Golden Bachelor‘S Mel Owens And Peg Munson were open to the next step in their relationship before announcing their split.
Mel and Peg met in the second season of the spin-off series, which aired in 2025, and saw the couple enter into a committed relationship. In lieu of a marriage proposal, Mel offered Peg a 3.5-carat diamond “engagement ring” designed by her Neil Lane and the coveted final rose.
A year later, Peg shared that she had made the decision to move on from her relationship.
“Right now I’m just focused on healing my heart and focusing on myself and my health and looking forward to the next chapter,” she said in an October 2026 Instagram video. “I really wish Mel the best of luck and am very grateful for the experience.”
Scroll down to see what the couple said about getting engaged — and married — before their split:
Receive a promise ring
In The Golden BachelorIn the Season 2 finale, Mel presented Peg with a promise ring, signifying their “commitment” to one another – rather than popping the question.
“I trusted you, you trusted me, and you told me you had faith in me, that I would make the right choice, and here you are. I have something for you,” Mel told Peg in the episode.
Conversation about engagement in the Fantasy Suite
After The Golden Bachelor In the Season 2 finale, Peg confirmed in an exclusive interview with Us that the couple discussed a possible engagement during their stay together in the Fantasy Suite.
“We really sat down and talked about it,” Peg said. “‘What does this look like for us in the future? What does this relationship look like?’ You know, in real time, not in fantasy land, but in real time. “How are we going to merge our lives? And what does that look like?” And we basically agreed.”
Peg added that she and Mel hoped to get to know each other better before considering an engagement, noting that the two were “looking for something that would last.”
“We don’t want to get married or engaged and then three months later say, ‘No, I’m sorry. You know, it didn’t work out,'” she said. “We want something that has a solid foundation that we can build upon and build upon for the rest of our lives.”
Not in a rush to get engaged
During a performance for After the last rose In 2025, Mel and Peg confirmed that they were still together, but shared that they were in no rush to get engaged.
“You know the beauty of being in your 60s and going through life. You can write your own love story – and we agree,” Peg told the host Jesse Palmer. “This is a love story the way we make it, and to continue to grow our love, to continue to spend time with our families, and that’s the beauty of being in your sixties in the golden years, is that you can do whatever you want with the connection that you have with someone.”
Discussing your dream wedding
During an interview in December 2025 on the “She’s all Bach” On the podcast, Peg confirmed that she and Mel had discussed marriage.
“Have we talked about getting married? Yes, we have! Because guess what? We’re together now and we really have a special connection,” she said. “So that connection is there, we just didn’t want to rush it. Just because someone tells us to get engaged or because someone tells us to do it the way it’s supposed to be done, we had to stay authentic and true to ourselves.”
According to Peg, the couple had also discussed whether they would be willing to televise their wedding.
“We’ve talked about it – if and when that comes, you know, what does that look like for us? … We’re open to televising it (on television),” she said. “But you know what? It’s going to be small. We’re not big – we’re not big show people. If so, we might have talked about the beach, just a really nice (day) with friends and family.”
Peg said she imagined keeping the ring Mel gave her The Golden Bachelor when he suggested instead of getting new engagement jewelry.
“No, we’re going to keep this ring,” she said, “and we’ll probably just get another ring – something like a wedding band.”
