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Kelly Ripa made sure to ask Mel Owens the important questions during his visit to Live with Kelly and Mark on Wednesday.
Owens, the new lead on the Golden Bachelor season, faced criticism after remarks on a podcast where he mentioned plans to let go of women over 60 from the ABC dating show. In a chat with Glamour, he addressed these “unfair” and “insensitive” remarks, stating he “apologized” to the contestants involved.
Ripa took the opportunity during their conversation to bring up what is likely still on [Golden] Bachelor Nation’s mind.
“I wouldn’t call it controversial, but regarding the statement you made—and I personally don’t find it controversial—you said you preferred not to date anyone over 60,” she reminded Owens.
Owens replied, “Well, I didn’t say I didn’t want to…”
Ripa quipped, “You just said you refused.”
Just like the studio audience, Owens got a kick out of the moment, laughing along with Ripa, who told him, “I’m sorry.”
“Touché,” he teased.
Owens did get the chance to explain himself, noting that his “reference” was that he was married for 25 years and thus, “hadn’t dated for 25 years.”
“So when I stopped dating…,” the 66-year-old continued, but Ripa was quick to chime in.
“So you want to go to that age,” she
Owens said, “I was used to that age group. But I apologized. We smoothed everything out.”
The moment was all in good fun, as Ripa assured Owens, “I’m teasing you.”
Mark Consuelos pointed out that “every woman on the show is 60 or older except for one,” though Owens said he wasn’t aware of that going in.
“I didn’t know that because I didn’t ask and nobody told me,” he shared.
Consuelos quipped, “Smart.”
Owens cheekily replied that he “went to Michigan,” where Ripa and Consuelos’ youngest son also attended
In terms of how he feels about the age of his dating pool on The Golden Bachelor this season, Owens said the experience was “great.”
“There were a lot of shared interests and life experiences,” he further explained. “Additionally, all these women were amazing, sophisticated, accomplished, fun, and humorous. It was a great experience.”
Ripa added, “They’re gonna find the best women, right?”
Owens agreed, “They did a great job.”
Live with Kelly and Mark airs on weekdays. Check out their website for your local listings.
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