{"id":2049161,"date":"2025-09-25T13:34:58","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T13:34:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2049161"},"modified":"2025-09-25T13:34:58","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T13:34:58","slug":"golden-bachelor-mel-owens-addresses-ageist-remarks-in-season-2-premiere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/golden-bachelor-mel-owens-addresses-ageist-remarks-in-season-2-premiere\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Golden Bachelor&#8217; Mel Owens addresses ageist remarks in season 2 premiere"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em><strong>Warning: This article contains spoilers for season 2 of &#8220;The Golden Bachelor.&#8221;<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.goodmorningamerica.com\/culture\/story\/mel-owens-revealed-newest-golden-bachelor-details-121060852\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Mel Owens;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Mel Owens<\/a> regrets the ageist comments he made on a podcast over the summer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The 66-year-old star of &#8220;The Golden Bachelor&#8221; apologized on the show&#8217;s premiere episode Wednesday night for comments he made in June about his preferred age range for the female contestants on his season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">At the time, Owens said he would be &#8220;cutting them&#8221; if they were over 60.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>John Fleenor\/Disney &#8211; PHOTO: MEL OWENS<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The comments, which Owens said on the &#8220;In the Trenches&#8221; podcast, were met with criticism by many.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I messed up,&#8221; Owens said on Wednesday night&#8217;s episode. &#8220;I was wrong. I replay it in my head a lot. I have regrets and I&#8217;m sorry for all the things I said in the podcast.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">He continued, &#8220;I know what a lot of people are thinking about me, but that&#8217;s not who I am.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">What did Owens say on the podcast?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">During the interview in June, the retired NFL player recalled a conversation he had with producers ahead of his season, in which he was asked about his preferences in a partner.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.goodmorningamerica.com\/culture\/story\/golden-bachelor-season-2-what-to-know-125867608\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Everything to know about 'The Golden Bachelor' season 2;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Everything to know about &#8216;The Golden Bachelor&#8217; season 2<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Owens replied that he preferred someone who was &#8220;45-60 (years old).&#8221; In a later conversation with an executive producer on the show, Owens said he told them, &#8220;You know, if they&#8217;re 60 and over, I&#8217;m cutting them.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">He added that during his conversation with the producer, he told them that the women on his show &#8220;need to be fit, because I&#8217;m staying in shape and working out and stuff.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;And I told them, you know, try to stay away from the artificial hips and wigs, you know that kind of stuff, right,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">How did the women react to his comments?<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"John Fleenor\/Disney - PHOTO: Diane and Mel Owens\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"768\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/eBpts1iI0We9Zt21_oNfFA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTc2ODtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/us.abcnews.gma.com\/8f0197d3ce62441d9064e780785998fd\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>John Fleenor\/Disney &#8211; PHOTO: Diane and Mel Owens<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">On the show&#8217;s premiere episode, a handful of the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.goodmorningamerica.com\/culture\/story\/golden-bachelor-season-2-cast-women-125241952\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:women;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">women<\/a> who stepped out of the limo to meet Owens for the first time questioned him right away about the comments he made.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Diane, 71, a librarian and hockey player from Wasilla, AK, asked him, &#8220;What the puck was that interview on that podcast?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Owens apologized to her and asked for a second chance. She replied and said, &#8220;Stick with me, I&#8217;ll keep you out of the penalty box.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Carla, 62, a former model from Los Angeles, said that she&#8217;s &#8220;here to break all of your stereotypes about women over 60.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Alexandra, 67, a yacht saleswoman from Miami, added, &#8220;We (are) showing the world that people over 60 can continue being fun and funny and have fire inside.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">Why Owens said age doesn&#8217;t matter<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"John Fleenor\/Disney - PHOTO: ALEXANDRA AND MEL OWENS\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/B6du9CG2RoB3AhIw_Poa6A--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/us.abcnews.gma.com\/c8cc2207fcd4cc31f6d0b08e6a592e50\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>John Fleenor\/Disney &#8211; PHOTO: ALEXANDRA AND MEL OWENS<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Before Owens admitted to being nervous about meeting the women. A clip also shows him saying, &#8220;Age doesn&#8217;t matter.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;When they walk out, I&#8217;m not thinking (about their) age. I&#8217;m looking and feeling for connection. It&#8217;s the chemistry,&#8221; he added, saying that he hopes the women don&#8217;t judge him based on what they heard.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">After meeting all the women, Owens addressed them as a group in the mansion and asked if they all &#8220;could forgive me&#8221; and &#8220;let me earn it back.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.goodmorningamerica.com\/culture\/story\/golden-bachelor-season-2-cast-women-125241952\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Meet the 23 women vying for Mel Owens' heart on 'The Golden Bachelor';elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Meet the 23 women vying for Mel Owens&#8217; heart on &#8216;The Golden Bachelor&#8217;<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Many of the women were impressed by his apology, including Cindy, 60, a retired biomedical engineer from Austin, Texas, who said, &#8220;I loved the way Mel addressed the podcast. He not only owned it, he owned it upfront.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In the end, age indeed didn&#8217;t matter.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"John Fleenor\/Disney - PHOTO: Mel Owens and Gerri on season 2, episode 1 of &quot;The Golden Bachelor.&quot;\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"768\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/Xv_EMPbF7rhZ09l5j.k5PA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTc2ODtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/us.abcnews.gma.com\/87ae18c65b216fdea5119c2cf2fae6d1\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>John Fleenor\/Disney &#8211; PHOTO: Mel Owens and Gerri on season 2, episode 1 of &#8220;The Golden Bachelor.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Owens gave the first impression rose to Gerri, 64, from Rockville, Maryland.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Owens said he was touched by the story she shared about her family and a letter she shared with him from her daughter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Season 2 of &#8220;The Golden Bachelor&#8221; airs Wednesdays on ABC at 8 p.m. ET\/PT and is available to stream the next day on Hulu.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>The Walt Disney Co. is the parent company of ABC, ABC News and &#8220;Good Morning America.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Warning: This article contains spoilers for season 2 of &#8220;The Golden Bachelor.&#8221; Mel Owens regrets the ageist comments he made on a podcast over the summer. The 66-year-old star of &#8220;The Golden Bachelor&#8221; apologized on the show&#8217;s premiere episode Wednesday night for comments he made in June about his preferred age range for the female [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2049162,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[376158,376159,350323],"class_list":["post-2049161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-golden-bachelor","tag-mel-owens","tag-premiere-episode"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Golden-Bachelor-Mel-Owens-addresses-ageist-remarks-in-season-2.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2049161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2049161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2049161\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2049162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2049161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2049161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2049161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}