• Bachelor Nation star Brayden Bowers proposed to Christina Mandrell just before the wedding of Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist
• Brayden and Christina started dating after being on The Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise
• Other Bachelor Nation stars attended The Golden Bachelor wedding
Here is what happened:
The Golden Bachelor’s Gerry Turner wasn’t the only planning a trip down the aisle during his wedding special. Just moments before the 72-year-old was due to exchange vows with Theresa Nist on live TV, Bachelor Nation star Brayden Bowers popped the question to Christina Mandrell. During the nuptials’ televised cocktail hour, the couple spoke to host Jesse Palmer about their upcoming move to Tennessee, before Brayden revealed plans to take their relationship one step further and got down on one knee.
“For the first time in my life, I feel like I’ve found someone I can be myself with unapologetically,” Brayden told Christina. “Like Gerry said, we have such little time.” He continued, “I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” Before the Bachelor in Paradise alum could finish his proposal, Christina said yes and gave him a kiss. “Put it on me!” she joked of her Neil Lane engagement ring, before quipping to her new fiancé, “This is why we got our nails done?”
Brayden was first introduced to Bachelor Nation in 2023, when he appeared on Charity Lawson’s season of The Bachelorette. After failing to win the therapist’s heart, he appeared on Bachelor in Paradise but was eliminated from the dating show during the fourth week.
Brayden and Christina, who vied for Zach Shallcross’ love on The Bachelor last year, started dating after connecting on social media. “She actually DM’d me,” Brayden recalled during The Golden Bachelor wedding special. “We just started hitting it off.” The pair went public with their relationship during the BIP season finale in December. At the time, the show said that Brayden was teaching Christina’s daughter Blakely, who she shares with ex Blake Dennis, “how to accessorize.”
