But nobody needs to feel sorry for Higgins.
Could you tell me a bit about that and how you got involved in it?
Well, I started two restaurants out here in Denver about three years ago.
And so it was always important.
This is something that I want to be a part of.
So they’re a bakery, so bread’s a huge part of what they do.
And for me, the California club is a sandwich my mom used to make growing up.
So I grow my own basil, tomatoes.
And so it reminds me of home anytime I make that sandwich.
And I add those ingredients that I make from home.
And so this just fit me.
This campaign fit me.
So is it a social media campaign or is it a show?
It’s a social media campaign.
So there’s a giveaway aspect to it for them.
So it is mostly social for me.
I think for them, as a brand, it’s probably expanded way beyond me.
It’s something bigger that they’re doing.
I just get to be a small part of it.
Well, I want viewers take away that Rudy’s Rocky Mountain Bakery is an incredible bakery.
They are incredibly good at what they do, which is small-batch bread-making.
It’s super, super good in flavor.
You know, for me, I was able to do this whole campaign.
And so many people from Indiana that I grew up with came out, and they stayed with me.
I just hope that people understand the power that can exist when you sit around a table.
That sounds like fun but this is very different from your work on “The Bachelor.”
So what is it like working on this?
You know, it is very different.
It’s kind of one of the things that come, right?
So for me, this is a pretty good parallel.
And so it’s important for me to support them in whatever ways I can.
Oh, in so many ways.
From career changes, right?
I operate a company called Generous Coffee Company.
Generous Coffee Company is a for-profit company, and we donate 100% of our profits to nonprofits.
And I was able to co-found that.
And I still lead it to this day.
And then you go into my romantic life I’m getting married in a few days.
And so for me, I believe the show has changed everything for me.
Loneliness, singleness, wanting to shake life up a bit.
When I signed up for the show, I was living in Denver still and I was single.
I didn’t have a lot of friends.
I just moved out here.
I want to give a shot to create a new story."
And the show enabled me to do that.
And the show really kind of helped me get to that point.
So congratulations on your upcoming wedding!
I’m curious to know, did your experience in “The Bachelor” influence your relationship with Jessica?
Oh, 100%.
It doesn’t play a big role in our lives now.
She doesn’t ask about it much.
She hasn’t seen it.
I don’t think she wants to see it.
And so yeah, it has.
And for me, “The Bachelor” is a huge part of my story.
I understand your wedding got delayed because of COVID.
My wedding planning piece or Jessica’s?
Because they’re very different.
I was in charge of very few things.
I cannot claim that I put a ton of work into this.
They’ve gone into every detail.
Jessica and I want this to be a celebration.
We’ve got, I believe, the best band in the world.
We have a great venue.
And so a lot of wedding planning has been around how we make this the best possible party ever.
We have some individual things about our ceremony that are going to be really special.
We both love Winnie the Pooh.
Winnie the Pooh is going to play a role in this wedding.
It’s a private room, it’s a special room, it’s a bourbon-tasting room.
But I’m also just really excited for the band.
I think the band is going to be huge.
I think they’re going to be a hit.
A few years ago, I planned an event here in Denver, co-produced it with two others.
So 2,000 random people showed up to this wedding.
And this band is the same band that had 2,000 people dancing all night long at this event.
And that makes me happy.
He has big plans for 2022
You’ve been doing a lot, I’ve noticed.
You’ve written a book, you’ve founded the coffee company, you’ve got the restaurants.
What other plans do you have looking forward?
[Pointing to a bookshelf behind him.]
That’s the book.
That’s what I thought.
I have a big bar-slash-restaurant opening up in Denver in January called Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row.
It’s going to happen in Denver.
That’s a big project for me right now.
That’s something I would love to get accomplished in 2022.
Outside of that, I want to be a good husband.
And that excites me.
It’s a good challenge.
I’m ready for it.
I’m going to wrap up with a few fun questions that we like to ask people.
Do you have a favorite reality show this year?
I’d say those are the things that I [am] still most involved in.
It’s probably the only reality show I watch.
I think it’s called “Love on the Spectrum” or something like that.
[It’s the] one that people keep telling me I need to watch.
I haven’t gotten into it yet.
I haven’t watched it yet, but I bet that happens this next year.
Right now, it’s still the “Bachelor” franchise.
Are there any celebrity couples that you particularly like?
Jessica’s a big fan of Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber.
I really enjoy followingRyan Reynolds and Blake Lively, which seems like everybody’s favorite celebrity couple right now.
So that’s where we spend a lot of our time kind of like learning from at this point.
And is there any celebrity look that you like?
Whoever dresses the most casual and showers at the end of the day, not the beginning.
That’s who I like right now.
