Bachelor Nation
‘Golden Bachelor’ Star Mel Owens Debuts His 2 Sons in Family Photo at Rams Game
Mel Owens has been thrust into the public eye ever since he was announced as the lead for Season 2 of The Golden Bachelor earlier this year. For the most part, he’s still been able to keep most of his family life private, though.
However, the new ABC star brought his sons, Lucas Owens and Andre Owens, out for a rare public appearance on Sunday, September 7, and a photo of the trio was shared on the official Golden Bachelor Instagram account.
Mel posed between his two boys on the field during a Los Angeles Rams game. Mel previously played for the Rams for nine seasons from 1981 to 1989, so it was quite a full-circle moment for the former player. The Rams beat the Houston Texans 14 to 9. There were several other members of Bachelor Nation in attendance at the game as well, including Chock Chapple, Jonathon Johnson, and more.
Disney/Stewart Cook
Lucas and Andre, who were born in 2005 and 2007, respectively, are from Mel’s marriage to ex-wife Fabiana Owens. The two were married for 17 years before they divorced in 2020. Following the split, Mel’s focus was on the kids, rather than dating.
“I was taking care of my boys,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “They needed all my attention, and I was working [as a lawyer]. I just didn’t have time [to date].” Now that the boys are older, though, Mel is ready to focus his attention on his love life.
Host Jesse Palmer revealed that Mel is a “great choice” for The Golden Bachelor lead because he “isn’t Gerry 2.0.” Palmer added, “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.”
Back in June, Mel, who is 66, came under fire for comments he made about the women he hoped would be cast on his season. He said he was only interested in dating women who were between the ages of 45 and 60. He later revealed to Glamour that he apologized to the women on night one of filming.
“When I first walked in, I addressed it,” he shared. “I apologized to them. I said, ‘It was unfair, insensitive. I want to earn it back. Just give me the chance.’ And hopefully, these last two weeks I earned some of that back.”
The Golden Bachelor, Season 2 Premiere, Wednesday, September 24, 8/7c, ABC
