The Golden Bachelor’s Mel & Peg Are Writing Their Own Rules

Mel Owens’ Golden Bachelor season was bookended by brow-raising decisions. The first happened before filming began when the attorney said he planned to “cut” contestants aged 60 and above from his season (he’s since apologized). Then, in the Nov. 12 finale, Mel bucked franchise tradition by offering his final rose recipient, Peg Munson, a ring but not a proposal. “This represents our commitment to love, to give us time to figure out, together, what our future holds,” he explained.

While marriage may ostensibly remain the goal of this franchise, Mel and Peg’s playful connection makes the case for taking things a little slower. After all, their finale comes on the heels of weeks of headline-making revelations about Season 1’s Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist’s short-lived marriage. Given this context, I ask Mel and Peg over Zoom, could there be a version of a happy, beautiful Golden love story that doesn’t include “I do”?

“Theoretically, you don’t have to have marriage to be in love and to have a long-term commitment,” Mel tells Bustle. “And like Peg always says, we’re gonna do it our way, and it’s gonna be our journey. And if it culminates in marriage, then it does. We have the same feeling toward each other, whether we’re married or not.”

Peg, a retired firefighter and bomb tech, agrees, pointing to Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn’s relationship of four decades (and counting). “I admire them, and I want to have a relationship like them,” she says. “They are definitely the two people that I look up to, and they’re not married.”

And whatever their future might look like, Mel and Peg are having fun figuring it out — their travel schedule already including a visit to the Sphere in Las Vegas to catch The Wizard of Oz for Mel’s birthday, and an ABC-gifted trip to Napa Valley, to name just a few exciting plans.

Below, Mel and Peg open up about their commitment ring, Golden Bachelorette hopes, and the surprising sign their relationship was “meant to be.”

Peg, I noticed early on that you used KC and the Sunshine Band songs on some of your posts. And once that band played on your first date, I was like, There’s no way she didn’t win. Was that a playful little nod?

Peg: It was an Easter egg, man! I was laying little Easter eggs out there for everybody. I’m like, If you guys are listening and paying attention, I gave you guys little clues. It’s like a treasure hunt.

Mel: Since we didn’t have our phones during filming, I asked to have the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, LA Times delivered so I could be up to date. In The Wall Street Journal, every once in a while, they have [a] “how the band was made” section about music, and this particular one was on KC and the Sunshine Band. But if I don’t read the paper, I save it. So we’re flying from LA to Antigua, and I read that section — this is in August now. We already had the one-on-one date. [To] my producer, I go, “Hey, what was the date of the KC and the Sunshine Band [concert]? And she goes, “It was July 31.” The paper was July 31 as well. I cut it out and gave it to her, and she put it on her vision board. So, a lot of things were meant to be.

That’s so sweet! Did you take that as a sign?

Mel: Oh, yeah. There are no coincidences. I had a crush on her from the second I saw her, and it just grew. I loved the feeling of that crush. I wanted it to develop, and it did.

Even though it sounds like you were very much on the same page about next steps, was there a part of you, Peg, that wondered during the final moments if he was proposing?

Peg: No, we were able to spend a lot of time in the fantasy suite together. So we really went through A to Z on all our questions. We talked about marriage, we talked about a proposal, we talked about Christmas time with our families. We really got to know each other. So when it came to that point, I just had so much joy and happiness in my heart, like, wow, we’re going to continue this journey together. We’re going to write our own love story.

Do you have a pick for The Golden Bachelorette, should that show continue for Season 2?

Peg: 1000% Debbie [Siebers] all the way. She’s authentic, she’s loving, she’s kind, she’s real.

Mel: It’s an easy pick. It’s a lay-up.

Peg: I think everybody will be behind her, because she’s somewhat of an underdog. She has never been married, and she deserves it.

Mel: She’s not auditioning for it, either.

Peg: Yeah, she’s just not. And there are no secrets in that woman’s life, and that’s what I admire about her.

Mel: She could carry the show because of her background in film and taping and all that.

As we head into Thanksgiving, what are you feeling most grateful for?

Peg: I’m thankful for him. I finally got to find somebody who grounds me, whom I can share my beautiful life with. I’m grateful to ABC and Warner Bros. for having us on their show. Because this is a real connection.

Mel: I second that as well. Because of the opportunity, I was skeptical — like, OK, maybe it can happen. But it’s gonna be a long shot. But I said, “I don’t need 23. I need one.” And I found my gal.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.