Jesse Palmer spent the early part of the summer hosting Bachelor In Paradise in Costa Rica. He returned to Los Angeles, California, for Season 2 of The Golden Bachelor. The new season features former NFL player Mel Owens in his quest to find love again after divorce.
The problem is that viewers already hate Mel Owens after he made some offensive comments about dating women of a certain age. Jesse Palmer can relate to Mel Owens in several ways. He revealed the advice he gave the embattled Golden Bachelor lead.
Jesse Palmer Relates To Mel Owens On Multiple Fronts
Jesse Palmer has a lot in common with Mel Owens. While he’s now the host of a reality show, Jesse Palmer was once a professional football player. He spent five seasons with the New York Giants. Mel Owens was part of the Los Angeles Rams for nine seasons.
Both former NFL players found success in other careers after leaving football. Jesse Palmer has made a name for himself in broadcasting. He replaced Chris Harrison as the host of various Bachelor Nation shows in 2021.
Meanwhile, Mel Owens pursued a law degree after leaving the Rams and has been a successful lawyer for decades.
Jesse Palmer has another unique connection with Mel Owens. Jesse was the Season 5 Bachelor lead. His relationship with his final rose winner didn’t pan out, but hopefully Mel Owens has more luck.
Jesse Palmer told Us Weekly that he and Mel are “sort of cut from the same cloth a little bit more in terms of our backgrounds and what we thought we knew coming into this role.”
“I’m a big fan of Mel. I have his football cards from the mid ‘80s, when I was 7 years old,” the Bachelor host added.
However, Jesse Palmer has never been the most hated man in America like Mel Owens.
Jesse Palmer’s Advice For Hated Golden Bachelor Star
The initial excitement fans had about Mel Owens as The Golden Bachelor died quickly. During his first public comments after the announcement, the former football player said some pretty harsh things.
He said that he preferred to date women between the ages of 45 and 60. The former NFL player said he would “cut” any contestant on the show that didn’t fit that age range. His comments were met with immediate backlash. The premise of the Golden spinoff was for senior citizens in their 50s, 60s, or 70s to find love later in life.
It also came out around this time that Mel Owens had to pay a lot of money to his ex-wife after their divorce. Jesse Palmer’s advice to Mel was, “You got to be authentic and just be yourself.”
He later apologized for his comments. A preview from the first episode reveals that Jesse Palmer took Mel Owens to task immediately for the ageist comments.
@goldenbachabc Did you think they wouldn’t speak their minds? Trust us, you definitely want to watch the premiere tomorrow.
Mel seems remorseful, but is it too little, too late? The Golden Bachelor premieres tonight, Wednesday, September 24, at 9 PM Eastern on ABC. It streams on Hulu tomorrow.
Jennifer Havener grew up in a small town in Upstate New York. She earned her B.A in Writing & Literature from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She always knew watching reality TV shows and soap operas, particularly ‘Days of Our Lives’, would come in handy someday. When she’s not writing, she’s playing with her dogs, Lola and Ruger
