The Golden Bachelor Mel Owens and his winner Peg Munson packed on the PDA while departing the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, NV on Sunday.
The 67-year-old NFL player-turned-sports lawyer affectionately wrapped his arms around the 62-year-old firefighter-turned-realtor as she filmed a selfie video on her iPhone.
‘We’re going to San Francisco for the Super Bowl,’ Owens announced on Instagram.
‘We’ll be there for a week on media row and do some work there for ESPN. And Peg got her things lined up as well – a surprise that’s coming. And I’ll let her announce that later.’
Munson coyly added: ‘Alright stay tuned!’
The retired LA Rams linebacker appeared to be hinting at a formal engagement with the retired bomb tech, whom he offered a promise ring to during the November 12 second season finale of the ABC dating game show.
‘Have we talked about marriage? Yeah, we have! Because guess what? We’ve dated now and we really have that special connection,’ Munson told the She’s All Bach podcast on December 8.
‘So that connection is there; we just didn’t want to rush it. Just because someone is telling us to get engaged or somebody is telling us to do it the way it’s supposed to be done, we had to be authentic and true to ourselves.’
The interior designer stressed that she didn’t want them to end up a Bachelor Nation statistic as the many franchises have a horrible track record for lasting marriages.
‘I don’t want to say, “Yes, oh, we’re going to get married, engaged, and then two months later, you know, they’re broke up,”‘ Munson explained.
‘That’s not what I went into this experience for. I really went into this experience, you guys, to meet a guy. I’m 62. He’s 67. We don’t have a lot of time left, you guys. So, I don’t have years to waste on a bunch of bulls*** you know?
‘I really want to find my guy, and I really want to have that connection and really love somebody. I mean, that’s where my heart’s desire is at. I wasn’t playing games at all with this show.’
The former High Rollers dancer – who’s based in Las Vegas – is a single mother to adult daughter Dakota with a mystery ex.
Owens fathered two sons – Lucas, 20; and Andre, 18 – during his 18-year marriage to ex-wife Fabiana Pimentel Owens, and while their divorce was finalized in 2024 they were still locked in a financial legal battle as of September.
Back in June before The Golden Bachelor even began filming, the Newport Beach-based attorney received substantial backlash for telling the MGoBlue Podcast that his ‘preferences’ were women between the ages of 45 and 60: ‘If they’re 60 or over, I’m cutting them.’
Two months later, Owens clarified to Glamour: ‘My reference, again, was when I was dating at 39, 40. I hadn’t dated in 26 years, so I had no clue. And that’s why I said that comment.
‘I apologized to the women on the show. When I first walked in, I addressed it. I apologized to them. I said, “It was unfair, insensitive. I want to earn it back. Just give me the chance.”‘
At 58, college sports consultant Maia Dreyer was the only contestant under age 60 – but the Namanny, Byrne & Owens partner eliminated her along with nine others during the first week.
Meanwhile, the original Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner finalized his divorce from winning contestant Theresa Nist in 2024 after three months of wedded bliss, but The Golden Bachelorette Joan Vassos is still going strong with her fiancé Chock Chapple.
Only three couples remain together after 29 seasons of The Bachelor franchise, and only four couples are still married from The Bachelorette after 21 seasons.
The odds are far better on Bachelor in Paradise where 13 couples remain together after 10 seasons.
