The Golden Bachelor Mel Owens Reveals How Producers Reacted To His Viral Podcast Comments And If He Considered Bowing Out

In The Golden Bachelor’s first season back in 2023, controversy didn’t really hit until Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist announced their divorce just three months after tying the knot on live TV. I’m sure no one expected that the second time around, there’d be trouble before the season even premiered. With less than a week until Mel Owens welcomes his cast to Bachelor Mansion, he’s opening up about how The Golden Bachelor’s producers reacted to those viral podcast comments and whether he ever thought about backing out.

Mirroring a plot from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Mel Owens, 66, said on a podcast in June — before filming started — that he preferred dating women 45 to 60 and planned on “cutting” anyone on his season who was older than that. Fans were outraged, with many hoping The Golden Bachelor would recast its Season 2 lead. However, according to the former NFL player, the producers took the viral gaffe in stride. Owens told USA TODAY:

Whether or not audiences will forgive him enough to tune into The Golden Bachelor when Season 2 hits the 2025 TV schedule remains to be seen, because fans were really angry that Mel Owens told producers to “stay away from the artificial hips and the wigs.” The podcast clip made national news, and you just know the co-hosts of The View laid into him.

There were rumors after the clip went viral that ABC was shopping around for a replacement for Mel Owens, but that story was quickly debunked. Still, with all the backlash, did athlete-turned-attorney ever consider bowing out of the reality show? He responded:

Mel Owens reportedly addressed the controversial comments with the women directly on their first night at the mansion. We’ll have to see if his alleged apology is shown during the episode, but either way, it sounds like the women made him pay for it. Of the 23 people cast on The Golden Bachelor Season 2, only one is under 60, and Owens has said they were “throwing haymakers” at him over the comments.

Gerry Turner urged Mel Owens to keep an open mind. Bachelor in Paradise alum Kathy Swarts brushed off the viral podcast, saying he probably didn’t mean it. Owens says he’s apologized. And yet, despite all the Season 2 hype and cute Golden Bachelor commercials, many Bachelor Nation fans aren’t yet over the controversy.

Tune in, if you dare, when The Golden Bachelor Season 2 premieres at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday, September 24, on ABC and streaming the next day with a Hulu subscription.