BiP star Brayden Bowers' boating incident was a 'wake-up call'
Christina Mandrell and Brayden Bowers
Disney/James ClarkBachelor in Paradise'S Brayden Bowers gets realistic about the boat accident that almost killed him – and the romantic 'wake-up call' that followed.
Bowers, 34, was joined by girlfriend and fellow Bachelor Nation star Christina Mandrell28, on “The Dave Neal Showon Saturday, February 10, where he opened up about a fishing trip gone wrong. At the time, Bowers and Mandrell were still in the early stages of their relationship. “She was my first call,” Bowers said of Mandrell, who competed on season 27 of The Bachelor.
“Then I asked her if she wanted to be my girlfriend,” Bowers said. “So, [September 18, 2023] is when I asked her to be my girlfriend. I was like, “Hey, this put a lot of things into perspective for me. Life is short. I mean, you could die tomorrow in a boating incident and there's nothing you can do about it, so why waste any more time?'”
Bowers continued, “One of the most important things I think we do is we follow these social norms: 'Okay, we have to be boyfriend and girlfriend for this long, or we have to talk for this long. Or we have to do this for so long before we can really take the next step, so that we no longer have doubts.' And I think at that moment I thought, 'I love this girl. “I never told her I love her, and I'm about to die, and I never said it.” That was probably the biggest wake-up call for me.”
Disney/James Clark Brayden Bowers and Christina Mandrell's relationship was one that none of us saw coming after his appearance on Bachelor in Paradise season 9. “She DMed me! She added my DMs and it was funny because we hit it off,” Brayden revealed ahead of The Golden Wedding in January 2024. “We […]
Bowers concluded his story with this sentiment: “If you really love something, you have to put yourself out there and be vulnerable, and not feel like you have to follow the timelines that people make up.”
Brayden Bowers and Christina Mandrell
Disney/Eric McCandlessIn September 2023, Bowers and Bachelor party star Aaron Schwartzman were among five men stranded on a sinking fishing boat for more than three hours. Bowers said in a September interview that one of the group's fishing lines became entangled in the engine's propeller about 20 miles off the coast of San Diego.
When Schwartzman stood up in an attempt to lift the engine and untangle the line, Bowers told Fox 5 that “the boat had literally just sunk.” After being on the water for hours without service, the group was eventually rescued by another fishing boat that happened to be passing by.
There is something about Mexico that makes someone fall in love. While many get engaged on Bachelor in Paradise, only a handful have stayed together, married, and even had children! Marcus Grodd and Lacy Faddoul were the first 'successful' Bachelor in Paradise couple after he popped the question during the season 1 finale in 2014. While […]
With the near-death experience in the rearview mirror, Bowers and Mandrell have since taken their relationship to the next level. During the day The Golden wedding on January 4, Bowers got down on one knee and proposed to Mandrell in a surprise engagement (with The golden bachelor star Gerry Turner's blessing of course).
“For the first time in my life, I feel like I have found someone with whom I can be unapologetically myself,” Bowers told Mandrell in his proposal. “And I have no doubt that I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”