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Ahead of his season, Owens opened up to \"Good Morning America\" about potentially finding love again.

\"When I found out that I could be the Golden Bachelor, I asked my friends, 'What do you think?' And everybody said, 'Yes.' And so I dove in,\" Owens said on Sept. 24.

Even though Owens said he felt a little scared, he added, \"I said, 'OK, let's do it.' It's like, I could find love.\"

How many women were originally competing for Mel Owens' heart?

\"The Golden Bachelor\" season 2 began with 23 women competing for Owens' heart.

Ranging in age from 58 to 77, the contestants included a longevity nurse, a librarian, a retired biomedical engineer, a retired elementary school teacher, a flight attendant, a full-time mom and more.

\"PHOTO:
Ricky Middlesworth/Disney
PHOTO: TOP: SUSIE, DEBBIE, MONICA B., ROXEANNE, TERRI, GERRI, ROBIN, DIANE, TRACY, MAIA, CHERYL
BOTTOM: NICOLE, PEG, CINDY, LILY, LISA, ALEXANDRA, ANDRA, CARLA, CAROL, MYLENE, MONICA P., AMY
>

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Owens said the group of women exceeded his expectations \"by far.\"

\"They were accomplished, energetic, fun, just full of life, and had a lot of attitude and personality,\" he said. \"They were great. I'm a guy who has a lot of energy, and I'm looking for energy all the time in someone and who can keep up and has a zest for life.\"

Ahead of the season 2 premiere of \"The Golden Bachelor,\" Owens told \"GMA\" he had \"fun\" connecting with potential partners.

\"You try to get the connection early on, in the energy and the frequency of who the person is, so it's quick and it's compressed,\" Owens said at the time. \"So you have to make decisions in real time.\"

\"It's going to be incredible,\" he added. \"There's a lot of twists and turns. And the women are great.\"

The Walt Disney Co. is the parent company of ABC, ABC News and \"Good Morning America.\"

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