January 22, 2025 • pillow talk
Christina Mandrell & Brayden Bowers Spill Behind the Scenes Tea About Their Secret Wedding — More Details Here!

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Bowers!
Bachelor Nation stars Brayden Bowers and Christina Mandrell got engaged last year surrounded by their Bachelor Nation family during “The Golden Wedding.”
Recently, the two celebrated their one-year “engagementversary,” but what they didn’t share at the time is that they secretly wed in December!
The couple shared exclusively with Bachelor Nation that they got married in a very intimate ceremony with just the two of them and Christina’s daughter Blakely in attendance.
Now, the newlyweds are spilling the tea about their secret wedding on “Bachelor Happy Hour” and sharing exclusive behind-the-scenes details.

Podcast hosts Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt jumped in and asked Christina and Brayden how their decision to secretly get married came to be.
Christina shared she wanted a contrast to their engagement, saying, “We got engaged very publicly… I was so surprised. It was so magical, it was just everything I could’ve dreamed and more. And public also.”
She also explained that as a former wedding planner, she initially wanted time to plan their big day, which is why they waited a while after the proposal.
“But once we did, that’s kind of when we got overwhelmed,” Brayden revealed. “Because like my family’s all in San Diego, her family is kind of scattered… So trying to find a location that we wanted to get married in was going to be difficult.”
He also admitted, “It really started to feel like the planning was for everyone else and not really for us. And when we were thinking about it, it was like we’re the ones jumping into this commitment. It’s a promise between the two of us. It’s also going to affect Blakely, so the three people that needed to be there were us three. And we wanted it to be a special moment that was just for us and just like our promise to each other and kind of just taking a moment to recognize that.”

Christina also revealed that she got ready last-minute in the car and the two got their marriage certificate earlier that same day but almost lost it on the way to their ceremony.
“I didn’t know this until yesterday… The marriage certificate had fallen out of his back pocket while he was carrying Blakely to the gazebo,” Christina shared. “And I didn’t realize this had even happened and so when the [officiant] had walked up, she walks up and is like, ‘Hey, do you guys need this?’ She had picked it up and found it.”
Brayden also shared that they hired their officiant earlier that afternoon, and didn’t realize at the time that she had also officiated on the show “Married at First Sight.”
“She did amazing!” he said. “And then when she went to go drop off the marriage certificate, she sent us a picture and was like, ‘It’s official, guys!’ and so it was just really cool.”
Listen to the full interview in the “Bachelor Happy Hour” episode below!