Mel Owens, the lead of ABC’s upcoming season of The Golden Bachelor, apologized for earlier remarks that he would eliminate contestants older than 60 and said there is "no age to love," after drawing criticism for his initial comments about casting preferences.
Owens, a retired NFL linebacker, told Fox News Digital that he apologized to the women on the show during the group introductions and individually afterward, and asked them to let him earn back their trust. He acknowledged his earlier statements — made on a June appearance on the "In The Trenches" podcast and reported by multiple outlets — were "unfair." Owens said he had suggested a preferred age range of 45 to 60 when asked by producers during casting and later told producers he would cut anyone 60 or older.
In the Fox News Digital interview, Owens described the exchange with producers at a lunch, saying they pushed back, reminding him the show is The Golden Bachelor. He also acknowledged comments he made about wanting producers to "stay away from the artificial hips and the wigs," telling the outlet he did not know the show’s established age range and that his remarks reflected his own frame of reference rather than the program’s legacy.
Owens said he had not dated for decades after a 25-year marriage and that he lacked recent experience dating outside that marriage. "I hadn’t experienced anybody outside of my wife," he said, adding that his prior comments stemmed from not having watched the franchise in years and misunderstanding what the Golden years meant within the series. "I didn’t know any of it," he told Glamour in a separate interview.
Former Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner, who was profiled after his season and later divorced his on-show partner, told Fox News Digital in July he hoped Owens would change his mind. Turner, 73, said excluding women by age would be "cheating himself," noting that contestants over 60 can bring "grace and charm" and that producers typically cast accomplished, confident women across the age spectrum.
Turner said he had been advised to "ignore the age thing" during his season and encouraged Owens to treat contestants with courtesy, listen and "ignore their age number." Turner acknowledged his own televised romance ended in divorce but said his experience on the show had been valuable and that each contestant brought unique qualities.
Owens has said he has finished filming the season but has not disclosed whether he found a romantic partner. He described his evolving definition of love as compatibility, shared laughter and mutual learning. "There's no age to love and there's no age in your spirit," he said, expressing confidence that viewers would be "pleasantly surprised" by the season’s cast and outcomes.
The Golden Bachelor is scheduled to premiere Sept. 24 on ABC. Owens’s comments and subsequent apology offer a preview of conversations the season may prompt about age, representation and expectations in reality dating television.
