Going into his Golden Bachelor finale, Mel Owens confessed he was “torn” between Peg Munson and Cindy Cullers. Cindy, especially, was frustrated by his hesitance to commit — and ultimately sent herself home from Antigua.
Here’s a recap of Cindy’s shocking exit — plus, where she is today.
A Powerful Self-Elimination
During Mel and Cindy’s final dinner date, Mel tried to assure Cindy of his feelings for her. “My heart tells me that I like you a lot, and I wouldn’t be here with you if it wasn’t,” he said.
Cindy believed him, and thought they were a good match — but as she told the camera, “time is a-ticking.”
When she asked if Mel would even be ready to propose by the end of the week, he said no. As he saw it, “I don’t have to propose when in my own head I go, You know what, in two years, I probably would marry her.”
Cindy didn’t see that outcome for herself, though. “I cannot believe what I’m listening to,” she said in a confessional. “I gave him every opportunity to say, ‘Just be patient with me, I’m falling for you,’ but he still couldn’t even go there.”
She decided to take herself out of the equation altogether. “I kind of want my guy to feel like he got struck by lightning, and can’t live without me,” she told Mel. “I think you’re great, but I’m not sure I just want to free-fall for that long.”
Ultimately, she told Mel: “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry about what?” he wondered.
“It’s not what I want,” she said. “And that’s really hard for me to say — you’re as good as they get. You OK if I leave now?” (Cue After the Final Rose audience applause.)
And leave, Cindy did. After host Jesse Palmer debriefed with Mel, and pointed out that he could always try to bring Cindy back, the Season 2 lead opted to let her go instead.
What Cindy’s Up To After Golden Bachelor
Reflecting on the breakup during ATFR, Cindy did not regret her decision to walk away. “I don’t think I need to convince a man to love me,” she said. Later, after rehashing her final moments with Mel directly, she declared: “My heart is wide open. I’ve learned so much about myself on this journey. I don’t think I was really ready until I took this trip. So yeah, he’s out there.” Golden Bachelorette, perhaps?
While there hasn’t been an announcement about the future of the Golden franchise, it seems that Cindy’s been living her best life in the meantime. “It’s spritz o’clock,” she captioned one recent, stunning selfie.
She wrote with another snap: “When the sun sets, who do you want to be with?” Clearly, the mom of three is open to new horizons — literal and figurative! — after her time with Mel.
