Bachelor Nation hasn’t seen Mel Owens on TV just yet (unless you were a big fan of the Los Angeles Rams in the 80s), but Jesse Palmer assures Us that he was the right pick for the new senior lead.
“Mel is obviously super handsome. He’s very charming, he’s very intelligent, he’s very successful,” the Bachelor host told Us Weekly exclusively at Hulu’s inaugural Get Real house on Tuesday, April 22. “He had this incredible pro football career and transitioned into becoming a successful warrior. I think while he’s had a lot of success professionally, there have been some hills and valleys in his personal life.”
Jesse introduced Mel, a 66-year-old former NFL linebacker, on Tuesday. He was previously married to his “first love” with whom he shares two sons. (The names of Mel’s ex-wife and sons have not yet been publicly disclosed, nor have the circumstances of his father’s death.)
“The tragic passing of his father, he went through a divorce —I think oftentimes you find out about somebody’s character when they go through tough, difficult times and it shifted all his focus and attention to raising his two boys,” Jesse explained to Us. “He really became this devoted father, he put so much energy into them.”
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Jesse, a former NFL quarterback-turned-Bachelor himself, revealed he spent personal time with Mel and his sons earlier this week.
“I had a chance to visit with him and his kids yesterday, and it’s really a unique and special bond to watch. I think he’s in this unique time now where he can finally focus a little bit more on it himself,” he said. “His kids are getting ready to go off to college, and I think he really wants to find a special person.”
He also gave Us insight into what Mel is hoping to get out of the journey.
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“I don’t think he’s necessarily looking for anything heavily extravagant. When you talk with him, what he misses most about being married and being in a relationship, it’s just having and enjoying those simple everyday moments,” Jesse said. “He’s just looking for companionship. It’s just really pure and just listening to him talk about it is really moving. So I think he’s going to be a great lead. I think he’s a great choice to be our next Golden Bachelor.”
Before The Golden Bachelor begins production and airs later this year, season 10 of Bachelor in Paradise will tape and air this summer. Jesse revealed on Tuesday that the show will film in Costa Rica for the first time, with Golden Bachelor runner-up Leslie Fhima, Golden Bachelorette alum Gary Levingston, Bachelorette season 21 contestants Jonathan Johnson and Hakeem Moulton and Bachelor season 29 second runner-up Zoe McGrady as the first five contestants confirmed.
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“Because I get to know the cast year in and year out, and then see everybody on the beach, I want everyone to have a good experience doing this,” Jesse told Us. “I hope they find love, but sometimes it’s more than that. It’s about the experience and the people and what they take away from this.”
