Getting candid.
Bachelor Nation fans are currently watching Season 10 of “Bachelor in Paradise” unfold each week as both our younger cast and Golden cast look for love on the beaches of Costa Rica.
Amid all the excitement around “Paradise,” we are also gearing up for the second season of “The Golden Bachelor.”
Earlier this year, 66-year-old former NFL player-turned-lawyer Mel Owens was announced as the next Golden Bachelor.
And in June, a podcast episode where Mel expressed preferences for only dating women who were between the ages of 45 and 60 landed him in hot water.
Now, Mel stopped by for an honest conversation with Glamour, where he opened up about these comments.
Mel shared that, “I apologized to the women on the show. When I first walked in, I addressed it. 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.”
He continued, “Those opinions and comments were a mistake by me. It’s unfair. It’s insensitive, like I said. And I want to earn it back. I have to earn it back every single moment that I’m on the show.”
He said, “I didn’t know the age range because I wasn’t watching it. 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. My reference, again, was when I was dating at 39, 40. I hadn’t dated in 26 years, so I had no clue. And that’s why I said that comment.”
Mel shared that while he didn’t know the ages before, it was no excuse for the insensitive, regrettable comments he made.
The lawyer shared that as they are filming the show, many of the women said they appreciated his apology and they even held a roast of Mel.
The Golden Bachelor said, “During our one-on-ones, 12 or 15 of them said, ‘We appreciate the apology, and it meant a lot to us.’ And they also had a roast. One of the dates was a roast. It was brutal. They were killing me. I’m trying to earn back the trust, and the women got me good on the roast. Some were so harsh, they went, ‘Hey, are you okay?’ And I said, ‘No, I’m good. I’m good. I deserved it.’”
Mel’s season premieres on September 29 on ABC and he hopes you will tune in to give him a second chance.
He said, “Well, if you don’t tune in, you’ll never know. So you’ve got to tune in. And again, I’m trying to earn it back. Watch the show and see if I earn it back.”
