Bachelor Nation’s Brayden Bowers and Christina Mandrell have eloped and tied the knot one year after their engagement.
“It was special. It was amazing. It was awesome,” Brayden gushed during the Tuesday, January 21 episode of the “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast.
RELATED LINK: ‘THE BACHELOR’ FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Christina, 30, and Brayden secretly exchanged vows and got married on December 12, 2024.
The couple shared their big day with fans by posting a wedding video via Bachelor Nation’s official YouTube page that had been filmed by Christina’s daughter from her first marriage to Blake Dennis, Blakely, who also served as the flower girl.
“We just got a marriage license. Nobody knows!” Brayden, 26, says in the eight-minute video.
While Brayden had proposed marriage to Christina very publicly on The Golden Wedding special for Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist in January 2024, they decided to keep their wedding very small and intimate.
“Nobody knows about this,” Brayden said, to which Christina added, “Except for the people driving by when we get married in the gazebo.”
Brayden and Christina said, “I do,” in a small gazebo in front of a lake.
Christina wore an ivory fur coat over her dress and carried white flowers, and Brayden sported a navy suit with a light blue dress shirt.
In their vows, both Brayden and Christina stated, “As I place this ring on your finger, I give you my promise. From this day forward, I give you all that I am. You’ll never walk alone. I commit my heart and soul to you for all the days of my life.”
And the wedding officiant told the couple that they would be “holding the hands of your very best friend” for the rest of their lives.
“These hands will work alongside yours, building your future. These hands will passionately love you and cherish and will be able to comfort you like no other… And lastly, these hands, even when they’re wrinkled with age, will still be reaching for yours,” the officiant added.
RELATED LINK: ‘THE BACHELORETTE’ COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID ‘THE BACHELORETTE’ STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
After officially becoming husband and wife, the Bachelor Nation couple had their first dance next to the gazebo, and Brayden gushed, “It’s the best wedding ever.”
Christina explained why she and Brayden opted to have a simple and low-key ceremony on the “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast.
“I used to be an event planner, a wedding planner, and I know how much goes into it,” Christina said.
Brayden recalled getting “overwhelmed” during the planning process because their relatives live all over the United States.
“It really started to feel like the planning was for everyone else and not for us,” Brayden complained.
“And when we were thinking about it, we said, ‘We are the ones jumping into this commitment. It’s a promise between the two of us. And it’s also going to affect Blakely.’ And so we wanted it to be the three of us.”
Brayden elaborated, “We wanted it to be a special moment that was just for us, and our promise to each other… We waited until the holidays to tell everyone.”
Christina said they felt the weight of their commitment because there were no distractions or a need to focus on their wedding decor and the well-being of their guests.
“I love the way we did it,” Christina concluded. “It was selfish of us, but we did it.”
Brayden left Bachelor in Paradise’s ninth season single and seemingly with regrets about having carelessly bounced from girl to girl, but after filming, he settled down with Christina, who had competed on Zach Shallcross’ season of The Bachelor.
Bachelor in Paradise confirmed at the end of its finale broadcast in December 2023 that Brayden and Christina had begun dating.
Christina wrote at the time on Instagram, “AHHH! We can ‘FINALEy’ shout it from the rooftops!! Beyond the cameras and reality show drama, Brayden (aka MY BOYFRIEND!) and I found something truly special.”
“In each other, we have a space where being unapologetically ourselves is not just accepted but celebrated!” she continued. “Something I never knew I was missing until I did. We can finally share our goofy, love-filled world.”
“San Diego to Nashville won’t be just a change of scenery but the next chapter in our journey as a team. A future where laughter, authenticity, and the strength of ‘US’ define our story,” Christina shared at the time.
“From goofy antics to heartfelt moments, we’re on this adventure together, cheering each other on, and creating a home filled with laughter and love. Grateful for the ease of being exactly who we are with one another.”
Christina concluded, “There’s something incredibly special about finding a love that feels like home. #UnapologeticallyInLove #NashvilleBound #imethiminPB #RealityToReality #DangleNation #ChristinaMandrell.”
RELATED LINK: ‘THE BACHELOR’ COUPLES NOW: WHO DID ‘THE BACHELOR’ STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
Christina and Brayden then kicked off 2024 by moving in together.
Brayden, for his part, had taken Wells Adams’ advice and wrote via Instagram Stories in December 2023, “[I] found myself a ‘southern belle.’ All jokes aside, she has been the biggest blessing in my life. She has been there for me through very tough times already and has showed me so much grace through it all.”
Brayden called Christina his “confidant” and added how she’s his “accountability partner” and his “favorite person.”
Brayden went on to write, “I’m so grateful that I no longer have to be hush-hush about our relationship,” referring to how he and Christina had to keep their relationship a secret while Bachelor in Paradise’s ninth season aired on ABC.
“I can finally shout it from the tops of the mountains. Love you babe. Thank you [for] being in my life.”
Brayden added the following hashtags to his post, “#ifoundagirlilikemom #soexcite #sohappyithurts #keepingasecretsucks #thebachelor #bachelorinparadise.”
In addition to their sweet posts, both Brayden and Christina uploaded video montages of fun and special moments they had shared together after Bachelor in Paradise wrapped filming in Summer 2023.
Both Brayden and Christina were villains on their respective The Bachelorette and The Bachelor seasons.
Brayden had rubbed Charity Lawson’s bachelors the wrong way by aggressively pursuing Charity while not feeling ready for an engagement on The Bachelorette’s twentieth season, and Christina was accused of being boastful and loud about her connection with Zach.
Some fans even accused Christina of being drunk all the time on The Bachelor, and she only lasted a few episodes.
While The Bachelor’s 27th season was airing in February, Christina slammed the editing.
Christina opted not to join the Bachelor in Paradise cast, but Brayden looked for love on the beach in Mexico after failing to win Charity’s heart.
Brayden dated Kat Izzo, Rachel Recchia and Becca Serrano in Paradise. He took a shot with Jess Girod before his ouster but ultimately went home without a rose and without a girlfriend.
RELATED LINK: ‘THE BACHELOR’ FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Interested in more The Bachelor news? Follow our Bachelor Nation News Page on Facebook or join our The Bachelor Facebook Group!
About The Author:
Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.