Bachelor Nation was shocked and offended when incoming Golden Bachelor Mel Owens went viral for a podcast interview by which the 66-year-old stated he would eradicate anybody from the present who was 60 or older. Hastily the historically heartwarming sequence was marred in controversy earlier than it even hit the 2025 TV schedule. The previous NFL participant has now spoken out and revealed that he really obtained roasted by the ladies for his feedback.
When Mel Owens went on the Within the Trenches podcast in June, filming hadn’t but begun on The Golden Bachelor Season 2, which implies the forged — which options just one girl underneath 60 years outdated — was conscious of the feedback earlier than assembly their suitor in particular person. He due to this fact needed to handle that proper off the bat upon getting into Bachelor Mansion. As Owens informed Glamour:
I apologized to the ladies on the present. Once I first walked in, I addressed it. I apologized to them. I stated, ‘It was unfair, insensitive. I need to earn it again. Simply give me the possibility.’ And hopefully, these final two weeks I earned a few of that again.
Filming is now underway on the relationship present that’s set to premiere in September (and might be obtainable to stream with a Hulu subscription), and it appears like Mel Owens was capable of quash the age-related drama earlier than it turned an enormous factor. Nonetheless, that didn’t cease his fellow forged members from trolling him about it. The previous L.A. Ram continued:
Yeah, throughout our one-on-ones, 12 or 15 of them stated, ‘We recognize the apology, and it meant lots to us.’ And so they additionally had a roast. One of many dates was a roast. It was brutal. They had been killing me.
It appears like his phrases — “In the event that they’re 60 or over, I’m chopping them.” — had been forgiven however not forgotten, as a result of Mel Owens stated the ladies had been fast to remind him that at 66 years outdated, he was no spring rooster anymore. Owens continued:
I can’t bear in mind all of them, however one stated, ‘Oh, when Mel was strolling with me, he was utilizing me as a cane.’ And I’m from Detroit, proper? One stated, ‘Like a Detroit pizza, he’s doughy, squishy, sq., and crusty.’ It was good as a result of I earned that, and I took it and I deserved it, and it landed squarely on me. They had been throwing haymakers. It was good.
With this roast apparently being a bunch date on The Golden Bachelor, I suppose we’ll have the ability to see the women actual their revenge on Mel Owens. Nonetheless, together with his feedback spreading outdoors of the truth TV realm to the place even the co-hosts of The View have mentioned it, many in Bachelor Nation appear cautious of tuning in.
Is the truth that Mel Owens apologized to the ladies sufficient to win again these followers? Will Bachelor Nation forgive him now that he’s admitted his podcast feedback had been “unfair,” “insensitive” and “a mistake by me”?
Solely time will inform. The Golden Bachelor Season 2 is about to premiere at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday, September 24, on ABC and streaming the following day on Hulu.