'Bachelor' Reveal Ben Higgins Lands Lead - Instagrams News Following Kaitlyn Bristowe Split

A photo posted by Ben Higgins (@higgins.ben) on Jul 13, 2015 at 8:08pm PDT

All hail the new King of Bachelor Nation, Ben Higgins. It has been revealed that the heartthrob who stole the show on Kaitlyn Bristowe's season of The Bachelorette has just secured himself a new job as the face of ABC dating series, The Bachelor. The news was revealed last night on the Bachelor in Paradise after show, After Paradise where Higgins showed up as a guest to break the news to the public. After his appearance, the reality star also took to his Instagram account to spread the word to his loyal fans. The Denver, Colorado native posted on his social media account stating just how excited he is in taking this journey.

A photo posted by Ben Higgins (@higgins.ben) on Aug 24, 2015 at 7:43pm PDT

"This is surreal but extremely exciting," the star began. "To all the women who will be joining me on this experience...thank you for taking the time out of your lives to give this whole thing a shot."

Like the down-to-Earth guy that he is, Ben also reached out to a few people in the Bachelor community to thank them for their continued support as he embarks on this new chapter of his life.

"@nickviall thanks for being supportive and insightful through the last few days. @coachkbarnett and @sarah_barnett12 love you both and I appreciate you taking the whole day to take my mind off things," the star wrote. "@shawn_booth18 and @kaitlynbristowe the shout outs helped I think...much love sent to you both. There are tons others to thank but those will come later. Finally, thanks to the lord above for being faithful."

And don't think that Higgins is taking his new position lightly -- he told PEOPLE that he is using this platform to find his wife.

"[I'm] ready to share my life with somebody," the star told the news site. "I'm not fearful of the idea of getting married. As soon as I can find that person, it seems like the better life will be. Ideally at the end of this, I will be proposing."