ABC/Craig Sjodin - Christina Mandrell/Instagram
Love Outside Paradise! Bachelor in Paradise’s Brayden Bowers Is Dating Christina Mandrell
Brayden Bowers might not have found love during Bachelor in Paradise season 9, but it appears the reality TV star has found it outside of the show. The show revealed that Brayden began dating fellow Bachelor Nation member Christina Mandrell during the season 9 finale which aired on Thursday, December 7.
“Now, Brayden is dating Christina from Zach’s season,” a note on screen read when the show offered updates on certain contestants. “Brayden is teaching Christina’s daughter how to accessorize.”
Christina, 28, posted to Instagram soon after, gushing about her relationship with Brayden, 25.
“AHHH! We can ‘FINALEy’ shout it from the rooftops!! Beyond the cameras and reality show drama, Brayden (aka MY BOYFRIEND!) and I found something truly special,” the mom of one wrote. “In each other, we have a space where being unapologetically ourselves is not just accepted but celebrated! Something I never knew I was missing until I did.”
Fans first met Christina during Zach Shallcross’ season of The Bachelor, and she quickly became a polarizing character. On the first night at the mansion, Christina had too much to drink and ended up attempting to take a nap on the front steps. She didn’t last long and was eliminated on the third episode.
Brayden was the villain during Charity Lawson’s season of The Bachelorette, and he caught the eyes of Rachel Recchia, Becca Serrano and Kat Izzo during BiP. The travel nurse fell for Kat and told Us Weekly in October 2023 that he wanted to further explore that relationship.
“I don’t do well with dating multiple people at once. And I think that that was one of the things that was hard about Paradise — the aspect of dating multiple people at once, because it’s just, like, how do you truly get to know someone when you’re getting to know five other people?” Brayden said. “And so for me, it was like, ‘I liked Kat. I knew I liked her.’ I knew I had a connection and I was going to ride that road until it ended … or until it ends.”
Kat, 27, ultimately ended up ditching Brayden for John Henry Spurlock (the two are now engaged), and Brayden hit it off with Rachel, 27. That potential love match fizzled pretty quickly when Brayden cut things off with Rachel to pursue a match with Becca, 27.
However, nothing seemed to work in Brayden’s favor. Becca and Rachel self-eliminated, leaving him without a rose.
