Mel Owens handed out his final rose on the finale of The Golden Bachelor.
Owens, 66, walked off into the sunset with Peg Munson on the Wednesday, November 12, finale episode of the ABC series.
“This was our time,” Mel told Peg, 62, while on a beach in Antigua. “I trusted you, you trusted me and you told me you had confidence in me that I’d make the right choice and here you are. I have something for you,” he said, revealing a ring that he claimed represents their “commitment.”
While Mel did not formally propose to Peg, she agreed with his words, gushing over how she found the “perfect” guy for her.
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“I’m not for everybody, he’s not for everybody, but we’re for each other,” Peg added in a joint confessional.
Earlier in the episode, Cindy, 60, surprised audiences when she self-eliminated during her Fantasy Suite date, claiming that she wasn’t sure where she stood with Mel and if he was ready to get married at all.
“It hurts really bad. From day one, I told everyone I though the was my guy,” she said in a confessional. “I hoped he was The One. I’m so disappointed.”
Mel, meanwhile, was shocked at her exit, thinking that “they had a future” but continued the process with Peg, 62, and introduced the former bomb squad technician to his two sons and college friend Diane.
Mel had admitted during Wednesday’s episode that he was “torn” between Cindy and Peg. He previously gave Us Weekly exclusive insight into how he made decisions as the season wound down, revealing he made a pros and cons list.
“I usually don’t make those types of lists. I can do it in my head, but when you write stuff down, it’s meaningful,” he said last month, “I wanted to write down my first impressions, the goods, the bads, the neutrals. It really didn’t sway me, but I could still look at it.”
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Mel called the process “tough.”
“I’m just trying to figure out who is going to be the best fit for me, who I would enjoy,” he continued. “The hometowns are all great. But there’s that magnetism that pulls you in that direction no matter what, and it’s a little bit more toward one person than the other, so I went with my gut.”
The former NFL player went on to praise the set-up for the finale.
“ABC can put on a production. We go to Antigua. I’ve never been there. I’ve been to islands, but I’ve never been there,” he said. “But whoever scouted it out and set it up and got things prepared, just the little details, it’s just so good.”
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He then teased, “You won’t believe how we get there, not mechanically, but how we get there emotionally. There’s some movement and twists and turns.”
The Bachelor franchise has yet to announce plans for another Golden season, but The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Taylor Frankie Paul will be the next Bachelorette, with her season premiering in March 2026.
