The Golden Bachelor is officially off to the races, and Bachelor Nation is getting familiar with the new Golden Bachelor, Mel Owens.
In the season premiere, we learn a lot about Mel. Born in Detroit, the former football player spent his college years at the University of Michigan before playing for the Los Angeles Rams. We also get to meet his two sons, Lucas and Andre on the episode.
Mel says 2020 was a tough year for him. Not only did his wife leave him for someone new, his dad also died. But now he’s ready to jump in and get to know the 23 women cast on his season.
After causing quite a stir with Golden Bachelor Nation, Mel did his fair share of apologizing to most of the women he met during the premiere.
A handful of women even took turns addressing Mel’s comments to his face. Diane, a 71-year-old librarian from Alaska who also plays hockey, asked, “What the puck was that interview about on that podcast?”
When Terri, a dental assistant from Houston, exited the limo to meet Mel, she brought a puppet along with her. “Hey Mel, I bet you weren’t expecting all these women over 60 to look so hot,” she joked through the puppet.
While Mel’s podcast comments were highly discussed during the episode, he owned and eventually moved past them.
Mel also had a meaningful solo chat with Gerri. The two grew closer after she read him a letter that her daughter wrote to her before leaving for the Bachelor mansion.
The first one-on-one date of the season went to Cheryl. The couple went on a romantic, candlelit dinner on the Queen Mary.
After saying goodbye to some of the women at the first rose ceremony, Mel took the remaining 17 women on a group date to the LA Coliseum, where he used to play home games for the Los Angeles Rams.
After cheering at the Coliseum, the group cooled off at a pool party back at the Bachelor mansion. But a second rose ceremony quickly followed.
All in all, it seems like we’re in for an exciting second season of The Golden Bachelor. New episodes air on ABC on Wednesday nights and stream on Hulu the following day.
Are you going to follow Mel’s journey to find love?