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Someone might need to remind the upcoming Golden Bachelor, Mel Owens, that he’s no spring chicken.
The upcoming lead of the second season of the Bachelor franchise spinoff, The Golden Bachelor, made an appearance on the “MGoBlue” podcast, where he discussed his dating preferences — and boy, oh boy, does he need a little media training.
Owens, who is 66, started off by explaining that dating someone younger is an absolute must.
“They ask me, ‘What’s your preference?’ So I just said [ages] 45 to 60, just being honest,” he said. “And then we had lunch with the executive producer. I said, ‘You know, if they’re 60 or over, I’m cutting them.’”
Owens said ABC producers tried to gently explain to him that he can’t eliminate women because of their age. “‘Mel, you can’t. This is not The Silver Bachelor. This isThe Golden Bachelor,’” he recalled a producer telling him. “He goes, ‘But they’re going to be hot. Don’t worry about it.’”
Clearly not quite getting the message, the former football player went on to describe his ideal partner in a way that screamed, “I don’t want an old lady” without actually saying “I don’t want an old lady.” As per the Bachelor franchise policy, Owens did not participate in casting for his season.
“They asked me, ‘What is my profile?’ Well, [the women] got to be fit, because I’m staying in shape and work out and stuff. And I told them, ‘Try to stay away from the artificial hips and the wigs, you know, that kind of stuff, right?’”
(To be fair, it’s fine to want a partner who lives a similar lifestyle as you do, but maybe don’t say it in a way that makes you sound incredibly shallow.)
In what should have been his original — and only — answer, Owens said he’s looking for someone who is a “lifetime learner” and loves to “work out, stay fit, eat, have fun, be energetic, and live life.”
Owens was named the nextGolden Bachelorin April. It is unclear if casting for his season has been completed, but I’m sure after this interview, the applications will come rushing in! Thank god he wasn’t cast on Love Is Blind.
