The former NFL player opens up about falling in love with Peg, what comes next, and who they both want as the star of the next Golden Bachelorette.
The Golden Bachelor gave us quite the finale on Wednesday night as Mel and Peg chose each other, and Cindy self-eliminated prior to the fantasy suites. There was no proposal—there wasn’t even a declaration of “I love you”—but in some ways, this may have been the most normal ending we’ve seen on the show.
After five weeks of both one-on-one and group dates, Mel wasn’t ready to propose to anyone. Many called into question why he would even go on the show in the first place (never mind the podcast comments) if he wasn’t ready for marriage, but I give him credit for not leading anyone on or being someone he’s not. When Cindy decided to go home prior to the fantasy suites because Mel couldn’t give her the commitment she wanted, he didn’t go after her. He certainly didn’t try to convince her to stay, either.
And when Mel told Peg that Cindy was gone, he also didn’t make false promises to her either just because she was the last one standing. Instead, he wanted to introduce Peg to his sons and best friend, Diane, because in a normal relationship that’s just what you do. Sure, it felt a little funny when he said goodbye to Peg at the end of the day and said, “Tomorrow we’ll celebrate.” But then again, that’s only because we as Bachelor Nation have become accustomed to larger-than-life, unrealistic endings. (One look at Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist—who have been majorly at odds following his book release—should tell you all you need to know.)
As Peg said, “I’m not for everybody, and he’s not for everybody, but we’re for each other.” Mel also gave Peg a Neil Lane ring as a sign of his commitment. And when Peg and Mel signed onto Zoom for their interview with Glamour less than 24 hours after the live finale, Mel said to me, “I told you I was going to get someone good.”
So what’s next for The Golden Bachelor couple? When did they even realize they were in love? And who do they think would be the best choice to follow in Joan Vassos’s footsteps as the next Golden Bachelorette? Below, they answer all that and more.
Glamour: Congratulations to you both! Mel, you weren’t kidding about the fireworks, literally and figuratively. You’re in love, too, but we didn’t hear those words until the After the Final Rose live taping. So when did you guys know you were in love, and when did you first say those words to each other?
Peg Munson: Well, I knew I was growing in love with him during this whole journey. So it was one day at a time, and it was just opening up my heart and my mind to allow that to happen naturally. It wasn’t just one day, like, “Boom! I’m in love with you.” It’s time. It takes time to get to know somebody, and it takes time to fall in love with somebody. It was a progression for me.
Mel, what about you? When did you first say, “I love you” to Peg?
Mel Owens: When I first met Peg, I had a crush on her. It was almost that instantaneous electricity and a connection, and then it grew over time. By time we were on the island in Antigua, and then we went to the little island, I realized, “I’m in love with her.” I just became infatuated with her, and I had a crush on her, and it’s still growing.
I have to say, while we love a grand gesture or a proposal, I think you guys probably did it the smartest way. You’re in an accelerated timeline, and you’ve only known each other for about five weeks, so don’t rush the feelings. You might’ve done it the smartest way of any couple on this show. Do you feel that?
Peg: We appreciate that. We really appreciate that.
Mel: It’s because I’m a Michigan guy!
Peg: He’s a smart guy. He’s a smart guy.
Speaking of smart people, Peg met Diane during the family visit with your sons. Is this the same Diane that you mentioned in our first sit-down interview, the one who kind of schooled you on the aftermath of the podcast?
Mel: Yes, she’s the most reasonable person I’ve ever met. She’s just so reasonable. She’s deputy commissioner of the Big 10. She’s the attorney, spokesperson, and media person. She put together billion dollar deals for TV. And she’s a reality TV junkie too, which I didn’t even know until she was setting me straight [about the podcast]. But she gave me good counsel. She really did.
Before we get into what’s next for you and Peg, I want to go back to that night on the dock with Cindy when she decided to go home. I personally think that at that moment, you knew then that Peg was your person. Otherwise you would have tried to convince Cindy to stay. Am I wrong in assuming that?
Mel: I had a deeper connection with Peg. I just did. Had it been reversed and [Peg left], I wouldn’t have let her go. I would’ve told her, “Hey, look, stay here because we’re going to work it out.” Cindy didn’t even utilize the fantasy suite, which she could have, but that’s okay. She had her own decision to make, her own prerogative. My connection with Peg was much stronger, and your intuition was correct.
I love that. “I wouldn’t let you go.” Look at you, Mr. Romantic!
Mel: Peg’s the’s the best gal ever.
You bring out such a spark in one another. There’s a playfulness and youthfulness there. So let’s talk about Thanksgiving plans. Where will you be, and how do you plan on making this work in terms of going back and forth between Las Vegas and Orange County?
Peg: Well, the nice thing about being in our golden years is we get to do things [according to our timeline]. Thanksgiving, we’re going to be in Detroit. We’re going to be in Ann Arbor, and then Christmas we’re going to be in Rio. We’re going back to Vegas for his birthday. Then we’re going to the Super Bowl in San Francisco. We have a lot on our plate. It’s time to live life and enjoy life.
Mel: She left out one thing. When we go to Ann Arbor, Michigan, we’re going to go to something called Hob Nobble Gobble. It’s a big gala, bigger than the Emmys, and that’s in Michigan. Before that we’re going to Toronto and Montreal; we’re going to be in Detroit for Hob Nobble Gobble, and then also the Michigan and Ohio State game. And then back for my birthday to Vegas. She’s taking me to The Sphere to see one of my favorite movies of all time, The Wizard of Oz.
Peg: It’s go time for us.
I want to ask one more thing about Cindy: Peg, did you get a chance to talk to her last night, or did they keep you separate?
Peg: No, I haven’t seen her. After the finale last night, we went to dinner with a few of our other friends. I just wanted something very low-key, something peaceful, so the girls—the ones that I connected with—we just went and had a good dinner. I love Cindy. She’s beautiful, she’s smart, she’s vivacious, she’s very well-spoken, and she’s got a prerogative to live her life and find the love that works for her. It doesn’t make her right. It doesn’t make her wrong. Hats off to her because she knew what she wanted. She’ll find it. She really will. She will find that person that wants to be married quickly. There’s nothing wrong with that. I love her dearly, and I hope that she definitely finds that for herself.
So who’s your pick then for the next Golden Bachelorette?
Peg: Debbie!
Mel: My opinion, it would be Debbie. With my experience with her, she was the most authentic, sincere, honest person. I think she can carry the show too because of her background doing the workout videos and stuff. I think she’d be a great person.
Peg: 100% Debbie. She embraces everything—the good, the bad, and the ugly of herself, which we all have. I love that about her. She doesn’t try to hide parts of herself. This is who I am. You love me or not, but this is who I am. That just makes her such a special human being. I’m really rooting for Debbie.
Lastly, how active do you both plan to be on your social media now? Will we see life going forward with Mel and Peg?
Peg: We’ve already posted. We posted last night. Go on there. It’s a lot of fun.
Mel: There’s a lot of fun to come, too!
Peg: We plan to share that with everybody.
Mel: The Hob Nobble Gobble parade is about a week before Thanksgiving, and the same people who put the Hob Nobble Gobble on do the Detroit Parade, which is the second largest one outside of New York. So we’re going to do the parade as well. It’s going to be crazy.
You better be on a float.
Peg: Oh, that would be fun. That’s really fun.
Mel: I want to go on the float, but they said, “We can’t have people taking away from the float. We want the float to be a float.” But we could walk with it though.
Peg: I want my own firetruck float.
Just think how much more publicity the float or the fire truck would get with the two of you on it. They’ve got to get their float priorities in order.
Mel: My friend runs it, so I think we’ll be all right.
