Bachelor Nation
‘Golden Bachelor’s Mel Owens Addresses Recasting Rumors After Controversial Age Comments
For the first time since The Golden Bachelor star Mel Owens came under fire for controversial comments he made about his expectations for the women on his season, the former football star is speaking out.
In an interview with Glamour, Owens, 66, confirmed that he’s already started filming the show and said he “apologized to the women” on night one. Plus, he revealed why he initially said he only wanted to date women who were between 45 and 60 on the show.
“I didn’t know anything about The Golden Bachelor ages,” Owens explained. “I didn’t.” He added, “I’m thinking, to me, the age range was 45 to 60. That’s my age range. I’m thinking that’s the gold years for me.”
Owens pointed out that he hasn’t dated in “26, 27 years,” so his last “reference of dating was 39, 40 years old” at that time. “I hadn’t dated in 26 years, so I had no clue,” he continued. “And that’s why I said that comment. I didn’t know. I didn’t know.”
The ex-NFL star told the women on the show, “It was unfair, insensitive. I want to earn it back. Just give me the chance.”
He also said he’s been “shocked” by the women he’s met on the show so far. He described them as “active” and “brilliant,” adding, “The things they do … like, one was a bomb squad person and there’s a couple dentists, a doctor, a motocross racer, a flight attendant for 40 years. You have all these varied professions. And they’re not 40. They’re 60, 65, maybe 70, and they go, ‘Oh, I’m still working. I’m still riding. I have my practice.” So there it is. It’s right in front of you.”
After Owens made the controversial comments about not wanting to date anyone over 60 and not wanting to meet women with “artificial hips and wigs,” fans began speculating that ABC might recast him as The Golden Bachelor lead. He said he heard these rumors from a female friend he went to college with at the University of Michigan but was never concerned himself.
“When people said to me, ‘Hey, are you getting replaced?’ I go, ‘Not that I know of,'” he shared. “And I wasn’t, again, actively searching frenetically, like, ‘Oh my gosh, what is going on?'”
Now that filming has begun, Owens admitted he would’ve been bummed if he lost out on this opportunity because of the controversy. “Looking back on it and looking forward, it’s a great experience,” he confirmed. “It’s such a great experience for me, so yeah, I wouldn’t have wanted to be recast. But I’m going to earn it back.”
The Golden Bachelor, Season 2 Premiere, Wednesday, September 24, 8/7c, ABC
