Shortly after Mel Owens was announced as the lead for Season 2 of The Golden Bachelor, he stirred up quite a controversy by saying he only wants to pursue women between the ages of 45 and 60 on the show.
The 66-year-old came under fire after making the declaration on the MGoBlue podcast last month. Now, Season 1 lead Gerry Turner has something to say about it, too.
Turner told TMZ that he’s onboard with people calling out Owens for his comments. He also urged the former football player to stay “open-minded” about age, adding that he first asked producers to cast women 65 and up but listened to them when they told him to be “receptive.”
His cast ended up including women ranging in ages from 60 to 75. In fact, Turner’s runner-up, Leslie Fhima, was 64 on the show, and Faith Martin, who finished in third place, was 61. Turner admitted that cutting off his cast’s age range would’ve been a “mistake” because he made great connections and friendships with women who were outside of his original bracket.
Owens made the comments about age when asked about his preferences in general. “I just said, ’45 to 60.’ Just being honest, right?” he shared. “And then the process went and I was selected. Then we had lunch with the executive producer. I said, ‘If they’re over 60, I’m cutting them.’ [They said], ‘Oh, no, this is not The Silver Bachelor, this is The Golden Bachelor, but they’re going to be hot, don’t worry about it, don’t worry about it.’ He goes, ‘You can’t use the word cut,’ I go, ‘That’s an NFL term.’”
He also warned producers that he wants someone “fit” because he “stays in shape,” adding that he also told them, “Try to stay away from the artificial hips and the wigs, that kind of stuff.” Turner took issue with this comment, too, and said things like that shouldn’t matter.
