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what did golden bachelor say on podcast

The Golden Bachelor at the center of the recent podcast drama is Season 2 lead Mel Owens, and the issue came from comments he made about age and women’s appearances that many fans saw as ageist and mean-spirited.

What he reportedly said on the podcast

On a University of Michigan–related podcast (often referred to in forums as the “MGoBlue” podcast), Mel Owens talked about his preferences for contestants before filming began.

According to recaps and commentary:

  • He said his preferred age range for women on the show was roughly 45–60.
  • He added that if women were 60 or over, he’d “cut” them, using it as a football term for eliminating them.
  • He also joked that he wanted producers to “stay away from the artificial hips and the wigs,” which many listeners saw as mocking older women’s bodies and medical realities.

Those lines — especially the “if they’re 60 or over, I’m cutting them” and “artificial hips and wigs” remarks — are what Bachelor Nation has been quoting, debating, and criticizing.

In fan forums, people describe it as him sounding “clueless” and out of touch with the whole point of a show that’s meant to celebrate older love, not mock aging.

Why it caused backlash

The controversy blew up because:

  • The franchise bills itself as respectful of older daters, so ageist-sounding jokes land especially badly.
  • Some fans felt he was treating women over 60 as disposable while being in that same age bracket himself.
  • Others argued it exposed how producers and leads sometimes talk about contestants off camera.

On Reddit, several users say these podcast comments were “well known before articles were written” and that the outrage was driven by those exact quotes.

His apology on the show

When his season actually premiered, coverage says Mel addressed the podcast remarks head-on in the opening of the show.

Commentary recapping the episode quotes his on-air apology roughly along these lines:

  • He told the women that he “messed up” and that he was “wrong.”
  • He said he replays what he said in his head and has “regrets” about the comments.
  • He apologized “for all the things I said on the podcast,” acknowledging that he understood the hurt they caused.

Some of the women reportedly confronted him or roasted him about those exact lines, which became a big early storyline for the season.

How people are reacting now

Reactions are mixed:

  • Some viewers feel his apology was sincere and appreciate that he faced the issue directly on camera, seeing it as a chance to talk about accountability and aging with more nuance.
  • Others think the apology didn’t fully fix what he revealed about his attitudes, and they remain turned off by the original comments.

If you’re following the “what did Golden Bachelor say on podcast” and “latest news” angle, the core is:

  • He jokingly said he’d “cut” women 60+ and asked for “no artificial hips and wigs.”
  • The remarks sparked big backlash and talk that he nearly lost the role.
  • He later apologized on the premiere, saying he was wrong and regrets what he said.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.