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.
“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
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.”
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.”
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.
Amber Portwood is continuing to process her strained relationship with her daughter Leah.
The mom of two appears on the Thursday, April 17 episode of
“I thought I was already dark and deep in a hole from what happened to me, from the incident in North Carolina, and him leaving me in the mountains,” Amber begins in a confessional, acknowledging her breakup from fiancé Gary Wayt.
“When I found out about my daughter saying that she wanted to be adopted, it took over everything,” Amber tells producers in a confessional. “I was really just in bed for over four months. But I just realized that I truly just needed my mommy.”
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In the scene, Amber calls her mom, Tonya, who she’s shared a rocky relationship with in the past.
“I just woke up, and I was just like hopeless, just feeling like hopeless and just like, ‘F—, why am I awake?’ ” she tells her mom, who asked if Amber is taking her medication.
“My relationship with my mom when I was around 16 was a little tumultuous,” she says, as past arguments with them on the show play in flashback scenes.
“Me and my mom were fighting so bad, like I had to leave the house and live with my father,” she explains. “I’ve seen my mom three times, these last few weeks, when I hadn’t seen her almost a year.”
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Later, Amber and Tonya meet for lunch, where Amber acknowledges that “this morning was heavy.”
“But when I wake up crying like now, all I do is call you,” she adds.
“I’ve always been there for you. You know that you always get my baby, no matter how old you are. So, no matter what it is, I’m still trying to understand what you’re going through,” Tonya tells her.
Amber then asks Tonya about going to a psychiatrist appointment with her, explaining, “Because I’m not just bipolar. I have four major mental illnesses that I would like to have them explain it to you.”
“I would think by now that they would have your medications straightened out by now, after eight years of them seeing you,” Tonya replies. Amber tries to explain, before Tonya continues, “I know, that’s the question that I have asked to ask him, to explain that to me.”
“And he won’t take offense to it,” Amber says.
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“I just think this has gone on too long,” Tonya says, later adding, “I just don’t see you progressing.”
“What has gone on too long, mama? There’s no cure.”
Changing the subject, Amber brings up Leah, explaining, “With my life circumstances and the things with Leah, I’m scared she’s never gonna come around.”
“She’ll come around when she’s ready,” Tonya says.
“I know, but I’m scared that’s not gonna happen,” Amber says. She then asks, “Does Leah call you?”
“Texts. She tells me goodnight, that she loves me. Stuff like that.”
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Amber cries as Tonya reassures her, “It’ll be fine. We can’t force her.”
In her confessional, Amber says, “I see how my relationship with my mom was completely tumultuous, and today I’m with my mom. I love my mom so much. So, this is why I have hope with Leah. It’s gonna get better. It’s gonna take me a little while.”
Teen Mom: The Next Chapter airs on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.