‘The Golden Bachelor’ Star Mel Owens’ Was Reportedly Almost Fired for His Ageist Comments

In 2023, The Bachelor proved that it's never too late to find your soulmate, or at least to try finding said soulmate. Through its sixth spinoff, The Golden Bachelor, those looking for love in their "golden" years (typically 60 and up), were able to form vie for the attention of one handsome, seasoned bachelor, and, later, bachelorette.

Following Gerry Turner's inaugural season of The Golden Bachelor, ABC enlisted a new eligible retiree for Season 2, airing on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. Leading the charge for Season 2 is retired NFL linebacker, Mel Owens.

Mel, a father of two, played for the Los Angeles Rams before he left the field to become a sports lawyer. While fans of his career were excited to see him litigate for love, he found himself in hot water ahead of The Golden Bachelor's Season 2 premiere.

Ahead of Mel's The Golden Bachelor debut, fans of the show quickly addressed comments he made in June 2025. According to his interview with MGoBlue Podcast, a sports podcast created by his alma mater, University of Michigan, he said he was planning to "cut" any contestant over the age of 60. Before his debut, Mel turned 66.

According to Glamour, Mel's seemingly ageist feelings towards his future dating hopefuls didn't sit well with many of the show's fans. Several of them commented via X (formerly Twitter), stating how offensive he was for sharing his preferences before even entering the competition.

"Doesn’t seem like much of a mystery as to why he’s still a bachelor,” wrote one fan on X.

"Women over 60 wouldn’t bother," another said. "Most are way past wanting more children to take care of.”

Some fans even questioned ABC's casting decision, implying that it wasn't too late for the network to replace him with another bachelor. According to The Bachelor fans' gossip account, Reality Steve, that's exactly what happened, as Mel was rumored to have been asked to leave the show ahead of the season.

"I’m hearing that Mel Owens is OUT as the Golden Bachelor due to recent negative publicity surrounding his June 4th podcast appearance," Reality Steve wrote on X in July 2025. "Expect an announcement soon incl who is going to replace him. Haven’t heard a name yet on who that is. Will update if/when I hear."

Though Reality Steve claimed Mel was asked not to leave The Golden Bachelor and remained on the show after his comments surfaced. However, fans wouldn't let him forget what he said, which, not gonna lie, was a bit brutal.

"It’s blind up until they get out of the limo. But [the producers] asked me, ‘What’s your preferences?’ So, I just said 45 to 60, just being honest,” Mel recalled of the casting process with podcast's host, Jon Jansen, in June 2025.We had lunch with the executive producer. I said, ‘You know, if they’re 60 or over, I’m cutting them,’” he continued. “‘Oh Mel, you can’t, you know, this is not the Silver Bachelor. It’s the Golden Bachelor.’ He goes, ‘But they’re going to be hot, don’t worry about it.’”

Mel also said he preferred for the contestants to also match his athletic prowess to be seriously considered by him.

"Well, they got to be fit because I stay in shape, should work out and stuff. And I told them, you know, try to stay away from the artificial hips and the wigs, you know, that kind of stuff, right.”

The former athlete also said how the women take care of themselves is important, stating he wanted someone "who’s a lifetime learner, enjoys to love life and work out and stay fit and eat and have fun and be energetic and live life.”

However, according to his interview with Glamour, he admitted to putting his foot in his mouth after a female friend in her 60s scolded him on behalf of their age group.

"I'm thinking, to me, the age range was 45 to 60," he explained. ""That's my age range. I'm thinking that's the gold years for me."

Mel also told the outlet that fans will see him apologize for his remarks on The Golden Bachelor.

"When I first walked in, I addressed it. I apologized to them," he shared. "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."

New episodes of The Golden Bachelor air on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.