept who I am and honestly accept that you can't change that," Bushnell shared. "We're very busy, so I'm not going to spend free time that I have trying to change the person I was made to be."
WATCH: Inside Ben Higgins & Lauren Bushnell's Life in Denver
"I've tried to accept the role that I've been given and try to tell young women that it's OK to be who you are," she continued. "No matter how you're built or who you are, be who you are, because that's the most beautiful that you will ever be -- ever!"
As for her fiancé, the 28-year-old former Bachelor praised his future wife for handing her critics "very well," but admitted that it's not always easy to brush off the mean comments, especially considering how ubiquitous body shaming and bullying is these days.
"The moment that really sticks out to me is when we were sitting on the couch one day and she was reading through some of the stuff, and she was like, 'You know, I'm a confident, independent woman who is in love with somebody. What do the people out there, the middle schoolers, the high schoolers, how do they feel about themselves when they hear this when they feel alone?' Higgins recalled. "It's tough, but as a couple, we work through it."
WATCH: Lauren Bushnell Reveals Wedding Plans With Ben Higgins!
The 28-year-old reality star also opened up about meeting with the upcoming Bachelor, Nick Viall, and the personal advice Higgins shared about finding love.
"For Lauren and I, we're in love and we've made this work, but it hasn't always been easy. We don't want to hide that, but it's been really good. My advice to Nick was, 'You can come out of this with a very serious relationship, but before you do, make sure it's someone you want to commit to,'" Higgins said. "'Make sure it's someone you want to pursue, that you wanna work through all this with, because if not, it can get hard.'"
"The reason I think it was easy for Lauren and I was because, no matter what [happened] and no matter argument we're having, no matter what situation was brought up, at the end of the day, we were both looking at each other like, 'This isn't going to break us. We just gotta get through it,'” he added.
WATCH: Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell Show Off Massive $100K Engagement Ring
Higgins and Bushnell might be glad to be out of The Bachelor's shadow, but they aren't done with reality TV just yet. The couple are starring in their own reality show, Ben & Lauren: Happily Ever After?, which premieres Oct. 11 on Freeform.
When the couple recently sat down with ET, Higgins opened up about passing on the Bachelor torch to Viall, explaining, "I'm excited to no longer be referred to as 'the Bachelor!" Check out the pair's adorable sit-down in the video below.