Golden Bachelor Mel Owens on His Apology & Getting Roasted by the Ladies (Exclusive)

One Golden Bachelor… and 23 Golden ladies! Divorced last year after 25 years of marriage, Mel Owens is a former NFL player and lawyer with two sons.

He’s dishing to “Extra” about putting himself out there — like WAY out there — looking for love!

Opening up about whether he felt immediate chemistry with anyone, Mel said, “Probably one or two, but it didn’t develop obviously until later.”

Did he do a lot of kissing? Mel smiled, saying, “Enough.”

He called sending people home “the toughest part of the journey.”

How did he get through it? Mel said, “I had to do a lot of introspection and a lot of thought, you know, meditation and prayer to make a decision.”

Owens never imagined there would be any drama during his season, but he was wrong!

He revealed, “I’m thinking like it’s not going to happen because I’m just easygoing guy. Yeah. We’re gonna have a peaceful season and then boom, things happen.”

The reality star learned a lot too, saying, “I’m a guy who enjoys putting myself out there and also trying to grow from my experiences and the personal growth was condensed in this situation.”

Mel also talked about how he apologized to the women on the show after saying on a podcast that he would cut anyone over 60.

Owens said, “They did give me a chance. I was sincere in my apology and I asked them, I go, ‘Just give me a chance to earn it back.’ And they gave me the chance and that’s all I asked for.”

He added, “They were tough on me.”

The women also got to roast him!

He dished, “It was rough, well deserved and on point and funny.”

Mel said one of his favorite zingers compared him to pizza from his hometown of Detroit, calling him “old and crusty.”

Owens said another woman told him, “You’re like an old car… you don’t go over 60.”