“Golden Bachelor” is back for a second season. And no, its star is not “Golden Bachelorette” favorites Mark Anderson or Charles Ling.
The lead will be a new face for many Bachelor Nation members, though he may be more familiar to NFL fans. Mel Owens will be your next Midwestern leading man.
ABC and Hulu announced the news at an April 22 event in Los Angeles celebrating Disney’s slate of reality TV programs. The former Los Angeles Rams linebacker-turned-lawyer, 66, was once married and shares two sons with his first wife. He’s also a partner at an Orange County, California, law firm specializing in sports injuries and workers’ compensation.
“After several years as a devoted dad, Owens 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,” ABC’s press release says. “As the Golden Bachelor, he’s eager to meet someone who shares this vision and finally find that perfect teammate he’s been waiting for in his golden years.”
Who is Mel Owens?
After “Bachelor” franchise host Jesse Palmer introduced Owens to the crowd, Palmer noted Owens didn’t know of the casting news until Palmer visited the next “Golden” lead’s home the day before the announcement.
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“I didn’t know, then I see you, and I go: ‘Jesse Palmer’s here.’ You came in and met my boys. Since then, it’s been 24 hours of craziness,” Owens said. “The younger (son) said – we were watching the regular ‘Bachelor’ earlier on – ‘Dad, you should be the bachelor. The ad came on for ‘Golden.’ He goes, ‘You should be the real one, though.'”
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Owens was previously married for 25 years and said he’s found himself missing “companionship.” As for the kind of woman he’s looking for, Owens said: “Someone that’s honest, charming, loving, fit, someone full of life.”
Jesse Palmer calls Mel Owens ‘genuine,’ a ‘family man’
Right before the news broke to the world, Palmer opened up to USA TODAY about his thoughts on Owens’ casting.
“He’s an excellent choice to be our next ‘Golden Bachelor.’ He’s handsome and he’s charming. He’s been really successful professionally, very intelligent,” Palmer said. “But he’s also very genuine, and he’s a family man.”
Palmer also touched on Owens’ journey to becoming a reality TV leading man, saying, “While he’s had a lot of success professionally, he has had a lot of ups and downs personally with the tragic passing of his dad; he (also) went through a divorce.
“You find out a lot about people when they go through tough times. He really showed his character. He made the decision to really be a dad and take care of his sons,” Palmer added.
When will ‘Golden Bachelor’ Season 2 come out?
A premiere date for “Golden Bachelor” Season 2 will be “announced at a later date,” ABC says.
What happened on Season 1 of ‘The Golden Bachelor?’
Fellow Midwesterner Gerry Turner was the franchise’s inaugural “Golden Bachelor.”
In his September 2023 season premiere, the (at the time) 72-year-old widower welcomed 22 women, whose ages ranged from 60 to 75, to the “Bachelor” mansion. He ultimately chose to wed Theresa Nist over Leslie Fhima, who will get another chance at reality TV love during a revamped “Bachelor in Paradise” this summer, with the two opting for a grand wedding ceremony that aired on ABC at the beginning of 2024.
However, their love did not last long after the lavish event, with the two announcing their upcoming divorce in April 2024. The legal disentanglement was finalized in June and cited “certain irreconcilable differences” between Turner and Nist.
Then in December, Turner announced he was diagnosed with Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia, a bone marrow cancer.
Joan Vassos, who’d
self-eliminated from Turner’s season for family reasons, led the inaugural “Golden Bachelorette” season at the end of 2024 and ended her journey engaged to Chock Chapple.
