Former football player Mel Owens takes some hits in this exclusive preview of the reality show’s second season.
On a late July afternoon in downtown Los Angeles, it’s a pleasant 72 degrees outside — but inside the Bellwether Theater, things are getting heated. Twelve sexy single senior women are preparing to participate in a Bachelor franchise staple — the comedy-roast group date — and it’s Golden Bachelor Mel Owens who’s about to get burned.
You remember Mel Owens, right rose lovers? He’s the 66-year-old NFL linebacker-turned-lawyer who made headlines when he was chosen as the second-ever star of The Golden Bachelor in April — and then made even bigger headlines two months later when he casually noted during a podcast interview that he did not want to date women over 60. A massive and understandable fan backlash ensued, and rumors even swirled that ABC was planning to give Owens the boot. Still, the network stuck by their man, and Owens apologized both in the press and in person to all 23 assembled contestants on night one of filming The Golden Bachelor. They may have forgiven Mel, but as today’s date proves, these women (whose names we won’t reveal for spoiler reasons) are not about to let him forget.
One by one, the Golden gals step up to the mic — positioned on a raised platform in front of an audience of about 120 eager spectators, including Mel — and take their shots at the man of the hour.
“You’re like a classic car. You’re strong, you’re sexy, and you don’t go over 60,” coos one elegant brunette. “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.”
A willowy blonde in a ruffled miniskirt entertains the crowd with her impression of Mel at the rose ceremony: “You ladies look stunning. Every one of you is beautiful. Every one of you is a prize — but a consolation prize, because you’re all over 50.”
“I heard on the podcast that Mel doesn’t date 60-year-olds,” notes a stunning sixtysomething from California. “I thought to myself, ‘This is the first thing we have in common!’”
The crowd howls with laughter, and Mel laughs with them.
“I deserved it,” he tells Entertainment Weekly later. “It was funny and creative. And you got to see another side of the women — so I learned from that. I’ve got to be able to take a joke. I made a mistake, and they get to come at me. Some of them came back [after the roast] and said, ‘Hey, I hope you weren’t offended.’ I go, ‘No. I’m good. Let me have it.’ And they did, deservedly so.”
The ‘Golden’ age
The Bachelor’s senior-centric spinoffs have only been around since 2023, but they’ve quickly become a beloved component of ABC’s long-running dating franchise. Season 1 of The Golden Bachelor, starring 72-year-old widower Gerry Turner, was a ratings hit with a finale that drew over 6 million viewers. The network followed it up in 2024 with The Golden Bachelorette featuring fan favorite Joan Vassos, and since then, the Goldens — as the older contestants are affectionately known — have infiltrated all aspects of the franchise. They host their own podcasts, pop up as guest stars on The Bachelor, and even co-starred in the latest season of Bachelor in Paradise, where they engaged in body-shot shenanigans with contestants half their age.
On paper, Mel Owens looks like the platonic ideal of a Golden Bachelor. After playing for the Los Angeles Rams from 1981-1989, he became a lawyer and co-founded a Southern California-based firm that specializes in workers’ compensation and sports injury law. When his marriage of 17 years ended in 2020, Mel focused on raising his two sons, now 18 and 20, rather than dating. “I was taking care of my boys,” he says. “They needed all my attention, and I was working. I just didn’t have time [to date].” A devoted dad with rugged good looks, a successful career, and a desire to find love again — what else could a single woman of a certain age ask for?
“He’s intelligent, he’s handsome, he’s masculine,” gushes one contestant in her mid-60s. “He had an exquisite life being in the NFL and I think that’s exciting. I look back on some of his pictures and I’m in love with that man in that 58 jersey!” Adds another, “Physically he’s very attractive. He has beautiful eyes, beautiful skin, and a nice six-pack.”
Lest we objectify the man too much, Golden Bachelor showrunner Jess Castro insists that Mel has more going for him than just washboard abs. “He’s a great choice because he isn’t Gerry 2.0,” she says. “The experiences that have led him to this part of his life are very different than from what Gerry’s are. In season 1, there was a lot of conversation around loss. But that’s not the only thing that happens to you later in life. In season 2, we are going to see what happens after divorce. We are going to go on a completely different journey with Mel than we were with Gerry.”
Of course, that journey was almost derailed before it started thanks to Mel’s ill-advised podcast comments, which went public while the casting process for season 2 was still underway. The women on today’s group date say that while they were disappointed by what Mel said, he ultimately allayed their concerns with his apology on night one. “I thought about maybe not doing the show after those comments,” admits the willowy blonde. “But I’m glad that I’m here, and so far, I’m having a really great time. He addressed it right off the bat and put our concerns at ease.” Another says she was “really impressed” with Mel’s opening-night mea culpa: “I really feel like he’s being genuine, and I think he’s making some connections in the house.”
Mel’s podcast faux pas led to some serious come-to-Jesus talks behind the scenes. “We did have long discussions with him afterwards, and we are very much discussing it in the show,” says Castro. “He feels that he was very shortsighted in those comments, and we are going to see how his opinions evolve as the season goes along.” None of the women who were cast on the show chose to back out after hearing Mel’s comments, and Castro hopes that fans will stick with ABC’s leading man as well. “I understand that there is a big feeling out there that they’re upset with him,” she says. “People should give him a second chance, because I think they will be blown away by it.”
As for the night-one apology, Mel says it was important to him to stand in front of his 23 potential partners and admit he was wrong. “I knew that I had made a mistake, and I wanted to apologize to them as a group, so they knew how I felt right from the start,” says the Golden Bachelor, who delivered the speech during the traditional pre-cocktail party toast. “They were all lovely and gracious and beautiful, and they took time out of their lives. I wanted to ask them for [the chance] to earn their trust back. Then individually, as they had a chance to talk to me, most of them asked me [about the comments] face-to-face so they could look into my eyes. I told them that I want to earn it back — and I think I did.”
A new generation of ‘Golden’ girls
Honestly, though, enough about Mel. The key to a good Bachelor season is the women — and that’s doubly true for the senior spinoff. Gerry’s marriage to Theresa may have only lasted three months, but the hilarity those Golden women brought us — April faking a pickleball injury! Sandra’s epic fart and Susan’s toxic meatballs! That incredible game of Never Have I Ever! — will last forever.
More than 20,000 women applied for season 1 of The Golden Bachelor, and casting director Jacqui Pitman still had “thousands of amazing women” to choose from this time around. “What struck me most about the women this season was that the fear was gone,” says Pitman. “They’d seen Golden Bachelor before, they understood the process, and instead of nerves, there was pure excitement to begin this new chapter.”
The contestants we spoke to at the comedy roast date were all nominated by a loved one: A niece, a son, a group of friends at yoga class. None of them had considered doing reality TV before, but they also weren’t having much luck on the traditional dating scene. “Sometimes people would fix me up,” says a dynamic 62-year-old. “Of course, I tried the dating apps — and that’s just a complete disaster.” The elegant brunette who compared Mel to a classic car admits she “laughed it off” when her son nominated her, but she ultimately agreed to do the show because she wasn’t doing a great job meeting people on her own. “I don’t really go out. I had to remind myself that nobody will be at the door but the UPS guy — not the love of my life.”
After spending just a few hours with the women as host of The Golden Bachelor roast, comedian Jared Freid believes these glamorous grandmas have the potential to be as entertaining as the sassy seniors from season 1. “My impression of them is that they are all the most fun person in their group,” says Freid, who also hosts a weekly Bachelor recap series. “I could tell all their kids have shushed them to stop telling a story that they told a thousand times: ‘Come on! Enough, mom!’ I just loved their energy.”
Castro promises that these Golden gals will bring the laughs when it’s time for them to move into the mansion. “The number one problem on moving day was the bathrooms. They were all very concerned with how everybody was going to poop at the same time,” explains the showrunner. “I thought there’d be lots of other reasons, like closet space or shower time, but no, it was the toilets.”
Living in such close quarters with several roommates “is an adjustment,” notes one of the contestants — but at least it’s never boring. “I sleep in the big room with eight girls,” the dynamic 62-year-old tells us. “The other night, after we had the rose ceremony, the girls were having these insane dreams. One would be having a sex dream, moaning and groaning, and then another would moan and groan — little noises here and little squeaks there. It was like sex in stereo!”
Okay, randy grannies! And this season’s dates will give the women plenty to get worked up about. Mel will whisk one woman away for a romantic dinner on the Queen Mary, show off his gridiron skills on a group date at L.A. Coliseum with the Los Angeles Rams cheerleaders, and even convene with a shaman for what Castro calls a “woo-woo” group date. “It will surprise people,” she says. “Mel’s a very spiritual person. He’s really into energy, ESP and all of that.”
In fact, the Golden Bachelor required very little on set to keep him happy: A steady supply of watermelon; physical copies of the newspaper (the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal); and 15 minutes to meditate each day. Oh, and sneakers — specifically Oofos or Hoka, size 14EEE — to wear with every outfit, casual or formal.
“I know I’m going to take a lot of heat about his sneakers,” says Cary Fetman, the Bachelor franchise’s chief stylist. “Mel explained to me that he had his feet broken three times while playing in the NFL. Initially I thought it was the craziest thing that he was planning to wear sneakers with a Dolce & Gabbana suit, a Zenga suit, and even a tuxedo. It is not the norm, but I got used to it. After a while, the sneakers became his ‘thing.’”
A Cinderella story
When they’re not teasing Mel for his “puffy white shoes” or sidling up to him on group dates, the women of The Golden Bachelor are having the time of their lives — simply by taking time for themselves. “I feel like a princess,” gushes the brunette. “They dote over us with photo shoots, makeup, hair, just all the things.” A gregarious contestant in her mid-60s who’s spent the last several years taking care of her elderly mother gets emotional talking about her experience with the production. “I came down here and saw L.A. We were in a hotel, and they treated us like gold. Honestly, it was beautiful,” she marvels. “I retired in the middle of May. My sisters said, ‘You did five years with mom — you go have fun.’ I’m just loving it. They treated us so well — I’m so fortunate to be here.”
It’s a sentiment Pitman and her team hear often. “Just yesterday, one of our cast members called me and said, ‘I want to thank you and your team for this experience. I felt like Cinderella — and I fell in love with myself again,’” she recalls. “For me, The Golden Bachelor is deeply personal. I’ve been married, divorced, and even lost an ex-spouse — so I understand the ups and downs of love later in life. Unlike casting for younger singles, our Golden participants have truly lived.”
And unlike the younger singles on The Bachelor, the Golden women value their connections with one another as much (if not more) than their bond with Mel. “We are so close already. We’re building lifelong friendships together,” the willowy blonde says. “That was one of the reasons I wanted to come on the show, was to meet interesting women from all over the country, and that’s what’s happened.” Another contestant admits with a laugh, “We’ve had some people go home — and I’ve been crying over people I met for two days! I’m like, what?”
Mel also shed some tears throughout his journey, though not as many as his predecessor. “I didn’t cry outwardly as much as Gerry, but I was torn internally,” he says. “It hurt my heart” to send women home, adds Mel, “but you can’t keep them all.” As for that final rose, Mel knows better than to give anything away, but he will say he came into the “journey” looking for a partner — and that doesn’t necessarily mean leaving as an engaged man. “My goal is to meet someone that I can enjoy life with,” he says. “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.”
We’ll be the judge of that. Given everything that happened with the podcast this summer, Mel knows how it feels to be on the fandom’s bad side — and he’s prepared for viewer feedback, good or bad, once season 2 of The Golden Bachelor premieres on September 24th. “I played in the NFL where you get criticized all the time,” he says. “There’s a huge fan base for the NFL, and a huge fan base for your team. If you don’t do well, they’re on you all the time. Like, ‘Get rid of the guy, trade the guy, he’s no good,’ whatever. It just comes with the territory.” But you’re entering Bachelor Nation now, Mr. Owens — so you may want to dust off your old helmet, just in case.
