Who did Mel Owens give his final rose to?

Mel Owens’s journey to finding love later in life on The Golden Bachelor has officially come to an end. The 66-year-old retired football player turned injury lawyer and divorced father of two from Orange County, Calif., handed out his final golden rose during last night’s season finale, which aired on ABC.

Owen’s choice came down to two women: Peg Munson, a 62-year-old retired firefighter and bomb technician from Las Vegas, and Cindy Angelcyk Cullers, a 60-year-old retired biomedical engineer from Austin, Texas. Both Munson and Cullers outlasted the other 21 women who were originally vying for Owens’s affection.

While Owens said he felt deeply for both women, Cullers made a “shocking exit,” and Munson ultimately received the final rose.

Coming to a decision didn’t seem easy for Owens. During the Fantasy Suite episode, Owens referred to his decision between Munson and Cullers as “razor thin.” He was also previously unsure about choosing Munson due to her “tough exterior.” Munson, meanwhile, had worries of her own, like whether Owens was “emotionally available.”

What happened?

During the finale, Cullers made the decision easy for Owens. After he told her he wasn’t willing to propose right away, Cullers said she couldn’t wait, and eliminated herself from contention.

“I want my guy to feel like he’s been struck by lightning and can’t live without me,” Cullers explained. “I’m sorry, it’s not what I want.”

“It hurts really bad,” Cullers later said to the camera,

Owens said he was “shocked” by her exit.

“I came into tonight thinking there was a future, but she quit,” he said.

That left Munson. Owens didn’t propose to her but instead offered her a commitment ring.

“I trusted you, you trusted me. You told me you had confidence in me that I’d make the right choice. And here you are,” Owens said to Munson before placing a diamond ring on her finger. “I have a ring, and this represents a commitment to love. To give us time together to figure out what our future holds.”

“And one more thing, Peg, will you accept this final rose?” Owens asked.

“Of course I will,” Munson said.

Owens’s road to starring on The Golden Bachelor wasn’t without controversy. Before the season began, he said on a podcast interview that he would be “cutting” any contestant older than 60. He later apologized.

Ahead of the season finale, Owens told the Hollywood Reporter that his season of The Golden Bachelor was better than he imagined.

“I knew about the franchise and how well it’s run, but my season exceeded expectations,” he said. “I can’t speak about the other seasons, but my season did. I thought the women were great. They treated me well, and we had a wonderful time.”

Are Munson and Owens still together?

During the “After the Final Rose” segment, Munson and Owens confirmed that they are together, though they are still not engaged.

“The nice thing about being in your 60s, going through life, is you get to write your own love story,” Munson said. “We’re on the same page and continue to grow our love and spend time with our families.”