Ben Higgins , Victoria Fuller John Lamparski/Getty Images ; David Becker/Getty Images
Ben Higgins is taking issue with Victoria Fuller’s new boyfriend, Will Levis, for one specific reason.
“The next headline [is] one that I don’t want to talk about, one that I’m pretty upset about,” Ben, 35, said on the Tuesday, July 30, episode of the “Almost Famous” podcast. “Victoria Fuller has a new boyfriend and that’s not the reason I’m upset.”
Ben, who was the Bachelor in 2016, told guest cohost Rachel Recchia that he thinks Victoria, 30, is “a lot of fun.” (Rachel, 28, was the colead of The Bachelorette with Gabby Windey in 2022, while Victoria was a contestant of Peter Weber’s season 24 of The Bachelor in 2020.)
“So I say all of this, making sure everybody knows, I like Victoria. I do not like her boyfriend,” Ben said. When Rachel asked why, he replied, “Because I’m a [Indianapolis] Colts fan.”
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Ben explained that Will, 25, is the quarterback for the Tennessee Titans, which are division rivals of the Colts.
“He’s a joke,” Ben quipped. “She cannot go to a rival team of mine. She could’ve dated anybody else in the NFL other than the starting quarterback for the Tennessee Titans.”
After Rachel suggested that Victoria began a romance with Will to “spite” Ben, he jokingly agreed. “I think she thought in her mind, she’s like, ‘You know what would be really funny? Is if I found this six foot five, 240 pound ripped starting quarterback for the Tennessee Titans somehow attractive, and I started dating him, knowing it would hurt Ben so much,” he said.
Rachel, for her part, noted that she has a lot of “love” for the idea of Victoria dating Will and joked that The Bachelor season 23 alum is in her “cougar era.”
“She’s been through it, I’m happy for her,” Rachel said, causing Ben to admit he isn’t “happy” for her. “I hope the two of them get married and somehow he decides to retire from football way too early, and the two of them skip off into the sunset,” he added, “And then I’ll be like, ‘Hey, this is a great couple.’”
Will shared a photo via his Instagram Story on Monday, July 29, cozying up with a woman on a boat. While her face was not visible to the camera, Will tagged Victoria in the picture alongside a white heart emoji.
Victoria seemingly confirmed her relationship status with Will by reposting a picture to her Instagram Story. “Life update 🥹❤️,” she wrote.
The upload comes months after Greg Grippo confirmed he and Victoria had gone their separate ways. After Greg, 31, shared the news in April, Victoria broke her silence the next month.
“Break ups are never easy and especially so publicly,” Victoria wrote via her Instagram Story at the time. “I absolutely LOVE sharing my life with you guys but some moments are meant to be private. Everyone handles breakups differently, I’m choosing to process mine in peace.”
While thanking those who have “reached out and been supportive” of her split, Victoria concluded the upload with a message for Greg. “I wish him nothing but the best and can’t wait to see where life takes us,” she wrote.