Golden Bachelor Mel Owens Said He’d “Cut” Contestants Aged 60 & Up

The Golden Bachelor Season 2 hasn’t even begun, but already, the new lead is making headlines for his surprising comments about dating preferences.

In April, Mel Owens was announced as the next Golden Bachelor. Per his bio, the divorced father of two “is ready 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.”

That journey will air on Wednesdays this fall. In the meantime, Mel provided a glimpse into his mindset throughout the audition process in a recent interview with his alma mater, the University of Michigan.

“They ask me, ‘What’s your preferences?’” Mel recalled on a June 4 episode of MGoBlue Podcasts with Jon Jansen, which has since circulated on social media. “So I just said 45 to 60, just being honest.”

Mel, who is 66 years old, added that after he was selected as the new lead, he doubled down on those expectations during lunch with an unnamed producer. “I said, you know, if they’re 60 or over, I’m cutting them,” Mel said.

However, the producer allegedly replied: “Oh, Mel, you can’t. This is not The Silver Bachelor, this is The Golden Bachelor.” For reference, on Gerry Turner’s debut season, the contestants ranged from 60 to 75 years old — all outside of Mel’s criteria.

Mel claimed that the producer said the contestants would be “hot,” and discouraged him from using the word “cut” when referring to sending women home. “It’s an NFL term,” Mel recalled pointing out. (Now a lawyer, Mel previously played for the Los Angeles Rams in the 1980s.)

Golden Bachelor Fans Sound Off

Several fans voiced their disappointment in Mel’s comments. As one fan wrote on The Golden Bachelor Instagram, “I’m done with this franchise if you move forward with him. Have some respect for women.”

Another commented, “Please replace him for someone who appreciates women of a certain age, which is the entire point of this show.”

The conversation continued over on Reddit, where one fan shared their surprise that one of the fan-favorite alums from The Golden Bachelorette wasn’t chosen instead. “Joan [Vassos] had some genuinely kind and decent men, I can’t believe they passed them over,” they wrote, adding that they may skip the show “if this is the tone the lead is setting.”

In addition to voicing his desire for a younger partner, Mel said he told producers his contestants should be “fit.” While he clarified that he “had no say” in the actual casting, he asked the show to “try to stay away from the artificial hips and the wigs.”

His ideal partner, he told MGoBlue, is a “lifetime learner who enjoys to love life, and work out, and stay fit, and eat, and have fun, and be energetic, and live life.”