Despite not getting engaged, Mel Owens found a true connection with Peg Munson during the season 2 finale of The Golden Bachelor.
“We’re feeling great. We’re feeling really good,” Peg exclusively told Us Weekly one day after the finale and the After the Final Rose special aired. “We’re feeling relieved and excited that we’re at this point in the journey and now we’re able to move forward.”
In the season finale, Mel, 66, pledged to commit to Peg, 62, and gave her a Neil Lane diamond promise ring after runner-up Cindy Cullers chose to self-eliminate ahead of the fantasy suites. Cindy, 60, left after Mel confirmed that he was not ready to get engaged.
“It’s a short process, for sure, and maybe you don’t have all the answers … But I kind of want my guy to feel like he got struck by lightning and can’t live without me,” Cindy told him before her departure.
When she returned for AFR on Wednesday, November 12, Cindy said she wouldn’t have changed anything as she shouldn’t have to convince a man to love her.
“If we had written a book, if we had gotten on the same page, it would’ve been, like, the best fairy tale. It was a start of something remarkable. It could have been amazing,” she told host Jesse Palmer, adding, “He wanted a comic book. He wanted something shorter and lighter and no commitment. And I’m ready for everything.”
When asked about that remark, Mel didn’t mince words with Us.
Peg and Mel during “After the Final Rose” on November 132 2025. Disney/John Fleenor
“I’m not gonna comment on her frivolous, you know, trite little comment because it’s just not worth commenting on,” he said. “But, like I told her, me, personally, I know that I’m not gonna take a leap of faith like that. My life doesn’t work that way.”
Peg mentioned that she wasn’t looking for “a knight in shining armor to rescue and save” her, but she wanted a committed partner. She and Mel agreed that they needed more time before an engagement or promise of marriage.
“Like Peg said, there’s more to it than just going through the journey and then at the end, just because the show says you’re supposed to get married or propose, [you do]. That’s just not real,” Mel told Us. “[Cindy] wanted to have the ending before the journey was over. And that’s just not how the journey goes. She didn’t want to go through the entire journey to see what happened. She wanted the answers to the test before the test was given. So, I’m not worried about it at all.”
Mel added, “My connection with Peg was much stronger than it was with Cindy. So, there’s never a doubt in my mind. [Cindy] left on her own accord … I believe she just wanted to save face and exit before the final process was over. So, she had that option and she exercised it.”
Cindy Cullers with Jesse Palmer on “After the Final Rose” on November 12, 2025. Disney/John Fleenor
Unlike Cindy, Peg said she had the opportunity to speak to Mel about his feelings on an engagement in the fantasy suite.
“We really sat down and we talked about it. ‘How does this look for us going, moving forward? What does this relationship look like?’ You know, in real time, not in fantasy land, but in real time. ‘How are we going to merge our lives? And what does that look like?’ And we were basically on this same page,” Peg told Us. “You know, we needed to have that firm foundation of a relationship, ‘cause we’re looking for something that lasts. We’re not looking to go into a marriage or an engagement and then three months later, say, ‘Nope, I’m sorry. You know, it didn’t work out.’ We want something that has a firm foundation that we can build on and build on for the rest of our lives.”
Peg said Mel “doesn’t have integrity, he is integrity,” and was always very honest about where he was hoping the show would end up. “He’s not going to say or do something that is not true. It’s who he is,” she said. “He’s not gonna say I love you when he doesn’t feel that he loves you or doesn’t love you or whatever, he’s just gonna keep it real. And that’s one thing that I really, really love and admire about him.”
Mel affirmed that his goal was to be honest with all of the women on his season and move as authentically as possible.
“Not one woman told me that I disrespected them and misled them or misrepresented anything,” Mel told Us. “And, you know, maybe TV fans don’t like the sincerity or straightforwardness, but that’s what I have and that’s what I gave them. If I didn’t love them, I’m not gonna tell them.”
He continued: “I’ve seen The Bachelor enough where the person told the other contestants or the other people that, ‘I love you. I love you. I love you.’ So you got three ‘I love yous’ out there and they’re all misled. And then there’s panic and heartbreak. I didn’t do that because that’s not who I am. I’d never do it outside of the show and I wouldn’t do it inside of this show. I just stay true to myself and that’s what happened.”
Despite what Cindy may have said or felt during the finale, she did insist that she wanted Mel to be happy.
“Everybody deserves to have the love that they want. I wanted something different,” she said on AFR, adding, “His analogy of finish the game? I was in the wrong stadium.”
She concluded, “It just was good to watch back. He’s not my guy. He deserves to be happy with whatever he wants out of a relationship. I have a choice too.”
As for Mel and Peg, they’re looking forward to being out and about in public and doing “everyday” things together.
“Spend time with my daughter, spend time with his sons, go to the gym, travel, watch a great Saturday football [game], cook, barbecue. He’s a great cook. He cooks for me all the time, which is amazing,” Peg told Us of their future plans. “You know, spend some time doing just normal everyday life.”
The Golden Bachelor is now available on Hulu.
