It’s hard to believe that just two years ago, the country was captivated by Gerry Turner’s story on The Golden Bachelor, shedding tears as the widower and his cast of 60- and 70-somethings found hope that it’s never too late to fall in love again. Watching Season 2 play out on the 2025 TV schedule, however, has been something of a chore, with Mel Owens looking like he’s as ready for it to be over as we are. The train has come off the tracks, and there are some things that need to be fixed if there’s a Season 3.
It’s been an uphill battle for 66-year-old Mel Owens since even before filming started, as he saw backlash from Bachelor Nation for his comments on a podcast that he preferred to date women under 60 and planned on “cutting” any women older than that. That was a bad look, for sure, but I don’t think that can be blamed for all of this season’s struggles. Here are the changes I think need to be made:
The Lead Needs To Be Willing And Able To Express His Emotions
Mel Owens appears to have trouble showing or even telling us how he feels, and that’s really not what you want in the lead for a show that’s supposed to be about falling in love. That fact has become especially obvious as the season has progressed, with fewer and fewer women left to take up screen time.
For instance, on the Hometown dates, we saw Peg Munson’s daughter struggle to get any real answers from Mel about why he liked her mom, and during Fantasy Suites, Cindy Cullers seemed frustrated that he wouldn’t commit to taking a leap of faith and possibly getting engaged — which, as she pointed out, is the whole premise of The Golden Bachelor.
Contrast that with Gerry Turner (who, admittedly, has also fallen somewhat out of favor with Bachelor Nation since his divorce from winner Theresa Nist). The inaugural Golden Bachelor seemed to be in tears more often than he wasn’t. He complimented the women constantly on things like their poise and intelligence and talked about his late wife Toni so much that she was effectively a member of the cast.
Mel, meanwhile, is a week away from when he’s supposed to propose, and the most we’re getting from him is, “I really like her,” and, “It’s going great.” There was a great opportunity this season to start a conversation about finding love again after divorce, but he doesn’t seem willing to be vulnerable, making it unclear why (or if) he even wants to get married again.
The Golden Bachelor Doesn’t Need A Villain
One of the things I was looking forward to most from The Golden Bachelor Season 2 was getting to watch the friendships form between the cast. That was one of the best parts of Gerry’s season, and the same was true of Joan Vassos’ men on The Golden Bachelorette. That bonding definitely happened again on the current season, but I feel like it was overshadowed by Nicolle Briscoe’s villain storyline.
Putting so much emphasis on whether Nicolle was more interested in Mel or becoming an influencer — “for the wrong reasons” — took so much time away from other stories within the Bachelor Mansion. Producers chose to give us the villain plotline at the expense of, perhaps, hearing the women talk about their families or past relationships.
Many members of the Season 2 cast had extraordinary stories, and I would have loved to get to know them more than having to hear Nicolle talking about how to make good television and her ignorant comments about the “not so great-looking” Season 1 women. (Oh no she didn’t!) If we want this brand of drama, we’ll tune into the regular Bachelor. The Goldens don’t need it.
Don’t Eliminate So Many People In The First Episode
As I previously mentioned, the women of The Golden Bachelor Season 2 have led phenomenal lives, and we got to hear bits of their experiences — both the wild and the wildly tragic. Cheryl Steele’s story about her ex-husband kidnapping their son as a baby was one of the most horrifying things I’ve heard on a Bachelor show, as well as Debbie Siebers opening up about her ex’s death.
I don’t think one gets cast on a Bachelor series without an interesting or tragic story, so in the interest of getting to hear them, why send so many people home on Night 1?
Both Gerry Turner and Mel Owens eliminated six women in the first rose ceremony. However, Mel’s premiere was a double episode, complete with a second rose ceremony. An additional four were sent packing there, meaning that 10 of Mel’s 23-member cast were gone in two hours.
Going forward, I would love to see only two or three women leave on the first night — if any at all! If producers only want 13 or 15 women to move into Bachelor Mansion, just cast that many and skip the first rose ceremony. It makes no sense to spend so much time introducing all of those women during limo exits, only to send half of them home immediately.
Put The Heart Back Into The Golden Bachelor
Everything I’ve said above kind of boils down to this. We loved the first season of The Golden Bachelor because it made us feel. We were rooting for Gerry to love again after his wife’s death. So many viewers related to the contestants’ stories of grief and of wearing hearing aids or having to prioritize their children’s needs over their own happiness.
The same was true of The Golden Bachelorette, where we cried when Charles Ling got closure on his wife’s death, after thinking for years that there was something he could have done to prevent it. There were also the hilarious moments, like Jack Lencioni going viral for his tour of Bachelor Mansion and the “Mansion Men” doing a synchronized swimming routine in the pool. Where was all of this during Mel’s season?
If The Golden Bachelor does get renewed for a third attempt, I hope some changes are made to recapture the wholesomeness that made this such a good spinoff. For now, though, we’ve still got Mel’s journey to complete. Tune in for the two-hour finale at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday, November 12, on ABC and streaming the next day with a Hulu subscription. If you can’t wait to see how it ends, check out our spoiler to see who is rumored to win Mel Owens’ season.