Christina Mandrell nearly proposed to Brayden Bowers before he got down on one knee at The Golden Wedding.
“I had absolutely no clue this [was] going to happen! Even to the extent that I had been asking @neillanecouture if he could make earrings so I could propose to Brayden,” Mandrell, 28, wrote via Instagram on Friday, January 5, alongside multiple laughing emojis.
Of course, Bowers, 25, is known for his eccentric style and often sported various hats, scarves and dangly earrings throughout his Bachelor Nation tenure. He even exclusively told Us Weekly in October 2023 that he packed 34 pairs of earrings in his suitcase ahead of filming for Bachelor in Paradise season 9.
Bowers surprised Mandrell — they hard-launched their relationship in December 2023 after the BiP finale — by popping the question on Thursday, January 4, at the first Golden Bachelor wedding.
“I just knew that there was something special, and there was something different, and then I got to spend time with you and got to spend time with Blakely … and introduce you to my family,” Bowers said during the live TV broadcast, referring to Mandrell’s 6-year-old daughter from a previous relationship. “For the first time in my life, I feel like I found someone that I can be myself with unapologetically. And I have no doubts that I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Mandrell was initially caught off guard by Bowers’ proposal, finally realizing that the engagement plans were the reasons that he pressed her to get a manicure several hours earlier. She tearfully said “yes,” and Bowers slid a Neil Lane sparkler on her left ring finger.
“Last night was surreal,” Mandrell added in her social media upload on Friday. “I’m overjoyed and so grateful for @goldengerryturner and @theresa_nist for giving @braydenbowersofficial (my FIANCÉ) their blessing to propose [to] me on their special night! They’re such an inspiration and a beautiful example of love! 🌹🌹🌹.”
Bowers and Mandrell were two of the reality TV alums in attendance at The Golden Wedding of Gerry Turner, the inaugural Golden Bachelor, and now-wife Theresa Nist.
Ahead of the emotional wedding ceremony, Bowers and Mandrell spoke with show host Jesse Palmer about the origins of their love story.
“She actually DM’ed me! She slid in my DM’s and it was funny ’cause we started hitting it off,” Bowers recalled. “We would FaceTime every night for, like, four [or] five hours, and one night we started talking and I made a Tenacious D reference … and this woman right here was like, ‘Did you make a reference to Tenacious D?’”
While Bowers couldn’t believe that Mandrell had heard of Jack Black’s band, she used that opportunity to segue into making plans for their first date. “She was like, ‘Well, I know I had tickets to this concert next week,’” he added.
Bowers plans to move into Mandrell’s home in Nashville later this month.
The twosome are both members of Bachelor Nation. Mandrell appeared on Zach Shallcross’ season 27 of The Bachelor months before Bowers went on Charity Lawson’s season 20 of The Bachelorette. After his elimination, Bowers filmed BiP season 9 in summer 2023 but left the show single.
