PHOTO CREDIT | Disney/Maarten de Boer
This week on The Golden Bachelor, we’ve made it to the finale and it is down to Cindy and Peg! We can tell that both women feel that he is hard to read and they don’t know where they stand. Mel has always said that he doesn’t want to say things to multiple women. We start tonight getting a recap of both of Mel’s dates, We also check in with Jesse Palmer in studio to see what we need to know about what has taken place in Mel’s journey.
Jesse introduces an array of Bachelor Nation couples that are in the audience as well as those that are single from The Golden Bachelor and The Golden Bachelorette cast as well. He also lets us know that he has a chat with the upcoming season of The Bachelorette, Taylor Frankie Paul (The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives - S3 is streaming now) to see what she has been up to.
Back on Cindy’s date, she tries to get answers and realizes that she is not his person. She wants her person to be sure and not to say that maybe in 2 years he could marry her. She asks him to walk her out and now we know that he only has Peg. You can see her emotions as she knows she is a great match for him, but his lack of commenting was really the last straw for her.
As Mel is still sitting at their dinner table and the fireworks go off overhead, he is shocked that she left - although he calls it quitting. As he contemplates what has transpired, Jesse arrives to talk with him. Jesse reminds him that the women come with the hopes of being engaged - Mel doesn’t agree and likes to make decisions in his own timeline as opposed to the parameters that the show is based on. Jesse reminds him that Cindy is trying to protect her heart. It seems like Cindy hasn’t officially left but he definitely has thoughts and more confusion - Jesse says that she is still here and available to talk with.
Ultimately, when we come back from the commercial break, we see Cindy walk on the stage to talk to Jesse. She says that she just watched the clip that we saw and she was able to see how it all went down and what she thought happened - did happen. Jesse asks her if Mel went to go find here. He didn’t and she also adds that she didn’t want him to come find her. She believes that everyone should have the kind of love and partner that works for them - she realized that what he was giving her wasn’t enough. The lack of specifics of how she could fit into his life wasn’t there and she just heard compliments but now the why and explanations behind it. She was in it until he wasn’t willing to dig deeper. His lack of commitment was their undoing and she had no regrets leaving.
Mel is on the stage with Cindy to talk about their relationship. She lets him know that she didn’t feel that he was ready for a commitment and wanted to know when he realized that. He feels that because she left early from their date and didn’t do the Fantasy Suites, then he feels that she left the game early. She tells him that he said more to Jesse then he did with her. He feels that they needed to talk without the cameras being there so that they could really talk. She hears him out and says that she gets where he is coming from and that they are not aligned. She tells him that she felt that she learned enough and didn’t need to talk further and that she realized he wasn’t going to take a leap of faith. Jesse interjects as he sees that they will continue to go in circles.
Coming back from the commercial break, only Peg is left and we see her getting ready to meet Mel’s sons. She doesn’t know that Cindy has left and they didn’t even make it to Fantasy Suites! Mel comes to her room and she knows something has happened. He shares his feelings with her about how he likes her and he explains that he had his date with Cindy and he wants to be transparent about what took place. He lets her know that she left before the overnight. You can see Peg’s mind racing as she realizes that Cindy was asking questions that he wouldn’t answer and she sees that she is in the same boat with him. He lets her know that he wants to get to the end with her and in his confessional, he says that he feels that she is one of a kind. He’s worried that because of the situation, that she may feel like a leftover.
We see Mel with his 2 sons and friend Diane from college. He lets them know that Cindy left and that Peg is the only one that is left. His friend shares that as much as she thinks that what happened is unfortunate, she can appreciate that she didn’t feel it was right for her and that she removed herself. This is the first time that his sons have met someone since his divorce. It seems like everyone is getting along and that she fits in.
Peg enjoyed meeting his college friend and his sons. She got to see more about him and feels that their connection is real. She hopes that this will help him commit. He knows he needs to make a decision and that he needs to get out of his head and to use his heart and gut.
It’s the day after Peg meeting Mel’s friend and sons. She still has questions but a decision needs to be made after they have navigated this journey. She knows that she can fall in love again, she feels their bond, and she knows that they could be great together. She has let her walls down and has been vulnerable. She hopes that he is the one that she has been waiting for.
Of course, we know that Mel is getting a bit nervous as the time to decide is now. He lets us know that he has let his walls down to listen to his heart - because of Peg. He gives Peg a commitment ring as well as a Golden Rose.
As the After the Rose portion of the episode takes place, we finally see Peg and Mel together. They talk about the fact that they can now be public, they talk about how they get to decide how to navigate their relationship, and they get feedback and well wishes from previous Goldens!
We also get to hear from the upcoming The Bachelorette which is an interesting sneak peek,
Each night during this season, we will tweet about The Golden Bachelor and you can chat along with us (@AthleisureMag + with our Co-Founder/Creative + Style Director, Kimmie Smith @ShesKimmie) to see what’s taking place!
Each week, we will let you know who our faves were from the last episode and if we’ve changed up since then as it pertains to who we think should go to Hometowns.
We also suggest a podcast that we’ve become obsessed with over the past few seasons, Wondery’s Bachelor Happy Hour to get their feedback!
Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag.
THE FINAL GOLDEN ROSE GOES TO…
THE GOLDEN BACHELOR CONTESTANTS
