NEED TO KNOW
- Mel Owens is the star of The Golden Bachelor season 2
- The former NFL player was previously married to Fabiana Pimentel Owens
- They share two sons who play baseball
Mel Owens is ready to find love again.
The former Los Angeles Rams player is the new lead of The Golden Bachelor, which kicks off on Sept. 24. At Hulu’s “Get Real” event in April 2025, Mel told host Jesse Palmer that he’s looking for someone “honest, charming, loving, fit and full of life” among the 23 cast members.
“I was married for 25 years,” he continued. “I’ve missed that companionship.”
Before reality TV, Mel played nine seasons in the NFL, according to his Disney bio. After his retirement, he attended law school and became a sports attorney, co-founding the Southern California-based law firm Namanny, Byrne & Owens in 2006.
During that time, he also met his ex-wife, Fabiana Pimentel Owens. The pair share two sons and were married for 25 years before they split in 2020.
“While [Mel] had a lot of success professionally, he’s had a lot of ups and downs in his personal life … He finally now has an opportunity to focus on himself,” Palmer told reporters at the Hulu event. “He’s really eager to find someone to spend the rest of his life with.”
Here’s everything to know about Mel Owens’ ex-wife and kids.
He was previously married to Fabiana Pimentel Owens
Mel was previously married to Fabiana, whom he describes as his “first love” in his bio.
Fabiana is originally from Brazil and has been living in the U.S. for over 20 years, as she told Shoutout Social during a May 2021 interview.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in business from Faculdade da Cidade in Brazil and a master’s degree in marketing from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She currently works as the director of experiences at Preferred Hotels & Resorts and previously founded a home organization company called Final Touch Organizing.
“We take a holistic approach in our business, and that set us apart,” she told Shoutout Social. “I use Feng Shui to harmonize our clients with their surrounding environment. We believe that keeping positive energy and flow while organizing helps our clients alleviate stress.”
At one point, Fabiana was also working as an assistant manager at Mel’s firm, according to her LinkedIn profile.
He and his ex-wife split in 2020
Mel and Fabiana were together for over two decades and welcomed two sons together before she filed for divorce in February 2020, according to court documents.
Their divorce was later finalized in December 2024.
Mel and Fabiana share two sons
Mel and Fabiana welcomed their older son, Lucas, in 2005, followed by their younger son, Andre.
Lucas and Andre both plan to play baseball in college. Lucas graduated from Santa Margarita Catholic High School in 2025 and hopes to play for his dad’s alma mater, University of Michigan, Mel told the Michigan Football In the Trenches podcast in June 2025.
Meanwhile, Andre is a senior at Santa Margherita and has already committed to playing at Oklahoma State.
His younger son encouraged him to go The Golden Bachelor
At Hulu’s “Get Real” event, Mel revealed that he owes his leading role on The Golden Bachelor to Andre.
“We were watching the regular Bachelor earlier on. He goes, ‘Yeah dad, you should be the Bachelor,’ ” Mel recalled. “The ad came out for [The Golden Bachelor]. He goes, ‘But you should be the real one though.’ ”
He also shared that Andre wants to be by his side on the first night when the women come out of the limo. “I go, ‘Maybe if I get it, maybe I’ll pitch it to him,’ ” Mel added.
