Kristina Bumphrey / Contributor
Everyone deserves to find true love, whether that be for the first, second or third time, and the newest Golden Bachelor understands that. Former NFL player Mel Owens is making a play to find his future companion during the upcoming second season of the ABC series, which premieres on September 24.
But after the star made some controversial comments about women over 60, Bachelor Nation was not thrilled with him or the choice to keep him on the show. Find out how Owens made amends with the women on his season and how he plans to move forward.
What were the controversial comments?
Mel Owens has been lined up to hand out roses since April 2025, when he was announced as the next Golden Bachelor. But a couple of months later, Owens made comments about the show when appearing on the podcast In the Trenches, hosted by Jon Jansen.
“It’s blind up until they get out of the limo. But they asked me, ‘what’s your preferences?’ So, I just said 45 to 60, just being honest,” Owens said at the time. He added, “And then we had lunch with the executive producer. I said, ‘You know, if they’re 60 or over, I’m cutting them,’ and they said ‘Oh Mel, you can’t, you know, this is not the Silver Bachelor. It’s the Golden Bachelor.’ He goes, ‘but they’re going to be hot, don’t worry about it. Don’t worry about it.’”
If that wasn’t bad enough, Owens made another comment that didn’t paint him in the best light. He added of his preferences, “Well, they got to be fit because I stay in shape, should work out and stuff. And I told them, ‘you know, try to stay away from the artificial hips and the wigs, you know, that kind of stuff, right.’”
To nobody’s surprise, Owens’ comments upset Bachelor Nation as well as the contestants. But when he was facing the backlash, a female friend helped him see the error of his ways.
“My friend called me from Michigan,” he explained. “She’s 65, and I went to school with her… I didn’t know she’s also a big fan of The Bachelor. She said to me, ‘Mel…no. What are you doing?…You’ve got to right the wrong. What you said was insensitive, and it’s just not who you are.’”
How Mel Owens made amends
Mel OwensCristian Lopez / Contributor Cristian Lopez Disney via Getty Images
Later, Owens explained himself and his choice of words.
“My reference of dating was 39, 40 years old,” Owens explained to Glamour. “I hadn’t dated in 26, 27 years. That’s what I told her” [the host of the podcast where he made the comments]. “She goes, ‘It doesn’t matter. You’ve said some things that are just incredibly wrong.’ And I go, ‘I’ve got to apologize.’”
And that’s what Mel did. When his season began, he made a point of saying he was sorry. “I apologized to the women on the show,” Owens said. “When I first walked in, I addressed it. I apologized to them. I said, ‘It was unfair, insensitive. I want to earn it back. Just give me the chance.’ And hopefully, these last two weeks I earned some of that back.”
While the women accepted his apology, Owens said they used his comments to roast him during their greetings and dates early on. Some of the roasts included, “You’re like a classic car. You’re strong, you’re sexy and you don’t go over 60,” while another said, “Yeah, we heard what you said on that podcast. Don’t worry—we’re not mad. You’ve never been great at recovering a fumble.”
The Golden Bachelor then shared his hopes of meeting someone on the dating show.
“My goal is to meet someone that I can enjoy life with,” Owens said of his intentions. “Whatever comes from that, it comes from that. I had an open heart and an open mind, and without spoiling anything, it’s going to be good.”
Meet the women vying for his heart
Not only does Mel Owens get to go on a journey to find love but he has 23 chances to do so. These 23 women are also on the hunt to find their lifelong partner and after seeing the successful match between Joan Vassos and Chock Chapple on The Golden Bachelorette, they know it’s possible.
The women joining Mel in the mansion are: Alexandra, Amy, Andra, Carla, Carol, Cheryl, Cindy, Debbie, Diane, Gerri, Lily, Lisa, Maia, Monica B., Monica P., Mylene, Nicolle, Peg, Robin, Roxanne, Susie, Terri and Tracy.
Make sure to tune into the premiere of season 2 of The Golden Bachelor on Wednesday, September 24, 2025 on ABC.
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