March 27, 2025 • bachelor insider
Christina Mandrell Celebrates Being 5 Months Sober: ‘I’m Really Proud of How Far I’ve Come’
A big milestone!
Earlier this year, Brayden Bowers and Christina Mandrell revealed exclusively to Bachelor Nation that they secretly got married!
Since then, the newlyweds have decided to take on a new journey together as husband and wife.
The two have committed to being sober together, and Christina just took to Instagram to share they recently celebrated their five-month mark.
Christina posted photos from a night out with Brayden and wrote, “5 months sober. And for the first time since starting this journey, I went out..like actually out. To a restaurant. With menus, mood lighting, and yes… drink specials.”
The Bachelor Nation star revealed that until this moment, she had been avoiding going out.
She said, “I hadn’t been going out at all..not because I didn’t want to, but because I didn’t trust myself to be around it yet. But this night, I felt ready. Brayden and I got dressed up and went somewhere that felt a little fancier than usual (seafood tower and all), and I told myself I could handle it.”
Christina admitted that while they were excited to be at the restaurant, the outing did present some challenges.
“Our booth was directly facing a glass wine cellar the size of a small apartment,” she shared. “And right next to us? A triple date..ordering rounds for the table, laughing, cheers-ing. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t stir something in me. But I made it through. And more than that.. I enjoyed myself.”
Christina ended her post by celebrating the growth she’s felt over the past few months, and feeling proud of their date night.
She expressed, “We were silly, we were playful, we were unapologetically us. The video where Brayden is swiping through photos and goes, ‘This one! That’s your real smile.’ just about melted me, because I realized… he’s right. I was actually there. With him. Being me. I’m proud of that. I’m proud of this night. And I’m really proud of how far I’ve come.”
We couldn’t agree more and we’re also so proud of these two for accomplishing this wonderful milestone. Congrats on everything, Brayden and Christina — we’re always rooting for you!
