Yep, you read that right. Brayden Bowers from The Bachelorette season 20 and Bachelor in Paradise season 9 got down on one knee to propose to his new girlfriend, Christina Mandrell from season 27 of The Bachelor at The Golden Wedding on January ), which garnered a stunned reaction from fans of franchise (despite claiming to have gotten the blessing of the bride and groom, Theresa Nist and Gerry Turner, beforehand).
Naturally, viewers took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to share their true thoughts on the sticky situation.
“A PROPOSAL… from BRAYDEN of all people omg??? HOW LONG have they been dating!? #TheGoldenBachelor”
“Brayden WOULD upstage someone’s wedding and propose… that is SO TACKY #TheGoldenBachelor #TheGoldenWedding”
“Did Brayden just propose at someone else’s wedding? #TheGoldenBachelor #GoldenWedding”
For those who are unfamiliar with how the relationship between Bowers and Mandrell came to be, according to an exclusive interview with Bachelor Nation, the two lovebirds connected in the early fall (right after Bowers had returned from Bachelor in Paradise season 9) after seeing that Mandrell had commented on a couple of his Instagram posts while he was away. After chatting for a bit via direct message and eventually exchanging phone numbers with one another, things got really serious between the pair…
“From there, we talked like that for a week or two, and we realized we had so much in common and liked all the same silly things, like Tenacious D. She was like, ‘I actually have tickets to see them next week in Nashville,’ and asked if I wanted to go see them with her. I ended up buying a ticket to go see her, meet her in person, and go to the show. It was amazing! She had to pick me up incognito at the airport and it was the funniest thing ever. We just instantly clicked. We had been talking for a couple of weeks, but there was no awkwardness at all in person and we just flowed the entire time.”
After the concert, Bowers and Mandrell committed to a long distance relationship, going back and forth to visit each other in California and Tennessee, as well as FaceTiming one another every single evening. Bowers moved in with Mandrell on January 6, sharing a home in Nashville, Tennessee prior to tying the knot sometime in the near future.
While it might not have been the most appropriate time to pop the question, we could not be happier for Brayden Bowers and Christina Mandrell nonetheless, but fans of the franchise have just one burning question: How the the former manage to propose to the latter at someone else’s wedding, especially someone else’s televised wedding? Keep scrolling for all of the nitty gritty details…
According to Brayden Bowers himself (shared in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE), ABC was a part of this rather unconventional proposal, and they even helped out with planning it. Initially, Bowers had the idea to put the ring on a slice of pineapple pizza after the pair discussed their dream of making pineapple pizza in Italy together, however, the producers had another idea in mind: proposing with a Neil Lane diamond ring during The Golden Wedding.
“From the experiences we both had, like we both came into this show just wanting love. We both had hard, challenging roads in different ways, and we were both, I feel like, misunderstood, and it’s like two misunderstood people that understand each other… They say, when you meet someone, you know, you know, and it’s like I’ve never known before. I’ve dated before, but I’ve never known before, and then I meet her, and it’s like there’s no doubt in my mind.”
To follow this heartwarming statement, the happy couple gushed about their decision to move in with one another, admitting that they knew an engagement was in the near future. After all, if Bowers was packing up his things and moving nearly 2,000 miles away, the pair knew that things were serious!
Shortly after the proposal, Mandrell took to Instagram to share the news with anyone who failed to tune into The Golden Wedding, admitting that she was actually going to propose to Bowers instead (with a pair of Neil Lane earrings). How wild is that?
“Oh hey, I’m ENGAGED! 😮 Stay tuned for the pictures from the whole night (I didn’t have my phone on me last night so I’m still getting all the photos together) but last night was surreal! I’m overjoyed and so grateful for @goldengerryturner and @theresa_nist for giving @braydenbowersofficial (my FIANCÉ) their blessing to propose me on their special night! They’re such an inspiration and a beautiful example of love! 🌹🌹🌹 I had absolutely no clue this is going to happen! Even to the extent that I had been asking @neillanecouture if he could make earrings so I could propose to Brayden 😅😅😅😅😅”
While this moment was rather unconventional, Bachelor Nation showed their support nonetheless, with fan favorites like Jesse Palmer, Amanda Stanton, Michael Allio, Nate Mitchell, Luke Pell, and more sharing their support in the comment section of the post.
To see the proposal for yourself, as well as the other craziness that The Golden Wedding had in store, fans of the franchise can stream the one-of-a-kind function via Hulu or Disney Plus now to watch Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist (or should we say Theresa Turner?) tie the knot.