‘The Golden Bachelor’ finale: A whole lot of nothing

by Therese Odell, posted in the golden bachelor, the golden bachelor: season 2

The Golden Bachelor
November 12, 2025

Enjoy, because this might be the last Bachelor content we get for a while. 

We begin the finale episode in the Bachelor Studio with Jesse Palmer pointing out our first Golden Bachelor and Golden Bachelorette in the audience with their respective partners — Joan is still with Chock Full o’ Soup, but Gerry is no longer with his wife, Birthday Suit, having very publicly and acrimoniously split up with her mere months after their televised wedding. Instead, he is with some other lady; they tell us her name, I don’t care. Oh, and Golden Retriever and Starla from Bachelor in Paradise are also there, and she’s moving to Dallas to be with him. The fact that the other three couples from Bachelor in Paradise couldn’t be bothered means nothing, I’m sure.

But back to Antigua, where Cindyrella was pressing Mel if there is an engagement in his future, and he was being weirdly evasive. We ended the last episode with Mel saying something noncommittal about how “if there’s a will, there’s a way,” and Cindyrella asking the next logical question: “Is there a will?”

Mel insists that there is, but that she needs to understand that he’s in a difficult situation, that there is another woman in the equation. Cindyrella is perfectly aware of that, and is just trying to suss out what his intentions are for whomever he chooses at the end of this: will he propose?

And eventually, after a lot of prodding and digging and Mel dodging the issue and telling Cindyrella how much he likes her, Mel admits that he will not be proposing to anyone. He insists that the relationship has to “develop over time,” and that, in his mind, that will take another two years or so.

Cindyrella:

“Well, I came on this show to find a husband and a commitment,” Cindyrella calmly replies, “so if you can’t say you’re ready for that, I’ve got to get my 60-year-old ass out of here and find someone who is.”

With that, Cindyrella asks him to walk her out …

… before telling him that he’s a “great man.”

IS HE? IS HE THOUGH, CINDYRELLA?

And though they say he’s “walked her out,” really, he’s just left her at the resort pool to stand around and cry and wait for the fireworks they’d arranged for the date to go off because dammit, they’ve already spent the money, they’re going to get their shot.

Eventually, they send Jesse Palmer out to talk to Mel and ask him what the Hell just happened. Mel explains that Cindyrella wants a husband and asked him to “take a leap of faith” and to be engaged in a couple of days, but that he’s just not ready for that. Mel then adds that he is just looking for someone to live his life with, and that doesn’t necessarily mean marriage.

This takes Jesse Palmer by surprise, and he reminds Mel that he is the lead of a show that traditionally ends with an engagement, and that all 23 women he dated fully expected a proposal at the end of this thing when they signed up.

Hey, Jesse Palmer? Why on Earth does it surprise you that Mel doesn’t understand the point of this show? He demanded that all of the contestants on THE GOLDEN BACHELOR be younger than 60, so we’re not dealing with someone who gets any of this, friend.

Jesse Palmer asks Mel if he was falling in love with Cindyrella, and Mel answers with a very convincing, “Maybe?”

Jesse Palmer then plays devil’s advocate, suggesting that Cindyrella, knowing there was a chance she was about to be dumped, was protecting her heart by leaving early. To which this jackass starts talking in football metaphors, yammering about how the game ain’t over until it’s over, and that she “could have been the one.”

Jesse Palmer informs Mel that Cindyrella is still on the property and that if she was the one, he could still talk to her, maybe convince her to stay.

But then we’re suddenly back in the Bachelor Studio, and Cindyrella is on the couch explaining that Mel never came looking for her in Antigua. But that’s fine, because she didn’t want to speak to him, either. The decision was made, she had the information she needed, and he wasn’t going to be able to give her the kind of love she deserves.

Jesse Palmer asks her what she needed to hear from Mel, and honestly, it’s not outrageous: she wanted to know how she fit into his life, why their relationship mattered to him, and how he saw their lives moving forward together. YOU KNOW, RELATIONSHIP SHIT.

Jesse Palmer reminds Cindyrella that Mel said he wasn’t ready to propose to anyone and asks if that surprised her. Cindyrella points out that she and all the other ladies stood at Rose Ceremonies where this man said he thought his wife could be in the room. She adds that there are WEDDING RINGS IN THE SHOW’S LOGO, so yes, Jesse Palmer, she was surprised when this man suddenly didn’t want to put labels on things.

Jesse Palmer points out that had she stayed, Mel might have changed his mind, but Cindyrella snaps back that she doesn’t need to convince a man to love her.

Cindyrella then notes that Mel compared her leaving to not finishing a football game, and she quips that she was in the wrong stadium the entire time. The crowd eats this up with a spoon.

Jesse Palmer notes that she’s now had time to process her decision to leave and asks if any part of her regrets it, and Cindyrella gives him a firm “NO.”

The audience:

Cindyrella tells Jesse Palmer that she was falling in love with Mel, and had they been on the same page, they could have written a remarkable book together. Unfortunately, he was only looking for a comic book, something light and with no commitment. Cindyrella adds that if she wanted to date someone, she could have just stayed in Austin; she was looking for forever, which is why she went on The Marriage Show.

With that, Jesse Palmer brings Mel out to explain himself, and, y’all, either he’s a world-class gaslighter, or this man has no idea what is happening.

Cindyrella asks Mel why he brought 23 women on this journey if ultimately he knew he wasn’t prepared to commit to someone? Mel protests that he was ready to commit … just not 48 hours before he was expected to commit. He’s clearly big mad that Cindyrella didn’t go to the Fantasy Suite with him for some intimacy a chance to “talk,” and she’s like, “Yeah, I wasn’t going to go to the Fantasy Suite with a man who is saying to my face there’s no chance he’s going to propose to me because I have standards.”

Mel then insists that this woman was pressuring him to tell her he was going to propose to her, and that he couldn’t do that because there was still another woman in the mix. Cindyrella is like, “No, Dummy, I just wanted assurances that you were going to propose to somebody at the end of this, and you kept talking about a ‘journey.'” Mel huffs that she kept talking about “taking a leap of faith,” and that’s not how he operates, before whinging again about her not going to the Fantasy Suite with him.

Cindyrella notes that she had learned enough: she was in it for the commitment, and she knew she wasn’t going to get that from him, so she didn’t see any point in going to the Fantasy Suite.

Mel again reminds her that there was still another person involved, and Cindyrella is like, “Jesus, I KNOW! I wasn’t demanding that you reveal that you were going to propose to me, just that you were going to propose. When I found out you weren’t going to do that for anyone, I took my ass home because YOU WERE WASTING MY TIME.”

Anyway, this thick-headed man is not understanding any of this, and Jesse Palmer eventually has to interrupt the merry-go-round this conversation has become to ask Cindyrella if he heart is still open to finding love, and she’s like “PLEASE MAKE ME THE NEXT GOLDEN BACHELORETTE Yep!” before wishing Mel well.

Back to Antigua.

Traditionally, this is where Mel would introduce the final two women to his family, before having one last date with each of them on the eve of Proposal Day. However, there’s only one woman left, Bomb Peg, and Mel needs to break the news to her that she’s his default choice.

Before bringing her to meet his two sons and some college friend (??), Mel stops by Bomb Peg’s hotel room, and with the demeanor of someone whose dog has just died, sits her down on a bench with an assurance that what he’s about to tell her doesn’t change his feelings for her. Mel then goes on to LIE to this woman, claiming that Cindyrella pressured him to tell her he was going to propose to her, and when he wouldn’t do that, she self-eliminated.

Bomb Peg pretends to be upset by this news. She is not.

Mel then assures Bomb Peg that he still wants her to meet his sons and see where this goes, and she happily agrees.

Before introducing his sons and his college friend to Bomb Peg, however, he has to break the news to them, too, that they will only be meeting one woman that day, explaining that the second woman went home after he couldn’t promise that he was going to propose to her.

College Friend notes that she doesn’t love what Cindyrella did, but is happy that she knew herself well enough to know what she needed. And yes! That is the right take, College Friend! But also, I NEED YOU TO KNOW THAT IS NOT WHAT HAPPENED.

Anyway.

Bomb Peg arrives with flowers for College Friend, and The Sons ask Bomb Peg about what it was like when she first met their dad. Bomb Peg laughs that she was doing “cannonballs” into the pool, and Mel was all, “I was doing cannonballs, too,” to which Bomb Peg is like, “Nuh-uh.”

But no matter. Bomb Peg chats privately with The Sons, where they ask her what she thinks of Mel. She replies that they are a lot alike because they both love their children and put them first.

I mean, if that’s the bar.

Bomb Peg goes on to describe herself as “easy-going” and without “too much drama,” which pleases the boys because there’s nothing simple men love more than an “easy-going” woman with “no drama.”

Bomb Peg plays a word association game with The Sons, who describe their father as “accountable,” “funny and serious,” and “analytical.” Which, I would like a recount: this “analytical” man literally couldn’t process Cindyrella’s very clear logic, so I’m doubting that.

The Sons tell Mel that they like Bomb Peg; she’s personable and she “matches [his] energy.”

OK, BUT IS HIS ENERGY IN THE ROOM WITH US RIGHT NOW?

Bomb Peg then meets with College Friend, who warns her that Mel has a “lawyer brain,” which means that he can “talk himself out of things.”

OK. But I’ve been married to a lawyer for 25+ years, and I’m here to tell you that “lawyer brain” is not a thing. The phrase College Friend was looking for was “66-year-old Fuck Boy brain.”

But I digress.

College Friend decides that she likes Bomb Peg and tells Mel as much, while warning him not to allow his brain to get in the way of his heart.

With that, Mel sends everyone back to their hotel rooms and worries that he needs to get out of his own head.

Back in the Bachelor Studio, we are forced to endure an interview with Taylor Frankie Paul, but considering my life is about to be taken over by that woman in a few days, that’s no longer happening because for reasons we’re going to just go ahead and skip over that, thanks.

Finally, FINALLY, it’s Not!Proposal Day, and we are subject to the typical “Get Dressed and Monologue About Anxiety” montages.

Once everyone is dressed, they are transported to the saddest Proposal Station I’ve seen to date:

… WHERE ARE THE CANDLES? WHERE ARE THE VASES? WHERE ARE THE POTTED PLANTS AND INEXPLICABLE MACRAMÉ? I guess production decided if Mel wasn’t going to commit, neither were they.

Anyway.

Bomb Peg delivers a big speech about vision boards and KC and the Sunshine Band and meeting each other’s kids and how she knows he is a man she can trust.

(Can you?)

As for Mel, he tells Bomb Peg that he loves listening to her talk about her family, that they trust each other, and that he knows he made the right choice.

(I mean, the choice was made for you, but sure.)

Mel then pulls out a ring and explains that this is to “represent a commitment of love” to give them “time to figure out what our future holds.”

So, it’s a diamond promise ring. At 66 grown-ass years.

But Bomb Peg is fine with it and accepts the ring because what’s the worst that could happen? This man doesn’t want to get married, so there’s no threat of a televised wedding and loud divorce, GERRY. What, they “date” for the interim time between Antigua and the finale, and then break up two months later in People Magazine, and she gets a free diamond ring for her trouble? It could be a worse deal.

Finally, Mel offers her the final rose, and we are all put out of our boredom misery.

Well, we are after a quick visit with the “happy” couple in the Bachelor Studio, where they reveal that yes, they are still together, and will be at least until the Super Bowl. Honestly, I can’t find any stories suggesting that they’ve broken up … yet … so I guess we have to assume they are still together.

So there you go, there’s your love story. Hope you didn’t pass out from all the romance and excitement.

Rose #1: Bomb Peg

Here are the ladies who have been eliminated along with their very not good nicknames:

Here is the woman along with her dumb nickname who is still “dating” Mel. For now.

The Golden Bachelor airs Wednesdays on ABC at 7/8 p.m and streams on Hulu.

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