The Golden Bachelor Season 2’s two-hour finale event featured its fair share of tough conversations, tears, heartbreak as Golden Guy Mel Owens chose between his final two Golden Gals: Peg Munson and Cindy Angelcyk Cullers.
Following an unexpectedly tense Fantasy Suite Week conversation between Mel and Cindy last week, the finale showed the end of their relationship, which ended with Cindy walking out on him after he told her he wasn’t ready for a proposal at the end of the journey.
After the shocking twist played out on-screen, Cindy joined host Jesse Palmer in front of the studio audience to unpack her post-finale emotions and confronted Mel again for the first time since leaving Antigua.
“I was so glad to see that replay, I’ll be honest, because my mind has shifted it in the last couple months, since I left the dock, and I wondered, ‘Did I just not hear him? Was he giving me more? Did I not understand?’” Cindy said. “It was such a strong feeling when I was at the dock that I needed to get up, and my memory was trying to erase it. So I’m so grateful that that was captured.”
When asked if Mel ever went to find her after their abrupt breakup, Cindy confirmed, “He did not come find me. I didn’t want him to. My decision was made, and I had the information that I needed. Mel was not in it for a relationship in the way that I was, and that’s fine. Everybody deserves to have the love that they want. I wanted something different.”
“I needed to know specifics about how I related to his life. He just was observing me,” Cindy continued, prompting Jesse to ask if she truly thought her and Mel could be endgame. Her answer? A resounding “yes.”
“From the minute I knew it was him, and then I met him, and then developed feelings for him. I started thinking about a future, and at this moment, I was thinking about meeting his kids and about knitting something together with the man,” Cindy explained. “I 100% would have been in it until the end of time.”
Cindy went on to say she was even more confused by Mel holding back his decision to not get engaged, because he would repeatedly say he loved being married. “It’s something that we all expected. I mean, I think if you ask these beautiful women behind you, who were also on the show, the expectation is that you better be willing at the end of it, if it doesn’t work out, it’s OK.”
“I think of his analogy, ‘Finish the game,’ and I was in the wrong stadium,” Cindy said. “I wouldn’t have taken my time and all this effort and getting all the gowns. Let me tell you, I’m not sure I would have done it to date somebody. I can date someone back in Austin and have a short term, low commitment relationship. 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.”
When Mel came out to reunite with Cindy, he claimed that his feelings for her were very straightforward and that she was the one who ducked out early and chose not to take advantage of the extra time in the Fantasy Suite Week.
“My heart and my head just wasn’t there to give you those answers yet, but we still had the Fantasy Suite, which I guess you weren’t prepared to go into, not just for any intimacy, but just for the talk that would have given us a lot more time, but that never happened. So we didn’t get the extra time to talk behind the scenes, no cameras, no mics, just a talk. We never got there,” Mel said.
“Absolutely we didn’t get there, because I wasn’t sure I wanted you to lead me to the Fantasy Suite when you couldn’t lead in a relationship with me,” Cindy replied. “You said more to Jesse than you said to me.”
Despite Cindy speaking the truth, Mel stood his ground like he was standing in cement. He repeated the same argument back to her, accusing her of wanting to “skip” crucial getting to know each other periods. After some painful back and forth, Cindy said her heart is “wide open” for love, and Jesse told her she is “the embodiment of class.”
Winning hearts with his dazzling performances on the US
While mum, Terri, and sister, Bindi, have been helping Robert navigate it all behind the scenes, it seems his brother-in-law, Chandler Powell, may be getting slightly fed up with the frenzy.
Despite moving back to his native US with the rest of the Irwins to support Robert’s dancing journey, Chandler is said to have grown apart from his once inseparable best mate in recent months, as Robert, 21, spends more time away from Australia Zoo to focus on other lucrative projects.
“Chandler would have preferred to stay back in Australia to look after the zoo instead of upping everything to be Robert’s personal cheer squad,” dishes our source.
Chandler’s recent social media activity even has some questioning whether a feud is lurking in the background between Bindi’s husband and brother.
“For a family known for being overly affectionate and constantly commenting and liking each other’s posts, Robert has barely acknowledged any of Chandler’s in recent weeks,” a source tells New Idea.
“Maybe he’s busy with dance practice, but it’s definitely unusual for Robert, who is highly active online these days.”
Social media sleuths also noticed that Chandler didn’t share any pictures of Robert on Halloween, despite him dressing up as Prince Charming alongside Bindi and Chandler’s daughter, Grace, who was Cinderella.
He did share a post wishing Robert well ahead of DWTS on November 5, but “eyebrows have still been raised”, the source continues.
Meanwhile, with all the buzz about Robert’s ripped physique lately, Chandler, who turns 29 this week, has also started hitting the gym.
“All of a sudden, he is posting workout videos – something he has never done before – when the world is going wild over Robert’s six-pack,” the insider adds.
“Robert is the biggest [and hottest] thing in Hollywood right now. He could very well become an even bigger star than his dad was in the next few years, so it’s only natural that Chandler could be feeling jealous by all of the attention Robert is receiving at the moment.”
Adding further fuel to the flames, New Idea hears that Robert may relocate to America for good to chase his dreams, while Chandler hopes to take over Australia Zoo.
It’s a move Chandler seemed to confirm on October 13, when he shared an image of himself feeding crocs in the Crocoseum with Robert watching in the background.
“A picture speaks a thousand words, and this one speaks volumes,” our source says.
They add that Chandler’s desire to be the next Crocodile Hunter would be ruffling Robert’s feathers as “the thought of someone taking the crown wouldn’t sit well… even if it’s his brother-in-law”.