New Golden Bachelor Mel Owens knows just what he’s looking for when it comes to the women competing for his heart on the ABC dating series.
During a recent interview on the MGoBlue Podcast with Jon Jansen, the retired NFL player-turned-lawyer, 66, revealed his ideal dating age range as he takes over the reigns as the Golden Bachelor for the show’s sophomore season.
“They ask me, ‘What’s your preferences?’ So I just said [ages] 45 to 60, just being honest,” he recalled. “And then we had lunch with the executive producer. I said, ‘You know, if they’re 60 or over, I’m cutting them.’”
However, the executive producer allegedly told him that would be no-go on the show, telling him, “‘Mel, you can’t. This is not The Silver Bachelor. This is The Golden Bachelor.’ He goes, ‘But they’re going to be hot. Don’t worry about it.’”
The executive producer also advised against using one word when he begins handing out roses, Owens added. “He goes, ‘You can’t use the word cut.’ I go, ‘Well, that’s an NFL term,'" he explained.
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Despite participants having “no say” in picking the cast ahead of their limo entrances, Owens is confident the women will be "beautiful.”
As for what he's looking for, Owens shared that he hopes the women are “fit because I’m staying in shape and work out and stuff.”
“And I told them, ‘Try to stay away from the artificial hips and the wigs, you know, that kind of stuff, right?’” he added.
Owens added that a potential partner should be a “lifetime learner,” who likes to “work out, stay fit, eat, have fun, be energetic and live life.”
On April 22, ABC announced Mel Owens would be the new lead when the dating series returns this fall following in the footsteps of Gerry Turner, who served as the inaugural Golden Bachelor in 2023.
According to a press release from ABC, Owens, who was married for 25 years and has two sons, hopes to rediscover a love “rooted in the simple joys of companionship — sharing life’s everyday moments, making plans for the future and growing stronger together as a couple.”
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“As the Golden Bachelor, he’s eager to meet someone who shares this vision and finally find that perfect teammate he’s been waiting for in his golden years,” the press release reads.
Following the announcement, Owens told host Jesse Palmer that he wants to find "someone that's honest, charming, loving, fit. Someone full of life because it's go time."
