Gerry Turner has some advice, from one Golden Bachelor to another.
Turner, who originated the title of Golden Bachelor in its first season in 2023, is sharing his thoughts after the upcoming second season’s lead, Mel Owens, made controversial remarks that he would cut any female contestant over the age of 60 on the dating reality series.
“I think it would be unfortunate, and I really think he will have a change of heart in this,” Turner told Fox News Digital. “I think he will see the grace and charm of women who are over 60 and the confidence they carry, and I think he’ll have a change of heart.”
He continued, “The people that I met in my season, I go through them, and it’s like, they’re all a gift. To have gotten to know them… Each and every one of them [brought] some unique characteristics to the show, unique characteristics to life. The age thing… ignore the number, deal with the person.” (For his part, on his season, the women vying for Turner’s heart ranged in age from 60 to 75 years old.)
Speaking on the In the Trenches With Jon Jansen podcast on June 4, Owens — who himself is 66 — recalled a conversation he had with Golden Bachelor exec producers about the types of women he would like to see cast on the series in his season.
“[Producers] asked me, ‘What’s your preferences?’ So I just said, ’45 to 60,’ just being honest,” Owens said. “The process ended and I was selected, and then we had lunch with the executive producer. I said, ‘If they’re 60 or over, I’m cutting them.’ [They said], ‘Oh no, you can’t. This is not The Silver Bachelor, it’s The Golden Bachelor.’ He goes, ‘But they’re gonna be hot, don’t worry about it.'”
Owens also revealed that he told producers that the Golden bachelorettes “gotta be fit, because I stay in shape, I work out and stuff. And I told [producers], ‘Try and stay away from the artificial hips and the wigs,’ that kind of stuff.”
Turner also addressed those remarks, telling the outlet, “[Owens’] comments about anybody that’s had a hip replacement or has a wig or anything like that, I really don’t believe that the ABC producers in casting, particularly casting that I have a high level of confidence with, I don’t think they would be casting a person who has that shallow of a perspective. I think some of [Owens’ comments] requires some context, and it may have been taken out of context and so forth.”
Turner ultimately concluded, “But bottom line is, I hope he does look at it differently because if he doesn’t, I think he’ll be cheating himself.”
The Golden Bachelor is slated to return this fall on ABC.
