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The Golden Bachelor season 1 star Gerry Turner was initially framed as a sweet widower looking for his second chance at love, but after only a few months, he and winner Theresa Nist announced their divorce after things from Gerry's past were revealed.

Based on that track record, one would assume that producers would be extra careful with casting for season 2, but with Mel as the lead, they're proving that's not a priority.

Mel Owens Is A Controversial Choice

Mel's Made Some Unsavory Comments Ahead Of Season 2

As ratings slipped for traditional The Bachelor franchise shows, producers scrambled to come up with a fresh take on the venerable reality dating concept. Enter 

The Golden Bachelor, and later, The Golden Bachelorette, which followed the same concept as the traditional Bachelor dating show with a twist: the contestants were all older than their normal counterparts

.

Despite issues, The Golden Bachelor season 1 and The Golden Bachelorette season 1 were both hits, so when ABC announced that Mel would be taking the reins for The Golden Bachelor

 season 2, expectations were high. Sadly, Mel dashed those expectations when he sat down for a podcast, In The Trenches, and shared some of his rather shady views on the women who will compete on his season.

Mel said he prefers women who are younger than him, "45 to 60," to be exact. At 66 years old himself, Mel's comments are coming across as hypocritical

 and ageist.

"If they’re 60 or over, I’m cutting them," Mel said on the podcast, leading to an outpouring of criticism from fans.

Golden Bachelor Producers Were Probably Aware Of His Controversial Takes

Mel Has Traditionally Dated Younger

If The Golden Bachelor producers had done their homework, they'd know that Mel's comments weren't completely out of left field. Mel was previously married to a woman named Fabiana Pimentel, who was "

his first love," according to Mel's official ABC bio. Mel and Fabiana had two children and were married for nearly 20 years before divorcing in 2020.

Cheat Sheet

 reported that Fabiana is actually around 19 years younger than Mel. When they married, Fabiana was in her early twenties, while Mel was in his forties.

Not to cast judgment on an age-gap relationship, as both Mel and Fabiana were adults when they married.

Still, Mel's choice of a younger woman as his wife is indicative of his preferences in relationships.

Production Is Clearly Okay With Mel Owens' Bad Publicity

Is All Publicity Good Publicity?

Despite the negative publicity stemming from Mel's podcast interview, the producers haven't made any official casting changes ahead of The Golden Bachelor season 2 premiere. Some online bloggers have claimed 

Mel will be recast, but so far, there's been no official word.

The Golden Bachelor producers might be of the mindset that any publicity is good publicity to build up anticipation for the show's premiere. If so, 

they will have to deal with the fallout when Mel's season actually starts. Perhaps some media training for Mel might be in order, as his off-the-cuff comments left a bad taste in fans' mouths.