I’ve struggled with this love story.
It’s hard to believe that just two years ago, the country was captivated by Gerry Turner’s story on The Golden Bachelor, shedding tears as the widower and his cast of 60- and 70-somethings found hope that it’s never too late to fall in love again. Watching Season 2 play out on the 2025 TV schedule, however, has been something of a chore, with Mel Owens looking like he’s as ready for it to be over as we are. The train has come off the tracks, and there are some things that need to be fixed if there’s a Season 3.
It’s been an uphill battle for 66-year-old Mel Owens since even before filming started, as he saw backlash from Bachelor Nation for his comments on a podcast that he preferred to date women under 60 and planned on “cutting” any women older than that. That was a bad look, for sure, but I don’t think that can be blamed for all of this season’s struggles. Here are the changes I think need to be made:
The Lead Needs To Be Willing And Able To Express His Emotions
Mel Owens appears to have trouble showing or even telling us how he feels, and that’s really not what you want in the lead for a show that’s supposed to be about falling in love. That fact has become especially obvious as the season has progressed, with fewer and fewer women left to take up screen time.
For instance, on the Hometown dates, we saw Peg Munson’s daughter struggle to get any real answers from Mel about why he liked her mom, and during Fantasy Suites, Cindy Cullers seemed frustrated that he wouldn’t commit to taking a leap of faith and possibly getting engaged — which, as she pointed out, is the whole premise of The Golden Bachelor.
Contrast that with Gerry Turner (who, admittedly, has also fallen somewhat out of favor with Bachelor Nation since his divorce from winner Theresa Nist). The inaugural Golden Bachelor seemed to be in tears more often than he wasn’t. He complimented the women constantly on things like their poise and intelligence and talked about his late wife Toni so much that she was effectively a member of the cast.
Mel, meanwhile, is a week away from when he’s supposed to propose, and the most we’re getting from him is, “I really like her,” and, “It’s going great.” There was a great opportunity this season to start a conversation about finding love again after divorce, but he doesn’t seem willing to be vulnerable, making it unclear why (or if) he even wants to get married again.
The Golden Bachelor Doesn’t Need A Villain
One of the things I was looking forward to most from The Golden Bachelor Season 2 was getting to watch the friendships form between the cast. That was one of the best parts of Gerry’s season, and the same was true of Joan Vassos’ men on The Golden Bachelorette. That bonding definitely happened again on the current season, but I feel like it was overshadowed by Nicolle Briscoe’s villain storyline.
