In addition, Mel stated that he'd cut any women over age 60, and that he didn't want to date anyone with artificial hips or wigs. On July 2, Reality Steve broke the news about rumors that Mel will likely be fired from The Golden Bachelor season 2.
The Golden Bachelor season 1 star Gerry Turner responded to season 2 lead Mel Owens' ageist comments amid rumors that Mel's about to be fired from the show.
In an interview with TMZ, Gerry responded to Mel's comments and said that he should be more open-minded about age when it came to his Golden Bachelor women. Gerry, who turned 72 at the beginning of his season, revealed that he originally asked for his contestants to be 65 years old and up.
However, the producers told Gerry to be open to younger women, and they cast contestants who were 60-65 too. He shared that he now realizes that having an age cutoff would've been a huge mistake because he would've missed out on some of the relationships he made, both romantic and platonic, if he'd only accepted women over 65.
Gerry also criticized Mel for his comments about not wanting to meet women with artificial hips and wigs. He said that those things shouldn't matter, adding that he plays pickleball with someone who has an artificial hip, and they beat him on the court.
Mel Should Be More Open-Minded
It's interesting to hear that Gerry felt the opposite of Mel, and wanted a lower-age limit for his women, rather than an upper one. However, he's right that if he had stuck to his original plan, then he wouldn't have met some of the amazing women with whom he fell in love, including runner-up Leslie Fhima, who was 64 years old at the time, and 61-year-old Faith Martin, who placed third.
Gerry's response to Mel's ageist comments means that he believes that he should be more open-minded when it comes to age. Gerry is the only other person who's ever been The Golden Bachelor lead, so he knows better than anyone that age is just a number. Mel's ageist remarks are a strong sign that he was the wrong choice to be the lead of the show.
Our Take On Gerry's Criticism Of Mel
Mel Should Definitely Be Recast
I hope the rumors are true and that Mel will be recast. Although Gerry's Golden Bachelor journey ultimately culminated with his divorce from Theresa Nist, it was a beautiful journey that broke new ground in the reality dating world. This was because Gerry was truly committed to dating women in their golden years. Mel isn't, and so he shouldn't be the star of The Golden Bachelor season 2.
