Chris Lane explains backlash to Lauren Bushnell, Ben Higgins photo

Country star Chris Lane did not expect to ruffle feathers within Bachelor Nation when he posted a photo of Ben Higgins Last month.

“Before I even posted that, I actually texted Ben,” Lane, 39, said during the “Almost Famous” podcast on Tuesday, June 25. “The last thing I ever want to do is do something disrespectful like that. So I asked him if it was OK with him if I posted that, and that, of course, I didn’t mean it.”

He continued: “I didn’t realize I was causing a stir and I guess I should have written, ‘Ben is OK with me posting this photo.'”

iHeartRadio Programming Director, Tom Polemanwas actually the first to spark the drama by sharing an old photo of Higgins, 35, along with Lane and his now-wife. Lauren Bushnell.

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Three years after Bachelor viewers saw Lauren Bushnell Lane’s engagement on national television, the former flight attendant confirmed she was getting married again – and this time she was walking down the aisle to country singer Chris Lane. Bushnell Lane shared the happy news on Instagram on June 18, 2019, when she (…)

“How it started / How it’s going,” he captioned the May 5 post. “The moment Chris Lane met his future wife Lauren at our 2016 iHeartCountry Music Festival!”

Bushnell — who was engaged to Higgins at the time the photo was taken — did not comment on the image. However, Lane shared it via his own Instagram. (Higgins left a comment on the post.)

“She and I didn’t start dating until four years after that photo was taken,” Lane continued during Tuesday’s appearance on “Almost Famous.” “I think people thought I met her that night and we started dating right after, which wasn’t even close to the case.”

Lane thought the photo would be a “fun way” to show how life goes. Higgins and Bushnell called off their engagement in May 2017, and in November 2018, she went public with her relationship with Lane. The couple married in October 2019 and have two sons together: Dutton, 3, and Baker, 20 months.

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Higgins – who has since moved on and married Jessica Clarke – addressed the photo days after the social media debacle.

“I thought it put Chris and Lauren in a very uncomfortable situation,” he said on the May 8 episode of his podcast “Almost Famous.” “I thought those pictures would feel weird to them. So I felt weird about it. I also just thought it was weird that there were pictures of Lauren and I together again. I haven’t seen a picture of Lauren and I posted in a long time.”

However, the former Bachelor star said that Lane texted him about the whole thing.

“As I mentioned, I really like Chris. He’s a great guy. We played golf together. I have nothing but respect for him,” Higgins said. “I’m so happy that he and Lauren found each other and have a family together. It’s all so beautiful and there was never any animosity. Honestly, there was never a single awkward experience.”