A new season of Bachelor in Paradise is just days away from its premiere on the 2025 TV schedule, and The Bachelor has officially been renewed for a milestone 30th season in 2026. Amidst the excitement for what’s to come, however, trouble has struck Bachelor Nation again. A month after The Golden Bachelor Season 2 lead Mel Owens made some controversial comments on a podcast, Jesse Palmer has broken his silence, as has Season 1 lead Gerry Turner.
Jesse Palmer Responds To Mel Owens Saying He’s ‘Cutting’ Any Woman Over 60
ABC and 66-year-old Mel Owens (pictured above) are under fire following comments he made on a podcast in June, in which the new Golden Bachelor said he preferred to date women between 45 and 60. He went on to say he would eliminate anyone over that age range immediately and asked producers to “stay away from the artificial hips and the wigs.” The Bachelor franchise host Jesse Palmer addressed the situation, telling US Weekly:
I’ve seen the headlines, obviously, because I’m on social media. I have not heard the podcast. We haven’t started filming Golden yet, so I haven’t spent a ton of time with Mel. The small amount of time I have spent with him, he seems like a good guy. But I know I’m gonna get to spend a lot more time with him pretty soon. I’m sure that’s something we’re going to talk about.
Jesse Palmer remained pretty diplomatic about the discourse surrounding The Golden Bachelor, saying that he’ll likely discuss the issue with Mel Owens when filming starts. That definitely makes it sound — at least as far as Palmer knows — like ABC is moving forward with the NFL star-turned-lawyer as its lead.
While we wait for any official word from ABC, another relevant member of Bachelor Nation also gave his thoughts on the situation.
Former Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner Weighs In On Mel Owens Controversy
The first-ever Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner is no stranger to controversy, as many in Bachelor Nation turned against him when his marriage to Theresa Nist ended after just three months. While he can come at the situation from a place of empathy, even Turner reportedly called Mel Owens’ comments a bad look.
He allegedly told TMZ that it would be a mistake for Mel Owens to close himself off to dating women of all ages. Gerry Turner said he also gave producers an age range, with 65 being the minimum age for the septuagenarian, but they asked him to keep an open mind to dating women as young as 60.
Of course, convincing Gerry Turner to date younger women is a completely different situation than convincing Mel Owens to date older. But Turner points out that things like age and artificial hips shouldn’t matter — he said he has a pickleball friend with a fake hip who smokes him on the court.
It’ll be interesting to see if and how The Golden Bachelor addresses this situation and if Mel Owens does indeed continue to lead Season 2. In the meantime, you’ll be able to catch some of your favorite Golden alumni on Bachelor in Paradise Season 10, which premieres at 8 p.m. ET Monday, July 7, on ABC and streaming with a Hulu subscription.
