The Golden Bachelor announced its second season, and former NFL player, Mel Owens, is the next leading man, who will find his love at the age of 66. The first season was widely successful, and now, it has been picked up by ABC. The series will officially begin on September 24, 2025, and Mel will try to find his lady love. However, not many know about his first marriage, the reason for the divorce or his controversial remark on dating again.
Mel Owens was earlier married to 18 years younger Fabiana Pimentel
Before stealing the spotlight at the age of 66 with his stint to find love on the reality TV show, The Golden Bachelor, Mel Owens was married to Fabiana Pimentel Owens. Fabiana is 19 years younger than the former NFL player. She works as a marketing director for Preferred Hotels & Resorts, according to her LinkedIn profile. Mel and Fabiana got married in 2002 and lived in California. During their marriage, she worked part-time at his law firm from 2007 to 2016. They also have two sons, Lucas, who is 20 years old, and Andre, who is 18.
Mel Owens and Fabiana Pimentel’s divorce reason and the five-year-long court battle
After two decades of togetherness, it was Fabiana who filed for divorce in February 2020. According to the court documents obtained by US Weekly, Fabiana stated that she was divorcing Mel due to irreconcilable differences in their marriage. However, their divorce wasn’t filed until December 2024. They fought a five-year-long legal battle.
According to reports, the court told Owens to pay nearly USD 1 million to his ex-wife, Fabiana, to cover unpaid child and spousal support, property division and attorney’s fees. On the other hand, Owens claimed that he only earned USD 1,000 per month. Not only this, he even retained assets over USD 2.75 million, including their Orange County home, which was valued at more than USD 2 million.
Mel Owens made a controversial statement after his casting on the Golden Bachelor
After Mel Owens’ casting as part of the Golden Bachelor was announced, he made some shocking remarks. During an appearance on Jon Jansen’s podcast, Mel stated that he does not want to date women over 60, despite being 66 years old himself. He stated that his preference for dating was 45 to 60. He said:
“[Producers] asked me, ‘What’s your preferences?’ So I just said, ’45 to 60,’ just being honest, I said, ‘If they’re 60 or over, I’m cutting them.’ [They said], ‘Oh no, you can’t. This is not The Silver Bachelor, it’s The Golden Bachelor.’ He goes, ‘But they’re gonna be hot, don’t worry about it.'”
Mel didn’t stop there, he went on to say that he also asked for women who were in the top of their physical shape. He told producers that the ladies should work out and stuff, he doesn’t want to be with someone with artificial hips and the wigs. He said:
“Gotta be fit, because I stay in shape, I work out and stuff. And I told [producers], ‘Try and stay away from the artificial hips and the wigs.'”
His statement soon received a lot of backlash, and reports were rife that ABC was reconsidering him, but in the end, they stood by their pick. After a friend reached out to Mel and told him the consequences of his statement, he publicly apologised. Mel stated that he had no idea about the dating range. He went on to say that it’s been 26-27 years since he last dated. He even walked back his comments about avoiding contestants with artificial hips and wigs. Mel stated that he had no issues with it as he represents athletes with injuries and most of them have a lot of artificial.
Mel Owens’ ex-wife, Fabiana Pimentel, reaction to his quest to find love on a reality TV show and his debut
Recently, in an interview with the Daily Mail, Mel Owens’ former wife, Fabiana Pimentel, was questioned about her reaction to the ex-NFL player’s TV debut and his quest to find love. She kept her response brief but biting. She wished him luck and stated that it was going to be bad. She was quoted as saying:
“Good luck. I mean, it’s going to be bad. But anyway, I don’t want to be involved in this.”
More about Mel Owens
Mel is a 66-year-old retired NFL player. After his retirement, he turned into a sports lawyer and lives in California. He is the son of Walter Owens, who played for the Detroit Stars of Negro American League. Mel played football at the University of Michigan before joining the Los Angeles Rams as a linebacker. He played from 1981 to 1989, but his career ended, and he had to leave football due to his herniated disk. After retiring from football, he took law as his profession and co-founded a firm specialising in injuries, disability benefits and workers’ compensation.
What do you think about Mel Owens’ previous marriage and his snarky remarks on women?
Next Read: ‘Alice in Borderland Season 2’ Recap And Major Twists Amid Release Of Season 3 Of Japanese Thriller