While Brayden Bowers had a less-than-ideal journey vying for the heart of Charity Lawson on season 20 of The Bachelorette — leaving the show as the villain and making enemies like Aaron Schwartzman, Aaron Bryant, and more — the travel nurse turned his reputation around on season 9 of Bachelor In Paradise, despite leaving the beach single.
Even though he pursued a relationship with Kat Izzo, Rachel Recchia, and Becca Serrano on Bachelor In Paradise, Brayden hopped on a plane back to the United States alone on November 30 after failing to receive a rose, but the following episode of the beloved competition series revealed some extremely exciting news…
In a montage at the end of the highly-anticipated finale that revealed where the Bachelor Nation members from season 9 of Bachelor In Paradise are now, it was announced that Brayden Bowers is dating Christina Mandrell, a contestant on season 27 of The Bachelor who was vying for the heart of Zach Shallcross. How exciting is that?
For those who are unfamiliar with the Bachelor Nation beauty, her official biography for The Bachelor is as follows.
“Christina is ready for her perfect, fairytale love story! She is a mom to her amazing 5-year-old daughter, Blakely, who she lives to make happy. Since getting divorced, Christina has been searching for her perfect man, but must be selective since she and her daughter are in this together. Christina is looking for a partner she can trust unconditionally and is open-minded to whatever life throws their way. Will Christina get the fairytale ending that she has always wanted with Zach? Only time will tell!”
While she might not have gotten “the fairytale ending that she has always wanted” with Zach, it looks like she has found that with Brayden, but fans of the franchise have just one burning question — given that Brayden lives in San Diego, California and Christina lives in Nashville, Tennessee, how did the two lovebirds connect in the first place?
In an exclusive interview with Bachelor Nation, Brayden answered the questions that viewers have been asking nonstop, beginning with how he and Christina met. Keep scrolling to see for yourself…
Kicking off the conversation, Brayden admitted that he and Christina connected in the early fall — right after he had returned from Bachelor In Paradise — after seeing that she had commented on a couple of his Instagram posts while he was away. Then, the 25-year-old dove into the nitty gritty details, admitting that Blakely stole his heart first!
“I didn’t respond right away, but then I saw a cute Instagram story of her and her daughter, Blakely, and I responded to her story. I specifically responded to a story of her with Blakely, because I wanted to subtly let her know that having a daughter isn’t something that scares me away. Her being such a good mom is actually something I’m attracted to, so then we started talking on Instagram and shortly after we exchanged phone numbers.”
After exchanging phone numbers with one another, the rest is history. Brayden even shared with Bachelor Nation that his first FaceTime call with Christina was over four hours!
“From there, we talked like that for a week or two, and we realized we had so much in common and liked all the same silly things, like Tenacious D. She was like, ‘I actually have tickets to see them next week in Nashville,’ and asked if I wanted to go see them with her. I ended up buying a ticket to go see her, meet her in person, and go to the show. It was amazing! She had to pick me up incognito at the airport and it was the funniest thing ever. We just instantly clicked. We had been talking for a couple of weeks, but there was no awkwardness at all in person and we just flowed the entire time.”
After the concert, Brayden shared that he and Christina committed to a long distance relationship, which consisted of going back and forth to visit each other in California and Tennessee, as well as FaceTiming one another every single day.
Could wedding bells be in the future for Brayden Bowers and Christina Mandrell, and could Tenacious D perform at said wedding? Only time will tell…
Nonetheless, it is safe to say we will be keeping up with the happy couple on Instagram until further notice for updates regarding their relationship. We wish them nothing but the best!
Published: Dec 14, 2023 12:00 pm