“I Thought It Was a Joke — They Took It Personally”: Golden Bachelor’s Mel Owens Says Women Came for His Neck After Age Comment Left the Room Cold

Mel Owens took it on the chin when his Golden Bachelor contestants decided to roast him over his now-controversial comments about age preferences in dating.

“One of the dates was a roast. It was brutal,” Mel, 66, told Glamour in an interview published on Friday, August 1. “They were killing me.”

The ABC star even revealed a few of the standout jokes.

“I can’t remember all of them, but one said, ‘Oh, when Mel was walking with me, he was using me as a cane,’” he recalled. “And I’m from Detroit, right? [Another woman] said, ‘Like a Detroit pizza, he’s doughy, squishy, square and crusty.’ It was good because I earned that.”

He continued, “I took it and I deserved it, and it landed squarely on me. They were throwing haymakers. It was good.”

Shortly before Mel’s season of Golden Bachelor began filming in July, he made waves by stating his intentions to cut any woman who was either over the age of 60 or had an artificial joint.

“My friend called me from Michigan. She’s 65, and I went to school with her, and she’s an attorney and a hotshot for the Big 10 in administration. I didn’t know she’s also a big fan of The Bachelor,” he told Glamour. “She said to me, ‘Mel, no. What are you doing?’ She goes, ‘I’m reading all about it.’ I didn’t know that it hit that hard. She goes, ‘You’ve got to right the wrong.’ So, I listened to her. She said, ‘What you said was insensitive, and it’s just not who you are.’”

According to Mel, he “didn’t know” the senior version of the dating show had an age range when he was cast. (ABC confirmed in April that Mel, a former NFL athlete turned attorney, would succeed Gerry Turner as the franchise lead despite no previous reality TV experience.)

“I didn’t know the age range because I wasn’t watching it. I’m thinking, to me, the age range was 45 to 60. That’s my age range,” he said. “I’m thinking that’s the gold years for me. My reference, again, was when I was dating at 39, 40. I hadn’t dated in 26 years, so I had no clue. My reference of dating was [at] 39, 40 years old.”

Mel was last in a relationship with ex-wife Fabiana, who is 19 years younger than him, and they share two sons. He is now hopeful that he will find The One in the Bachelor Mansion.

“[I was surprised] how active they are,” Mel told Glamour of his contestants. “They’re brilliant. It’s shocking how brilliant they are. There’s some wonderful women. They’re amazing. There are five [right now] that I really connect with, and I got to find out that they’re connecting with me. That’s the important part.”

He continued, “My partner could be there. Last night was a rose ceremony, and you have to make some tough decisions. You don’t want to see them go because you know their stories. It hurts.”

The Golden Bachelor premieres on ABC Wednesday, September 24, at 8 p.m. ET.