‘Golden Bachelor’ Star Mel Owens Regrets Saying He Would ‘Cut’ Women Over the Age of 60: ‘It’s Unfair. It’s Insensitive’

“Golden Bachelor” Season 2 star Mel Owens has admitted he regrets the comments he made about age limits for contestants on the dating reality show.

“Those [views and comments] were a mistake by me. It’s unfair. It’s insensitive, like I said. And I want to earn it back,” Owens said in a recent Glamour interview, referring to the trust of those affected. “I have to earn it back every single moment that I’m on the show.”

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During a June appearance on the “In the Trenches” podcast, the former NFL player turned lawyer said he would “cut” any woman over the age of 60 and urged producers to avoid casting anyone with “artificial hips” or “wigs.”

“It’s blind up until they get out of the limo. But they asked me, ‘What’s your preferences?’ So, I just said 45 to 60, just being honest,” Owens said. “And then the process went, and I was selected, right? And then we had lunch with the executive producer. I said, ‘You know, if they’re 60 or over, I’m cutting them.’ ‘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. Don’t worry about it.'”

The 66-year-old also expressed that he expects all the contestants to be in good shape, saying on the podcast: “I had no resume, but they asked me, what is my, like, my profile? 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.”

“I know there’s amazing women out there,” Owens added, noting that he’s looking for 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.”

In the Glamour interview, Owens revealed that he apologized to the contestants while filming “The Golden Bachelor,” saying: “I apologized to the women on the show. 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.’ And hopefully, these last two weeks I earned some of that back.”

Owens, whose casting was announced in April, succeeds Gerry Turner as the Golden Bachelor. During the show’s inaugural season, Turner chose Theresa Nist as the winner, and the couple married in a televised ABC special in January 2024. However, they announced their divorce just three months later.

“Golden Bachelor” Season 2 is set to premiere Sept. 24 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.