The Golden Bachelor producers were allegedly hoping for another Golden Wedding.
Ahead of November 12’s finale episode, The Sun reported that ABC was “already made arrangements” for The Golden Bachelor lead, Mel Owens, to marry his final choice, Peg Munson, in a televised wedding ceremony.
In the finale, Mel, 66, gave his final rose to Peg, a 62-year-old retired firefighter, making her the winner of The Golden Bachelor season 2. However, he didn’t quite propose.
Mel offered Peg a promise ring of sorts, telling her, “I have a ring, and this represents our commitment to love, to give us time to figure out together what our future holds. What do you think?” Peg accepted the ring, whatever it means, and told cameras: “I’m not for everybody. He’s not for everybody. But we’re definitely for each other!”
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While Mel reportedly kept producers guessing about whether he would pop the question, the show was hoping to get Mel and Peg down the aisle in an event “similar” to season 1’s Golden Wedding between Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist, with a few changes.
Gerry and Theresa married in early 2024 in a lavish Palm Springs wedding three months after getting engaged at the end of the first season of The Golden Bachelor. The event, which aired live on ABC hosted several Bachelor Nation stars as well as the couple’s close family.
However, in April 2024, after just three months of marriage, Theresa and Gerry announced their divorce, a split which has since turned nasty.
“The network learned a lot with the Gerry wedding and obviously that didn’t end up working out,” The Sun’s source added. “Though the wedding itself went off well. They’re going to allow Mel to have more control over the ceremony and make it more of a personal touch.”
The Golden Bachelorette lead, Joan Vassos, is still engaged to her winner, Chock Chapple, but the pair has no immediate wedding plans. This means the stakes are high for Mel and Peg, and the network doesn’t want another failed marriage on their hands.
“They want to make it his day and Peg’s day. Whereas Gerry’s wedding was basically all planned by ABC and the couple just showed up and did what they were told.”
While Mel and Peg didn’t seem to get fully engaged, producers are reportedly happy with the outcome. The source said, “It was a huge relief he ended up going through with it. Again, everyone is thrilled, if not even surprised, behind the scenes.”
Before you go, click here to see all the Golden Bachelor and Golden Bachelorette stars who dated after the show.