Heavy/ABC Christina Mandrell and Brayden Bowers got engaged at "The Golden Bachelor" wedding.
Before Gerry Turner married Theresa Nist during the first-ever “Golden Bachelor” wedding, a younger couple got engaged. Brayden Bowers, from Charity Lawson’s season of “The Bachelorette” and season 9 of “Bachelor in Paradise,” proposed to the woman he deemed “the one.”
Now, additional details about how the surprising proposal came together have emerged.
Here’s what you need to know:
Brayden Bowers Feels They Are Misunderstood People Who Understand One Another
Bowers did not find love on “Bachelor in Paradise,” but he did find love shortly after filming ended. He connected with Christina Mandrell, from Zach Shallcross’ season of “The Bachelor,” and their romance became serious very quickly.
The traveling nurse told People he had already been planning to propose to Mandrell. However, his timeline was slower and he was aiming for sometime later in the year.
However, a plan between Bowers and Bachelor Nation producers started to form. Ultimately, as everybody saw during “The Golden Bachelor” wedding special, he decided sooner was better.
“We both came into this show just wanting love,” Bowers explained. He continued, “We both had hard, challenging roads in different ways, and we were both, I feel like, misunderstood.”
Once they found one another, Bowers noted, “it’s like two misunderstood people that understand each other.”
From the early days after meeting Mandrell, Bowers seemingly felt it was a matter of when he would propose rather than if. “It’s like they say, when you meet someone, you know, you know. And it’s like I’ve never known before.”
Right before the proposal, Mandrell and Bowers talked with host Jesse Palmer about their next move. Not only did she fly to California to attend “The Golden Bachelor” wedding, but she was there to help Bowers move to Tennessee with her as well.
Bowers Wants to Set a ‘Proper’ Example for Mandrell’s Daughter
“The thing is with her and her daughter, I wouldn’t make a move out there if I wasn’t sure that she’s the one I want to spend the rest of my life with,” Bowers told People. Mandrell has one daughter, Blakely, 7.
In deciding to propose now, before officially moving in together, Bowers “figured that we should make this proper and set the example too for Blakely and to show her the kind of love that she deserves as well.”
During “The Golden Bachelor” televised wedding, Palmer told viewers that Bowers had talked with Turner and Nist about proposing before going through with it. Bowers also got her father’s permission first.
On January 5, Bowers reshared a post on his Instagram Story originally posted by Mandrell’s father, Rob Pincus. “Very happy for my Daughter and Brayden,” Pincus wrote. He added, “(And, yes, he asked permission ahead of time.)”
Mandrell told People the couple feels “so grateful for every moment” together. She added, “There’s been bad, there’s been good. I mean, we’ve had these epic, crazy hard moments already, even though it’s, you know, some would say fast.”
Bachelor Nation fans had plenty to say about how the proposal went down. Many took to social media and Reddit to point out how it is generally considered bad etiquette to propose during someone else’s wedding.
“It was horrendous… It will never last and he will be back on the sand at the next BIP,” one Redditor suggested.
“I have no doubt there was heavy producer involvement but I don’t care if he asked permission. I still think it’s one of the tackiest things you can do at someone else’s wedding,” added another.
That same Redditor continued, “I know the ring was free and these two love the cameras, but I really wish he could’ve saved it [for] something more intimate where her little girl could’ve been involved.”
“Brayden and Christina just got engaged at somebody else’s wedding.. of course the most tone-deaf and self centered people are engaged,” tweeted another critic.