Heavy/ABC Brayden Bowers is dating Christina Mandrell.
The season 9 finale of “Bachelor in Paradise” aired on December 7, and there were interesting relationship updates to sort through. Contestant Brayden Bowers made several connections during his time in Paradise, but he ultimately left the beach solo. It turns out, however, that he has found love, and it’s with someone else in Bachelor Nation.
Bowers revealed he has found love with Christina Mandrell, who was a contestant on Zach Shallcross’ season of “The Bachelor.”
Here’s what you need to know:
Brayden Bowers Says Christina Mandrell Is ‘The Biggest Blessing’
Late in the evening on December 7, Bowers took to Instagram to gush over Mandrell. “I finally took Wells’ advice and found myself a ‘southern belle,'” he declared.
The video Bowers shared included a brief clip of “Bachelor in Paradise” “bartender” Wells Adams telling Bowers he needs to find himself a southern belle. From there, the video shifts to a montage of fun moments shared between Mandrell and Bowers over the past few months.
As “The Bachelor” fans may remember, Mandrell does have a young daughter. Us Weekly noted her daughter’s name is Blakely, and her father is Mandrell’s ex-husband, Blake Dennis.
Bowers’ video showed that he has spent a lot of time with Blakely, and the little girl seems to adore him.
The “Bachelor in Paradise” star explained, “All jokes aside she has been the biggest blessing in my life.” He continued, “She has been there for me through very tough times already and has showed me so much grace through it all.”
Mandrell has become Bowers’ “confidant, my accountability partner, and my favorite person.” He noted he was relieved that they could be open about their romance now.
“I can finally shout it from the tops of the mountains. Love you babe thank you [for] being in my life,” he gushed. He also added via a hashtag, “I found a girl like mom.”
Mandrell Says They Are ‘Unapologetically Ourselves’ Together
Mandrell launched her relationship with Bowers on Instagram about an hour before he did on December 7. She declared, “AHHH! We can ‘FINALEy’ shout it from the rooftops!!”
“Beyond the cameras and reality show drama, Brayden (aka MY BOYFRIEND!) and I found something truly special,” Mandrell gushed. She continued, “In each other, we have a space where being unapologetically ourselves is not just accepted but celebrated! Something I never knew I was missing until I did.”
Now, “The Bachelor” star noted, “We can finally share our goofy, love-filled world.” Mandrell and her daughter live in Nashville, Tennessee, while Bowers has been living in San Diego, California. Bowers, however, is moving to Nashville.
“San Diego to Nashville won’t be just a change of scenery but the next chapter in our journey as a team,” she wrote. Mandrell shared, “A future where laughter, authenticity, and the strength of ‘US’ define our story.”
Mandrell ended her caption by writing, “There’s something incredibly special about finding a love that feels like home.”
Bachelor Nation Was Left Stunned By the Romance Reveal
While the hard launch of their romance by Bowers and Mandrell came as a surprise to many Bachelor Nation fans, there had been speculation and rumors swirling about the pairing for a while. As one fan on “The Bachelor” subreddit noted, “They’ve been dropping heavy hints online but nothing confirmed yet.”
Mandrell and Bowers may have kept their romance a secret, to a degree, until now, but others in Bachelor Nation were well aware of their relationship. In her Instagram Stories, Mandrell shared additional video clips of time they spent together recently.
The clips, which were also shared on Reddit, showed the pair hanging out with Kaity Biggar and Shallcross, Charity Lawson and Dotun Olubeko, and “The Bachelor” Joey Graziadei. It appeared this gathering may have taken place after “The Golden Bachelor” finale, and Mandrell mentioned they had been together for “several months.”
The couple quickly received a lot of love from Bachelor Nation.
“Wait are you kidding me I am so obsessed with this,” a fan wrote on Bowers’ Instagram post.
“Okay but I love this pairing and never expected it at the same time,” commented another fan.
“This makes my heart so freakin happyyy😍🫶🏽❤️😫🥰,” a comment on Mandrell’s post read.
Someone else gushed, “What?! Omg yes, this relationship makes so much sense! ❤️❤️❤️”