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‘The Golden Bachelor’ Season 2 Lead, Mel Owens, Under Fire with Fans Demanding a Recast, After Remarks Made on Only Wanting to Date Younger, Fit, Women

By Michael Fairman

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Photo: ABC

The “Bachelor Nation” franchise cannot seem to get a break with its casting choices, when nine times out of ten in the last several years, some type of controversy surrounds the series lead, or the contestants. You can now add the season 2 lead of the upcoming ‘Golden Bachelor’ to the list.

Over the last week, Mel Owens has been skewed for his controversial remarks said during a podcast for speaking to the producers of the type and age of the women she wants cast in his season.

Owens is a 66-year-old former NFL football player for the Los Angeles Rams, and earlier this month while being a guest on In the Trenches With Jon Jansen, he recalled conversations he had with the producers of the reality-dating competition series.

Photo: NFL

Mel said, “The (Producers) asked me, ‘What’s your preferences?’ So I just said, ’45 to 60,’ just being honest.” The process ended and I was selected, and then I had lunch with the executive producer. 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. But they’re gonna be hot, don’t worry about it.'”

Things got even worse when the divorced father of two, shared he wants the women’s bodies to be in tip-top shape, inside and out. Owens revealed that he gave The Golden Bachelor producers another note: “(They) 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,’ that kind of stuff.” (Pictured below, the women from Gerry Turner’s season of The Golden Bachelor.)

Photo: ABC

Fan reaction was swift and immediate, asking in recent weeks for Owens to be dumped and replaced immediately for his comments on a dating show that has featured women in the their 60’s and early 70’s previously.

In the ABC/Golden Bachelor Instagram thread below, you can see a litany of remarks from viewers, including: “He has alienated the core audience for the show, which will result in low ratings for the show and lost advertising dollars. Please replace Mel with somebody from Joan’s season. The men are already fully vetted so that person can step right in. Popular and handsome Jonathan would be a great Golden Bachelor!”

One woman who was vying for a spot on the series, added, “I was a potential candidate for season 2. I learned last week I was not picked for the final selection, now I know the real reason. I’m hot in shape I don’t wear wigs or extensions nor do I have an artificial hip. I’m 64 wow Mel should not be the lead. We are Golden! @goldenbachabc executive producers. I know you can do better!!”

Another fan of the series added, “RECAST @goldenbachabc. We don’t need a 66 yo man to demand women in their 40s on a show meant for Golden men AND women to find love. This is disgraceful and scrap his entire season. I’d rather wait for a respectable Golden Bachelor than watch :30 seconds of this season (which I’ll be passing)” To another comment, “@abc You really screwed up. No one is going to watch this. You virtually lost everyone over 60, your demographic for this show. Just what we need. More misogyny by an older white man towards beautiful older women. Huge marketing fail.”

Photo: JPI

Even Selling Sunset and former soap star, Chrishell Stause (ex-AMC, DAYS, Y&R, Neighbours) offered up her opinion in her Instagram story over the weekend, when she stated, “We love the Golden Bachelor because of how wholesome it is. This type of energy will ruin it.”

The comments are endless demanding that ABC do the right thing and remove Mel Owens as their ‘Golden Bachelor’ or ‘scrap the season.’  You can listen to the podcast episode featuring Owens arrogant and unseemly comments below.

Now, do you want Mel removed as the series lead for The Golden Bachelor? What do you think of his remarks of the types of women he wants to be a part of the cast; when the show is all about finding a second chance at love in the latter years of your life?  Share your thoughts in the comment section.

 

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I don’t watch but he sounds like a creep who greatly overrates his own appeal.

Right with you Harry, I do not watch or like these shows.

I refuse to watch. What an egotistical jerk. ABC is making a gigantic mistake having this moron as the Golden Batchelor.

I agree Harry!

I watched the first season and the Golden Bachelorette. Won’t be watching this. Even young people have had hip replacements. And he already sounds like a jerk.

Do better ABC. Dump this arrogant man. I will not watch him and feel horrible for the women. He’s just looking for air time, not love. Mid-life crisis maybe.

Yep. Watched The Golden Bachelor and The Golden Bachelorette. I won’t be watching this guy.

OK…you know what: To me, that CLOWN Mel Owens sounds like an arrogant air sickness bag!!!!! Oh…and I am in complete agreement with what Deb has already pointed out: I (also) feel horrible for the women. ABC needs to cut that pompous moron loose…NOW!!!!!!!!!!

Mel is arrogant, typical mid life crisis male! Replace him! He wants a trophy wife not a real everlasting wife. Only reason a 40 something would want him is for fame and money! Not watching!

General Hospital

‘General Hospital’s’ Dominic Zamprogna Shares He Was ‘Happy to Hear’ of The Triangle Storyline Developing Between Dante/Elizabeth/Ric

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Dominic Zamprogna

General Hospital’s Dominic Zamprogna (Dante Falconeri) opened up about the burgeoning love triangle forming between his Port Charles alter-go, Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) and Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst) after recently aired scenes, plus his hopes for the future of a Dante and Liz pairing, during his appearance on the Sunday, April 23 edition of the That’s Awesome podcast with Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli).

On last week’s episodes of GH, Ric has made the decision that he wanted to propose to his ex-wife, only when he showed up at Elizabeth’s front door, he misread the scenario he walked in with Liz tending to Dante’s injured leg from the softball game. From there, the legal eagle’s jealous streak is reemerging which may cause him to act out and do something unforgivable, or will he take the high road? Stay tuned.

Speaking with Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson about where Elizabeth stands in the annals of the long-running soap, Zamprogna said, “She’s up there with Steve and Maurice (Maurice Benard) as one of the most legacy-filled people on the show.”

Courtesy/ABC

HOW DANTE AND ELIZABETH CAME ABOUT

Dominic jokes it’s a far cry for where Dante and Elizabeth previously, recalling, “We had some scenes together years ago and we were both laughing. Becky’s like, ‘Well, I guess we’re not going be paired up anytime soon.’ I remember we laughed immediately after they yelled ‘cut,”‘and said to each other, ‘Well, so much for that!'”

Fast-forward to early 2025 and as Zamprogna remembered it, “Elizabeth Korte (co-head writer, GH) came up to me at the General Hospital Christmas party, and I think it was a year and a half ago and she said, ‘We’re going to have you in scenes with Elizabeth,’ My internal monologue is going, ‘I’m not with Lulu (Alexa Havins) anymore and Sam’s (Kelly Monaco) gone, so maybe they want to see if this works.’ I didn’t want to get scenes with Becky and try to find the chemistry. I just wanted to play whatever honestly was written and came across for both of us and hope it was what people liked, and I don’t know if it is … or not.”

Knowing how beloved Elizabeth is to the GH faithfuls, Zamprogna added, “She got a big fan base with Ric … and a big fan base with with Jason … and you know, you’re going to piss somebody off. But, didn’t Ric drug Elizabeth and put Carly in a panic room?”

Dom and Liz

Photo: ABC

DANTE AND ELIZABETH PAIRING COULD STIR UP STORY FOR OTHERS IN PORT CHARLES

In closing, Dominic felt that the wide-reaching tentacles of a Dante and Elizabeth relationship is something he is 100% down for. “The triangle thing; I was happy to hear it was with Ric and her, because I felt it’s important to have her the top of it as opposed to Dante, Lulu and Elizabeth.”

Zamprogna added, “When you get into relationships on a soap, things seem to fizzle out a little bit, The buildup is what’s the fun part, and the getting to know each other, and the people who are affected by this coming together. When with this case it’s going to affect: Ric, Sonny, Lulu. There’s so much more story here. To me, it’s going to be a fun story to play.”

You can check out Dominic’s visit to That’s Awesome with Steve and Bradford below.

Now weigh-in: Are you rooting for Dante and Liz, or Dante and Ric at this juncture of the story, or neither guy  for Elizabeth? Let us know your thoughts and picks via the comment section.

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Beyond the Gates

‘Beyond the Gates’ Star Mike Manning Lands Role in Indie Horror Feature ‘Deify’

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Mike Manning

While Smitty tries to hold the fort down in his marriage to congressman Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon)  and their two teenaged children, Samantha (Najah Jackson) and Tyrell (Jaden Lucas Miller) on Beyond the Gates, Emmy-winner Mike Manning has also landed another feature film role.

According to Deadline, Manning has joined the cast of Deify with 6 other new cast members for the indie psychological horror film starring Neal McDonough and Skeet Ulrich, which was previously announced last week.

Joining Manning as the latest cast addition are: Dennis Haysbert, Ashley Greene,  Casey Harnett, Kirk Avecdo, Anji White, anf Nicholas Chimera who’s directing the pic also has a part in the film.

WHAT’S THE STORY OF DEIFY?

Taking to his Instagram with the news of his casting, Manning shared, “A movie about a cult? What could possibly go wrong? Come for the enlightenment. Stay because they won’t let you leave. DEIFY is coming…”

The movie is currently shooting in Chicago and in story, “a cult leader is put on trial after causing his devoted followers to be burned alive. The film is inspired in part by events surrounding the 1993 Waco, Texas, standoff between members of the Branch Davidians church and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, one of the largest civilian firefights ever recorded on American soil.”

MIKE MANNING IS A DAYTIME EMMY NOMINEE

In addition, the multi-talented Manning is a producer on the feature. Previously, Mike was nominated last month in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the upcoming 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards. He previously won an Emmy for his role on The Bay and for being a producer on the digital drama.

Mike’s previous credits include the role of Charlie Dale on Days of Our Lives and the Manny on This Is Us, plus various primetime and screen credits.

So intrigued to find what role Mike will play in the upcoming horror/cult film, Deify? Enjoying him as Smitty on Beyond the Gates? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

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General Hospital

GH and OLTL Alum Patrick J. Gibbons Reveals the Story Behind Writing Trina’s Song on ‘General Hospital’ (Exclusive)

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Patrick J. Gibbons

At the conclusion of today’s August 21 episode of General Hospital, Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali) sings a lullaby to baby Dez, that went into a montage to close out the episode as her father Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner) reports to Pentonville and winds up in his jail cell.

However, in a fun fact, the song entitled, “A Lonely Heart To Give” was actually written by none other than former One Life to Live and General Hospital actor, Patrick J. Gibbons.

Daytime fans first met Gibbons as Sam Manning on One Life to Live. At the time, when he started on the soap, he was just 5-years-old. Gibbons played the part from 2010-2013 on ABC and Prospect Park’s editions of the show. Fast-forward to 2018, Gibbons shows up on General Hospital as Wyatt Hoover, the scout who seemed always be injured, but in the thick of the drama. Patrick had appeared on GH multiple times as Wyatt including: 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023.

Photo: ABC

FROM HIS GRANDMOTHER’S DEATH CAME THE INSPIRATION FOR HIS SONG

Now in 2026, General Hospital fans are getting to learn about another side of Gibbons’ talent as a songwriter and guitar player after “A Lonely Heart to Give” debuted today! Michael Fairman TV caught up with Patrick, who is now a senior at Penn State entering his final year as a finance major, to get the back-story of how his song wound up on GH!

Gibbons explained he wrote the song in honor of his grandmother who passed away a few years ago with whom he was, very, very close with. “Randomly, my grandmother had a downfall and passed away during the second semester of my sophomore year. I was in my dorm a lot and I was just playing with my guitar. And at the time, I was really into finger-style playing. I wrote the lyric and music to it (with a little help from my guitar teacher Lou), and my mom showed the rough demo to Frank Valentini (EP, General Hospital). He’s like an uncle to me. Frank loved it so much he said, “Finish that up. I want to hear the whole thing, and I want it on the show.”

MAKING MUSIC FOR GENERAL HOSPITAL

Gibbons and his parents took the next steps! “So now, all we needed was a female voice, because I thought that would fit the song well,” Patrick shared. “At the golf club we go to my parents were at a dinner. They liked the singer that was performing and spoke to her about the song, and she says she would like to bring it to her ‘boss’ who ended up being Eric Bazilian of the Hooters fame!” (Bazilian also wrote the smash hit song “One of Us” for Joan Osborne).

Next, “We went in the studio and recorded it and the song came together and it was beautiful. We loved it. They loved it at General Hospital and now they’re putting it the show and they are coming in with a piano, instead of a guitar. Paul Glass, the GH musical director, has been keeping us updated over the last six months of how it was coming along, and when it would air, and how GH put their own arrangement to it. I can’t wait to see and hear what they did with it.”

Photo: JPI

PATRICK’S ONE LIFE TO LIVE FAMILY

Everyone knows that the One Life to Live extended family share a very tight bond, and Patrick said he does stay in touch with a few of his former One Life to Live co-stars, especially those from the Manning family! “I stayed in touch with Kassie DePaiva (ex-Blair) and sent her little videos here and there. She was like my second mom for five years. We keep in contact with Kristen Alderson (ex-Starr) over X the most, and she can’t believe how big I’ve gotten. Like, none of them can! (laughs). I also loved working with Roger Howarth (ex-Todd) and Trevor St. John (ex-Todd and Victor Jr.), and to me since I was so young, they were just my friends, ‘Roger and Trevor,’ not Todd Manning or Victor Jr.”

It was a trip to California and a visit to Port Charles that ultimately led to Gibbons second soap role of Wyatt Hoover. Patrick explains, “In 2016, Frank Valentini invited us out to Los Angeles to visit the set of General Hospital. I think he heard me say, ‘This is so much fun. I miss being on the set.’ He goes, ‘You should come out. I’ll bring you on the show. We can make you a character.'”

A few years later, Patrick’s dream became a reality! “Then, by the summer of 2018, I was playing Wyatt, the scout, and shared scenes with Wes Ramsey (Peter August), and the best was when I shared a scene with Roger Howarth and Michael Easton (ex-John, OLTL and ex-Silas, Finn et al, GH), it was like chemistry from the old days.”

Photo: PGibbons

IT’S ALL IN THE NUMBERS

As to his future aspirations, it’s a career in the finance game that has piqued Gibbons’ real-life interest. But never say never to a return to acting. Patrick explained, “I’ve always enjoyed numbers. And on top of that, one of the biggest parts of finance is being personable and outgoing.”

He continued, “That’s one of the greatest skills I developed growing up. I really love the markets. I’m super interested. I’m never going to close the door to acting. I’m always open to that because I just love it so much. It’s such a great art.”

Take note! If there are any investment bankers or private equity folks among the GH faithful looking for a young analyst next year, Patrick’s DMs are open. You can find him on X at @PatrickJGibbons.

So, what did you think of the song sung by Trina on today’s GH that was written by Patrick J. Gibbons? Did you enjoy Patrick’s performances as One Life’s Sam and GH’s Wyatt? Would you like to see him back on GH at some point? Let us know via the comment section.

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Jonathan Bennett joins the cast of GH as Joe Fitzpatrick. Catch the latest promo! Leave a comment.Leave A Comment

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