'Golden Bachelor': Mel Owens confronts past ageist comments in season 2 premiere
Warning: This article contains spoilers for season 2 of "The Golden Bachelor."
Mel Owens regrets the ageist comments he made on a podcast over the summer.
The 66-year-old star of "The Golden Bachelor" apologized on the show's premiere episode Wednesday night for comments he made in June about his preferred age range for the female contestants on his season.
At the time, Owens said he would be "cutting them" if they were over 60.
The comments, which Owens said on the "In the Trenches" podcast, were met with criticism by many.
"I messed up," Owens said on Wednesday night's episode. "I was wrong. I replay it in my head a lot. I have regrets and I'm sorry for all the things I said in the podcast."
He continued, "I know what a lot of people are thinking about me, but that's not who I am."
What did Owens say on the podcast?
During the interview in June, the retired NFL player recalled a conversation he had with producers ahead of his season, in which he was asked about his preferences in a partner.
Owens replied that he preferred someone who was "45-60 (years old)." In a later conversation with an executive producer on the show, Owens said he told them, "You know, if they're 60 and over, I'm cutting them."
He added that during his conversation with the producer, he told them that the women on his show "need to be fit, because I'm staying in shape and working out and stuff."
"And I told them, you know, try to stay away from the artificial hips and wigs, you know that kind of stuff, right," he added.
How did the women react to his comments?
On the show's premiere episode, a handful of the women who stepped out of the limo to meet Owens for the first time questioned him right away about the comments he made.
Diane, 71, a librarian and hockey player from Wasilla, AK, asked him, "What the puck was that interview on that podcast?"
Owens apologized to her and asked for a second chance. She replied and said, "Stick with me, I'll keep you out of the penalty box."
Carla, 62, a former model from Los Angeles, said that she's "here to break all of your stereotypes about women over 60."
Alexandra, 67, a yacht saleswoman from Miami, added, "We (are) showing the world that people over 60 can continue being fun and funny and have fire inside."
Why Owens said age doesn't matter
Before Owens admitted to being nervous about meeting the women. A clip also shows him saying, "Age doesn't matter."
"When they walk out, I'm not thinking (about their) age. I'm looking and feeling for connection. It's the chemistry," he added, saying that he hopes the women don't judge him based on what they heard.
After meeting all the women, Owens addressed them as a group in the mansion and asked if they all "could forgive me" and "let me earn it back."
Many of the women were impressed by his apology, including Cindy, 60, a retired biomedical engineer from Austin, Texas, who said, "I loved the way Mel addressed the podcast. He not only owned it, he owned it upfront."
In the end, age indeed didn't matter.
Owens gave the first impression rose to Gerri, 64, from Rockville, Maryland.
Owens said he was touched by the story she shared about her family and a letter she shared with him from her daughter.
Season 2 of "The Golden Bachelor" airs Wednesdays on ABC at 8 p.m. ET/PT and is available to stream the next day on Hulu.
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