It’s back! After a long summer of Bachelor in Paradise (it was good, but in my opinion doesn’t compare to a single-lead show) The Golden Bachelor has returned for its second season, hosted by Jesse Palmer and starring Mel Owens!
It’s hard to believe this is only the second season of The Golden Bachelor. The Goldens have become such a fixture in the franchise so quickly, it feels as though it has been around for much longer!
The Golden Bachelor season 2's worst moment was the constant age references
The elephant in the room: before the season started, Mel Owens, our former NFL-playing Golden Bachelor, went on a sports podcast. During the interview, he mentioned that he preferred to date women ages 45-60.
Now, this can’t be unusual for men his age (Mel himself is 66). It’s quite common to date younger women. But it definitely falls in the category of “things you should say when you are anchoring a show about dating older women.”
My question is: where was ABC on this? Why was Mel allowed to go on a podcast, pre-season, clearly untrained on how to deal with interview questions? ABC locks up the contestants so much during the season and afterward (NDAs, limited podcast appearances, etc.) why so laissez-faire with this one?
It really just felt like a cloud had been cast over the whole premiere. To their credit, many women tried to make a joke out of it (“Can you believe how good I look for 60?”). It just felt like we couldn’t really get to know Mel himself, with a clean slate, because of the press he had been allowed to do before the season started.
This really made me miss the olden days, pre-podcast, pre-social media when we barely knew anything about the Bachelor until night one, and we got to know him as a fresh face along with the contestants. I can only hope that this will be learned from, and the lead will be muzzled before the season starts!
Peg kills her limo entrance in The Golden Bachelor season 2 premiere
A retired firefighter/bomb tech? Amazing. Let’s hope Peg lasts a long time on this season! Peg killed her limo exit and comes across as very likable and engaging-- except her bomb didn't actually go off. She's explosive enough on her own, though!
I will say, Mel must have been very overwhelmed, because he barely reacted when Peg told him she “diffused bombs for a living.” Maybe he’s just not used to the cameras yet!
All in all, a very fun premiere!
Stay tuned for more coverage on The Golden Bachelor season 2!