New Golden Bachelor Mel Owens is addressing his remarks about only looking to date women between the ages of 45 and 60 on the dating show for the first time. After Mel, 66, said on a June episode of the "MGoBlue" podcast that he planned to cut any potential contestants who are either older than 60 or had an artificial hip, his comments sparked backlash and even reached one of his close friends. "My friend called me from Michigan. She's 65, and I went to school with her, and she's an attorney and a hotshot for the Big 10 in administration.