Former NFL linebacker Mel Owens, now the lead on The Golden Bachelor, has recently sparked controversy online. The 66-year-old, who spent nine seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, made remarks before the season premiered on September 24, 2025, stating he wouldn\u2019t date women over 60 and that he wanted someone \u201chonest, charming, loving, fit, and full of life.\u201d The comments drew swift criticism, with viewers noting that his ex-wife had once predicted his preferences could stir debate.<\/p>\n
Mel Owens and his ex-wife, Fabiana Pimentel Owens, divorced after more than 17 years of marriage. Court filings from Orange County, California, show that Fabiana filed for divorce in February 2020, citing irreconcilable differences. However, Mel revealed during The Golden Bachelor premiere that the real reason behind their split was her \u201cfalling for someone else.\u201d He described the divorce as painful but stated he would never stand in the way of someone else\u2019s happiness, saying, \u201cLife is short, and if you\u2019re in love with somebody else, that\u2019s fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
The divorce proceedings lasted nearly five years, concluding in December 2024. Mel was ordered to pay around USD 980,000 for unpaid child and spousal support, property division, and attorney\u2019s fees. Despite this, he retained assets valued at over USD 2.75 million, including the couple\u2019s Orange County home, which is worth more than USD 2 million. The couple shares two sons, Lucas and Andre, who remain a priority for both.<\/p>\n
Fabiana Pimentel, originally from Brazil, moved to the US more than two decades ago. She holds a business degree from Faculdade da Cidade and a master\u2019s in marketing from UCLA. She has a successful career in hospitality, currently serving as Director of Experiences at Preferred Hotels & Resorts, and co-founded Final Touch Organizing, a company that blends home organization with Feng Shui principles. Fabiana is known for her entrepreneurial spirit and has said that her greatest reward is seeing the joy on her clients\u2019 faces upon project completion.<\/p>\n
Regarding Mel\u2019s participation on The Golden Bachelor, Fabiana has maintained a clear distance. When asked by the Daily Mail about his show, she gave a blunt response, wishing him luck but calling it \u201cgoing to be bad,\u201d while emphasizing that she would not get involved. Her comments highlight the firm divide between the former spouses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Former NFL linebacker Mel Owens, now the lead on The Golden Bachelor, has recently sparked controversy online. The 66-year-old, who\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":294,"featured_media":90347,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[30781],"class_list":["post-90346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-news","tag-mel-owens"],"reading_time":"2 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/294"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90346\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}