‘Golden Bachelor’ Mel Owens Says He Apologized to Contestants Over Age Comments

ABC’s Golden Bachelor has apologized over his comments about age preferences. In a new interview with Glamour, Mel Owens addressed the drama of when he said he was looking for women of a certain age when getting on the show — now he’s saying he “didn’t know that it hit that hard.”

“I’m thinking, to me, the age range was 45 to 60. That’s my age range,” he told the outlet. “I’m thinking that’s the gold years for me. My reference, again, was when I was dating at 39, 40. I hadn’t dated in 26 years, so I had no clue. And that’s why I said that comment.”

Owens is currently filming the show, which will air starting Sept. 24, and said that he apologized to the women competing for his rose during production. He explained to Glamour that a friend of his explaiend why it was insensitive for him to make those comments.

“When I first walked in, I addressed it. I apologized to them. I said, ‘It was unfair, insensitive. I want to earn it back. Just give me the chance,’” he said. “And hopefully, these last two weeks I earned some of that back.”

“During our one-on-ones, 12 or 15 of them said, ‘We appreciate the apology, and it meant a lot to us,'” he added.

Owens said most of the women accepted the apology, but that “they were killing me” during one of the dates, which was a roast. ‘I’m absolutely shocked at the women,” he said. “Of how active they are. They’re brilliant. They’re brilliant. It’s shocking how brilliant they are.”

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During a previous interview, Owens said ABC producers tried to gently explain to him that he can’t eliminate women because of their age. “‘Mel, you can’t. This is not the Silver Bachelor. This is The Golden Bachelor,’” he recalled a producer telling him. “He goes, ‘But they’re going to be hot. Don’t worry about it.’”

Owens, a former football player turned lawyer, was named the next Golden Bachelor in April. He’s the second Golden Bachelor since the spinoff started.