Golden Bachelor’s Peg Felt Chosen by Mel Despite Cindy’s Exit (Excl)

The Golden Bachelor winner Peg Munson had no concerns that Mel Owens might have picked Cindy Angelcyk Cullers if she hadn’t left the show early.

“Mel and I had a connection early on. I knew it, and he knew it,” Peg, 62, exclusively told Us Weekly on Thursday, November 13, after the bombshell Golden Bachelor finale. “Cindy felt it, and I know she felt it, so that’s why she left because she just knew that. The connection between Mel and myself was a lot stronger than her connection with Mel.”

During the Wednesday, November 12, finale, Cindy, 60, self-eliminated from the competition in the middle of her fantasy suite date with Mel, 66, over concerns that she wasn’t going to be his final pick and future fiancée.

“I wasn’t worried at all,” Peg told Us on Thursday. “We spoke in [the] fantasy suite and had great conversations. We got to know each other, and that connection was there. The bottom line is [his] connection with me was just a lot stronger than with Cindy, and I think intuitively she knew that, and that’s why she exited. It had nothing to do with commitment or marriage or anything like that, because the reality is love takes time.”

She continued, “You have to get to know somebody first before you jump into engagement or marriage. And Mel and I are both realists and we wanted a real foundation and we want a real connection. We don’t want fantasy land, [which] never works out. We’re both old enough to know — and wise enough to know — that’s just, that’s not reality.”

Peg and Mel, who have each been divorced, left The Golden Bachelor in a committed relationship but didn’t get engaged.

“We really sat down and we talked about it. ‘How does this look for us going, moving forward? What does this relationship look like in real time? How are we going to merge our lives and what does that look like?’” Peg told Us, noting that she wasn’t expecting a proposal. “We were basically on this same page, [and] we needed to have that firm foundation of a relationship ‘cause we’re looking for something that lasts. We’re not looking to go into a marriage or an engagement and then three months later say, ‘Nope, I’m sorry. It didn’t work out.’”

While Mel did give Peg a Neil Lane promise ring, he also never felt pressure to formally pop the question.

“I’m not worried about getting engaged because all those things are symbolic,” Mel explained to Us. “We’re gonna spend some time together. She lives in Las Vegas. I live in Southern California. It’s a 45-minute plane ride [or] four-hour drive. So, I anticipate [we will spend] a lot of time together.”

According to Mel, a potential engagement and marriage could still “happen down the road.”

“That’s what I told Cindy [on our final date]. I go, ‘That’s gotta have to develop over time, not just at the end of the show,’ because I was with these women face-to-face [for] not even an entire 24 hours,” he added. “It’s not enough time for me anyway. So, that’s why Peg and I decided we spend some time together, get to know one another and then whatever happens from there happens from there. And then if it happens, we’ll let everybody know.”