November 6, 2025 • 25 mins
The "Bachelor" franchise has faced its struggles with ratings and controversy over the years. "The Golden Bachelor" added a new wrinkle to this season: boredom.
Mel Owens is down to the final two women on "The Golden Bachelor," in a season plagued by low ratings that critics and viewers attribute to Mel's lack of on-screen charisma, i.e. he's boring. But in part one of the season finale last night, Mel explained for himself why he was the wrong choice to be Season 2's Golden Bachelor. But you had to be listening closely to catch it.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey, there are folks. It is Thursday, November the sixth,
and we only have one more episode to go of
The Golden Bachelor, and after last night's episode, we might
finally know why mel Owens was the exact wrong choice
to be this year's Golden Bachelor, and it has nothing
(00:24):
to do with how boring everybody says he is. And
with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ Roapes.
This seems like a show that ABC maybe just wants
to get done with this year. It's been down in
the dumps. The franchise has been struggling, but Golden Bachelor
in particular is having a really bad year.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Yeah. I think initially the idea was to appeal to
who is still watching TV, like broadcast TV, and it
is older folks.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
But turns out.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
No one wants to see older folks making out, but they.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Wanted to see it. Last year, Gary Turner season was
a successful one. It's a reason they got a second season.
That show was seen as somewhat not somewhat of It
was a hit, it was fun, it was different, and
I think I applaud the idea showing love at different
stages of life. It looks a little different. I applaud
(01:17):
the idea.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
I love the idea. In fact, we've been watching.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
We actually had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing Gary,
and that will be later on I do Part two.
We'll get you that date and time in just a bit.
But we kind of got excited about watching the franchise
and I was into it and really into seeing how
older folks were all the same. At the end of
(01:42):
the day, we're all the same. We're all looking for love,
we all want a partner. We're all afraid of being hurt.
No one wants to be rejected. I thought it was
cool to watch, you know, I've watched Bachelor and different
iterations to see that we're all the same. It doesn't
matter how old you are, we all want the same thing.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
I think it was fresh, it was it was different,
and yes, it expanded what our idea of love relationships
is supposed to look like. Look, we do a whole
podcast call I Do Part two about the idea of
people finding love later or the second or third or
fourth time around. So the idea was there. The ratings
have not been. We're going to get deeper into them.
But ropes, we'll just start with last season's season Premiere
(02:22):
had four point four million people. This season's had two
point five time, and it's been going down and down
and down and has hit under two million, to the
point of now, this is time to panic. When you
have a show that's lost nearly half of the viewership
of the season before, you got a problem and roads.
I didn't know this when we first started watching this season. Actually,
(02:45):
we only started watching because we knew last season's Golden
Bachelor was going to be in our studio. We start
watching this season and we got into it, But I
didn't realize what did we get into it about? Like,
what were we so into the women exactly? We were like, Oh,
she's fun, Oh she's cool. I like her, Get her
out of here. What we were so into the women?
How many conversations did we have about mel None?
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Zero?
Speaker 1 (03:07):
I didn't realize we never talked about him, never got
worked up about him, never got sad about him. Our
hearts didn't break for him. We weren't. He was just there.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Look, he's a good looking guy, A good looking older guy,
sixty six years old from Detroit, from Michigan. A former
NFL player, he played for the Rams. He is recently
divorced but apparently separated for the past five years.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
And he's a nice guy.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
But when you actually start watching it, you're right. He
doesn't have a lot to say. He's quiet, he's reserved.
He's your typical midwesterner. Now I know Gary's a Midwesterner
as well, but Mel is very reserved. And so, yes,
we were focused on the women, and they brought it.
They brought the energy, the excitement, the personality, the fun.
But they come and go and they get whittled down
(03:55):
and every show is Mel and Mel finding love.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
I didn't think about it though, Babe, until we started
looking at the articles. But I didn't realize how much
we were not invested in him. We were invested in
her and Cindy and the firefighter and Peg, you know,
we were invested in everything else. But now that we
started reading the articles, like, oh, I guess I get it,
and we see what the issue has been. So they're
down to the final two. But last night, Robes in
(04:20):
the episode he said something that it all came together.
I'm like, oh, okay, it makes sense. He's down to
the final two. They have the what they call him
the suits.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
The fantasy, fantasy sweets. Yes, I never get that right,
And help me understand. Is it understood by the viewers,
by the participants that the fantasy suites is under they're
going to go and be intimate?
Speaker 3 (04:41):
Is that not necessarily intimate? Private?
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Okay, So they finally get privacy for the first time
they've been dating, if that's what you want to call it.
All of these women, this is the first opportunity, whoever
the bachelor or bachelorette is. In this case, the golden
Bachelor gets private, one on one time with the the
last two remaining contestants. And yes, it is understood that
(05:04):
they can and might have sex.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Well, forgive me I. Okay, that's just a little aside
because I've never been necessarily clear in all the years
of covering Bachelor and Bachelorette. But like, does the other
contestants understand that the person that they're vying for is
going into a suite with somebody else that might be
having sex with correct? Okay, it's all understood.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
It's all understood, But it doesn't mean that the other
folks wouldn't hold that person accountable.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
You know, if you felt like you had a real.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Significant deep you shouldn't be doing that, Yes, relationship with
someone else. You're just gonna have sex with everybody and
see which one you like better after your physical test ride.
I don't think that is going to sit well with
a lot of folks, and it hasn't in the past.
But certainly there have been scandals in the sense that
people have admitted to having had sex in the fantasy suites.
I mean, it's just it can run the gamut if
(05:52):
people do or don't apologies.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
That was just all for me. I genuinely didn't fully
completely understand. So we down to the final two women.
Cindya six, she's a retired biomedical engineer, and peg is
sixty two. Now, before the season even got started. Don't
know how much this has an impact, but you remember,
and we didn't know we watched this first episode. He
was apologizing a lot, like, I'm sorry for what I
said on this podcast. We had what in the world
(06:14):
is he talking about? Well, he went on a podcast
before taping even started for this season, and this is
maybe where the wheels began to come off. But he
made statements robes that were for a guy who's sixty six,
you don't expect agism necessarily and discriminating.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Against Oh you do, though, when you're a woman, you
do expect it, actually.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
But yes, to that point, he went on and talked
about the type of women he wanted to be on
his show, and he wanted them younger.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
And so what I would say is that's not surprising,
and I would expect a sixty six year old man
to say that, but I wouldn't expect him to say
it publicly on a podcast before he goes on to
The Golden Bachelor.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Do I have right? His wife was nearly twenty years younger.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Correct, Okay, yeah, and he admitted on the show that
she basically wanted a divorce from him, dumped him because
she wanted to be with someone more her age.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Oh boy, this is some full circle shoot yaz.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
But this is what folks warn't about, whoever you are.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
If you marry someone twenty twenty five, thirty years older
than you, it might be great when you're twenty and
they're forty, but fast forward twenty thirty forty years it's
a completely different situation.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Okay. So that started his mess. At the beginning, he
was on a podcast had to do with the University
of Michigan football team or he played ball, but it
was supposed to be kind of light and kind of fun.
And he said he was asked by producers what his
preferences were. He said, ages forty five to sixty, just
being honest. Then we had lunch with the executive producers.
I said, you know, if they're sixty or over, I'm
(07:38):
cutting them. That's tough going on the Golden Bachelor. And
all the women on the Golden Bachelor, the women they
gave him an option, they were rage range age what
fifty eight to seventy seven? Yes, and the majority were
in that really kind of sixty five seventy two range, you.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Know what that's called babe age appropriate.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Yes, he's sixty six that those would be the women
he went to school with. They are the women who
are in his age bracket.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
He ends up. Now, the last two happened to be
I think two of the five youngest that were there,
but they were sixty and sixty two, but certainly the younger.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
What was even tougher about what he said because he
followed up after saying, I'll cut them if through over sixty,
And then he went on to explain that producers told him,
oh no, this is not the Silver Bachelor. This is
the Golden Bachelor. But they're going to be hot. Don't
worry about it. Don't worry about it.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Whoooo. That's also tough.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
So he says all this on a podcast, so controversy
starts before the show even gets rolling. This is how
the thing starts and what was the result thin ropes.
The ratings we talked about last season's premiere four point
four million, this season two point five million. Last season
second episode only dropped off a little. It had four
point three million viewers. The second episode of this season
(08:58):
one point nine mill. You hear that, folks, between four
point three and one point nine the third episode of
last season four million, third episode this season one point
eight million, and then robe last week's episode again they don't.
They're down to the finale.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
This is when people tune in, even if you haven't
been washed it all along. It's fun to jump in
for the finale. But last week's episode only got one
point nine to nine million.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
That's bad. That's real bad, and they know it. I'm
not gonna go through all the headlines and the but
a lot is being said out there about the show,
the future of the show. Who should be held accountable
for the ratings this year, but robes everywhere. I don't
see a whole lot of criticism of the show only
at the selection of this guy. Correct, he's not a charisman.
(09:45):
He could be the nicest guy in the world. And
he does seem to be accomplished, raised his kids, professional
career in football transitioned to being a successful attorney. A
Midwestern or who can't like mischieg gander.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
But here's the thing.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Being a Michigander myself, it's fun when I didn't know
anything about him when we first started watching it, and
I said that accent, I bet he's from Michigan, and
then sure enough. And the thing is, look, I mean,
I'll generalize because I'm among them, but look, Midwesterners are nice.
We don't tend to be loud, outspoken, controversial, exciting, no flair, yes,
(10:21):
and it's just it's it's we're thoughtful, peaceful, like just
generally speaking, you don't it's not like you put somebody
from Michigan with someone from New Jersey. Boom, Now you've
got something interesting to watch. Maybe so maybe they were
thinking the women coming in and I believe her.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
Name was Amy, and was she from New Jersey. But
there was some funny, fun characters.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
The problem is they didn't last, and so the show
loses a little bit of the pizazz if your main
character isn't the one with all of the charisma and.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
Charm, you know, and some of the pizzazz was voted away.
I would I'm thinking about some of his final ones,
and I mean, the fire is got some great in her.
Peggy love her, but some of the others were very
do you know what they Matt, We said this. I
didn't think he would end up with this firefighter. I
said she's too much for him.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
She's too much for him.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
That's exactly what you said. But she's great for the show.
And I will say that. Look, I do think some
of these women and you hear their stories and you
feel for them. They're vulnerable, they're a little shy, they're
a little.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
You know, war weary.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
They've been through a lot of crap, and so maybe
that also adds to the There is a reservation about
perhaps older women who have been who have lived through
enough life versus young you know, firecracker girls who just
will say anything, do anything. There was one of them
in this group this season, but she was the one
you love to hate. But again, once she left, there
(11:44):
wasn't that everyone needs a don't. Most reality shows go
by a formula, and you need the person you hate
and the person you're rooting for and the person. Yes,
you need those characters and the folks behind the scenes,
and these all these reality shows are casting. Just as
much a casting director would do for a show, they
do it.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
For a reality show as well.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
But what we've been We've been around enough folks who
always say to us, the last thing you want is
to be irrelevant. You have to in some way evoke
some kind of emotion from people. They love you, they
hate you, but it's worse if they just don't feel
anything for it.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Correct.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
And mel is kind of a guy where h yes.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
I see you have a headline in here about what
the critics believe the issue is with the down trotted ratings,
and this one kind of sums it up.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
The last one you have in here.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
Well to that point, there's a bunch that talk about
him being boring for different reasons, and he was bad
casting and all this, and I put this one in
their robes because this is the one, You know what,
this one just sums it up better than most of them. Yes,
this was after the first episode.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
After the first episode, okay, the critic wrote, Wow, yeah,
but you kind of could tell that's true. No amount
of depth or charm from the women can make up
for where this season has gone wrong. Mel Owens simply
isn't a charismatic lead.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
That's tough.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
We do it is and wonderful people can be bad TV,
that's okay, And people who are great TV some of
the shittiest people you haven't meet in your laves. I
right say that you couldn't stand to be around for
ten minutes in real life, but you'll watch them on TV. Yes,
that's just how it goes. What do you do? It's
(13:26):
a hit and miss. It's it's hard to all the
pressure on them to pick the right guy that's gonna
appeal to everybody. This is why they got Frankie Taylor
Paul now exactly. She's gonna bring it. This won't be
a problem with it.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
If The Golden Bachelor comes back for a third season,
I have a feeling they will go in that direction.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
That direction, that extreme direction.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
We wait, we've only had the Golden Bachelor, have we
had the Golden Bachelor, right yet, yes, we had which.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
One started it? I thought the Golden Bachelor.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Now, because honestly, we're new to the game again because
we interviewed Gary Turner. We we're excited about seeing this
franchise that we hadn't checked out yet. So we're new
to this and uh, it's been interesting and I wonder
if they'll take the well, we'll see what happens. Honestly,
they still have to see what happens with Taylor Frankie Paul.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
We know what's gonna happen with Frankie Taylor.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
I said it wrong. It's Taylor Frankie Paul. Frankie Taylor.
We both said it differently.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
Ms Paul. It's gonna be a great choice for that show.
We know she's going to be great. And another one
I saw is not in front of me, but I
just saw some social media user talking about how boring
this season was and said they should just stop it
now and let's just wait for the master class in chaos,
which will be Frankie Taylor Paul or Taylor Frankie Paul.
(14:42):
Which one? Is it? All right?
Speaker 2 (14:45):
Let me lookause now my whole head is we are
so so sorry, I think it's Taylor Frankie Paul.
Speaker 3 (14:51):
But oh no, I think no, wait.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Hold on, no way, we don't call her Frankie Taylor.
It's Taylor Frankie Paul. They tay the Frankie fall. Yes, yes,
I'm feel good about it, but folks, stay here. In
addition to figuring out all the names of the people
we're talking about in this episode, when we come back,
I will explain what we were talking about off the top,
why mister mel Owens made clear himself in last night's episode,
(15:18):
why he was the exact wrong guy to cast in
this show. Stay here, all right, The Golden Bachelor hasn't
been so golden for ABC this season. We've been talking
(15:38):
here about mel Owens him being the wrong person cast.
That is not us necessarily saying that. That is what
the TV critics and a lot of people, a lot
of viewers are saying, You're just not that charismatic. I
don't haven't seen anything negative but necessarily about him, No
dogging him or he's this or he's that, other than
he's just doesn't have the charisma to necessarily be a
TV star, right.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
I think maybe even with the podcast comments, they were
hoping that would get people to watch seriously, Like the
only thing that's been said negative about him were surrounding
his podcast remarks, and he quickly addressed them first episode,
apologized to everyone, and then never made another mistake again,
which probably was to his own detriment.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
You know what you say that now about the apology,
we saw the top even in that it was kind
of boring and matter of fact, and were kind of like, Okay,
seems like a nice enough guy, and we moved on.
I couldn't imagine anything vicious coming out of his mouth.
I have to he apologize, Like what did he say?
Speaker 2 (16:35):
And it's interesting, like just watching his interactions with the women.
He's so careful, he's so reserved and controlled, and that's
all wonderful in someone who you might be dating and
someone who is trying to make a smart, thoughtful decision.
Speaker 3 (16:52):
But it's not that interesting on television.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
Okay, to your point, Cindy, was it he was talking
to one of the women in the episode last night.
Cindy's kind of how the episode wrapped up. They were
doing their one on one night and robes this was
interesting and this is the conversation and we've had conversations
like this about this when it comes to relationships and
you have a woman here. The conversation goes back and forth,
(17:17):
and she's essentially trying to get answers from him. Where's
your head, where's your heart? What do you want? What
do you see from us? And he explained to her,
he said this, I am smart enough to know my
life doesn't work this way, when what he was talking
about is taking leaps of faith. He said, I Am
going to be smart and meticulous and careful and take time.
(17:38):
Her point is, you just came on the Golden Bachelor.
This whole show is a leap of faith. Can he
at all be the guy to lead this franchise If
you have an attitude of I need time to make
decisions about relationships, that right there should have disqualified him
(18:00):
in any interview he did in getting ready for this show.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
And what's so interesting about that is she basically said
that to him. She said, I am taking a leap
of faith, and this is what you signed up for.
Isn't this whole show about taking a leap of faith?
And add to that, when you say you're in the
golden years of your life, time is not on your side.
And she made a really excellent point which I totally
(18:26):
agreed with. She said, so you didn't even get married
until your mid forties, so you took all this time
trying to pick the right woman, and even with all
that time and all that thought and all those smarts
you put into your decision, it still ended in divorce.
And she said same. I mean she's also someone who
I think is out of a divorce I think a
(18:47):
twenty something year marriage, so they have very similar backgrounds.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
And she's like, so, what's holding you back now?
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Because that's how you applied your decision making last time around,
see how it turned out. So why not take this
leap of faith with me? I thought, frustrated for her
with her, and.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
I think a lot of people I don't want to
just say women, I think a lot of people did,
and that for me makes this season worth it. They
highlighted something right there that is so key in every relationship.
Almost you can imagine what are we doing? Are we
making the best decision with our head and on paper,
(19:22):
or are we taking a leap of faith? Does it
have to be some kind of balance to that? But
I felt Robes it was so sitting there looking at her,
and she is, well, you know what, these two are
our favorite. I can't say we have necessarily a one.
But I felt it was so unfair to her and
those other twenty plus women who are here thinking love
(19:44):
in love second chance could leave here with an engagement
with a guy who said I who now is admitting
in the eleventh hour, I need time. This is a process.
I'm not leading with my heart. I'm not taking a
leap of faith. That's just not compacts with the show
or with these women. It felt unfair.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
Agreed, and I think you you make the point. We
were talking about what this means in general, but when
you see younger people and younger leads and shows like this,
they're they're bigger risk takers. They just are younger folks
are in general. But it's so interesting to me. I know,
we all are making decisions based on past experiences and
(20:24):
even failures, but my god.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
I feel like older people should be quicker to take
a risk.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
You are running out of time. What are you waiting
for tomorrow? You could walk into the doctor and get
the worst news possible. And seriously, when you get to
a certain age, what do you talk.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
About with your friends?
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Oh, this happened, and this person's just got diagnosed with that.
I just I find it so ironic that older people
are less willing to take a risk, that they're more
I guess you're more set in your ways, so to speak,
but you're more risk averse, well.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
With the heart possibly, And you made this point a
younger folks. Younger if you're twenty five, this dude doesn't
work out. Look at all the people from Love Island,
they all broke up within what two weeks of the show.
Oh well, who cares?
Speaker 4 (21:09):
Moving on?
Speaker 3 (21:09):
I'm still hot, I can You'll find someone else.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
If this doesn't work off for one of those two women.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
I know, well, we already saw the few he sent away,
the last couple heart broken, and it wasn't tears for
the camera. It wasn't playing for the role that they
agreed to be in. No, their hearts were and you
could see and the women tell all they were still crying,
two of them specifically heart broken because they were so
desperate to find love. I did appreciate this, and I
(21:35):
think we should point this out. In a lot of
the reality shows we've been frustrated by. It's become a
game about getting an increased following on social media, about
becoming a bigger or better influencer, about getting a big
brand deal. You could tell these women, with the exception
of perhaps one, we're all in it truly, truly, because
(21:56):
they really wanted a partner for the last part.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
Of their lives.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Yeah, And I do not knock him for his attitude.
In fact, I would approach a lot of things the
same way. But in this environment, given who these ladies
are now, I appreciate the honesty, like, hey, I'm bean
straight with you, this is what's going on, and this
is where I am. But it was a heartbreaking moment
for a woman and for all of these women to
actually now at the end, like that announcement should have
(22:22):
been in episode one when they stepped out of that limo.
Hey there, I'm mel I'm really not looking for an
engagement right now. I want to take this thing slow.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
But there are rumors online that he does get engaged,
and in the previews they show him looking at a
ring in a box. So if he does propose, could
it be that he is also trying not to show
his hand. He's not supposed to let either woman know
where his head is, where his heart is because it
(22:50):
needs to all be a surprise.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Well, she had a rope node asleep after here talking
to him last.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
You know what was interesting though, So in this latest
episode we see Peg wake up in bed with him.
She's in a robe, he's shirtless. They're intimate and all cozy.
We don't get that with Cindy. Cindy, we didn't. It
just ended with her being a little frustrated by their
evening conversation about where this is going.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
They might pick up and they who knows how the
night ended, but it was these shows, every single dating show,
reality show, relationship show always ropes, no matter how much.
Sometimes I'm dismissive, but everybody's hot and they're just running around.
There's always relationship lessons. Right smack Dad in the middle
(23:34):
if you're looking for yes, right there with him.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
And we will be watching the finale next week. Correct, yes,
and we will find out who Mel chooses, not because
we care about who Mel.
Speaker 3 (23:47):
Ends up with, but because we really really love.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
Peg and Cindy and we can't wait to see which
one ends up potentially with the ring on it.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Yeah, we like Mel, Yeah, I have no We have
been jumping to watch these episodes but not for mal
we have a problem.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
But it's honestly, I would say, if you haven't checked
it out, oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
It's fun to just go ahead. There are not that
many episodes. We got through them in a day.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
It's up only eight or something.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
There's only eight, yes, so it's fun to catch up
in time for next week's finale. Not trying to necessarily
throw ratings anyone's way, but it really is. I do
like relationship shows that are authentic, and from this season,
most if not all, of these folks seem to be
there for the right reasons.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
So, folks, I always appreciate you hanging. I can't believe
we are here encouraging you, pushing you and promoting an
ABC Disney show.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
That was in my last comment in a veiled way,
like you know, we're not necessarily trying to promote the show,
but no, we do believe in these types of relationship shows.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
We call this growth robes. We're in a good place
and with that, folks, we all appreciate you spending some
time with us on t J. Holmes Own bab My
Dear Amy Roback talked to Austrian
Speaker 2 (25:10):
H
Hey, there are folks. It is Thursday, November the sixth,
and we only have one more episode to go of
The Golden Bachelor, and after last night's episode, we might
finally know why mel Owens was the exact wrong choice
to be this year's Golden Bachelor, and it has nothing
(00:24):
to do with how boring everybody says he is. And
with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ Roapes.
This seems like a show that ABC maybe just wants
to get done with this year. It's been down in
the dumps. The franchise has been struggling, but Golden Bachelor
in particular is having a really bad year.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Yeah. I think initially the idea was to appeal to
who is still watching TV, like broadcast TV, and it
is older folks.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
But turns out.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
No one wants to see older folks making out, but they.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Wanted to see it. Last year, Gary Turner season was
a successful one. It's a reason they got a second season.
That show was seen as somewhat not somewhat of It
was a hit, it was fun, it was different, and
I think I applaud the idea showing love at different
stages of life. It looks a little different. I applaud
(01:17):
the idea.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
I love the idea. In fact, we've been watching.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
We actually had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing Gary,
and that will be later on I do Part two.
We'll get you that date and time in just a bit.
But we kind of got excited about watching the franchise
and I was into it and really into seeing how
older folks were all the same. At the end of
(01:42):
the day, we're all the same. We're all looking for love,
we all want a partner. We're all afraid of being hurt.
No one wants to be rejected. I thought it was
cool to watch, you know, I've watched Bachelor and different
iterations to see that we're all the same. It doesn't
matter how old you are, we all want the same thing.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
I think it was fresh, it was it was different,
and yes, it expanded what our idea of love relationships
is supposed to look like. Look, we do a whole
podcast call I Do Part two about the idea of
people finding love later or the second or third or
fourth time around. So the idea was there. The ratings
have not been. We're going to get deeper into them.
But ropes, we'll just start with last season's season Premiere
(02:22):
had four point four million people. This season's had two
point five time, and it's been going down and down
and down and has hit under two million, to the
point of now, this is time to panic. When you
have a show that's lost nearly half of the viewership
of the season before, you got a problem and roads.
I didn't know this when we first started watching this season. Actually,
(02:45):
we only started watching because we knew last season's Golden
Bachelor was going to be in our studio. We start
watching this season and we got into it, But I
didn't realize what did we get into it about? Like,
what were we so into the women exactly? We were like, Oh,
she's fun, Oh she's cool. I like her, Get her
out of here. What we were so into the women?
How many conversations did we have about mel None?
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Zero?
Speaker 1 (03:07):
I didn't realize we never talked about him, never got
worked up about him, never got sad about him. Our
hearts didn't break for him. We weren't. He was just there.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Look, he's a good looking guy, A good looking older guy,
sixty six years old from Detroit, from Michigan. A former
NFL player, he played for the Rams. He is recently
divorced but apparently separated for the past five years.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
And he's a nice guy.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
But when you actually start watching it, you're right. He
doesn't have a lot to say. He's quiet, he's reserved.
He's your typical midwesterner. Now I know Gary's a Midwesterner
as well, but Mel is very reserved. And so, yes,
we were focused on the women, and they brought it.
They brought the energy, the excitement, the personality, the fun.
But they come and go and they get whittled down
(03:55):
and every show is Mel and Mel finding love.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
I didn't think about it though, Babe, until we started
looking at the articles. But I didn't realize how much
we were not invested in him. We were invested in
her and Cindy and the firefighter and Peg, you know,
we were invested in everything else. But now that we
started reading the articles, like, oh, I guess I get it,
and we see what the issue has been. So they're
down to the final two. But last night, Robes in
(04:20):
the episode he said something that it all came together.
I'm like, oh, okay, it makes sense. He's down to
the final two. They have the what they call him
the suits.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
The fantasy, fantasy sweets. Yes, I never get that right,
And help me understand. Is it understood by the viewers,
by the participants that the fantasy suites is under they're
going to go and be intimate?
Speaker 3 (04:41):
Is that not necessarily intimate? Private?
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Okay, So they finally get privacy for the first time
they've been dating, if that's what you want to call it.
All of these women, this is the first opportunity, whoever
the bachelor or bachelorette is. In this case, the golden
Bachelor gets private, one on one time with the the
last two remaining contestants. And yes, it is understood that
(05:04):
they can and might have sex.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Well, forgive me I. Okay, that's just a little aside
because I've never been necessarily clear in all the years
of covering Bachelor and Bachelorette. But like, does the other
contestants understand that the person that they're vying for is
going into a suite with somebody else that might be
having sex with correct? Okay, it's all understood.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
It's all understood, But it doesn't mean that the other
folks wouldn't hold that person accountable.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
You know, if you felt like you had a real.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Significant deep you shouldn't be doing that, Yes, relationship with
someone else. You're just gonna have sex with everybody and
see which one you like better after your physical test ride.
I don't think that is going to sit well with
a lot of folks, and it hasn't in the past.
But certainly there have been scandals in the sense that
people have admitted to having had sex in the fantasy suites.
I mean, it's just it can run the gamut if
(05:52):
people do or don't apologies.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
That was just all for me. I genuinely didn't fully
completely understand. So we down to the final two women.
Cindya six, she's a retired biomedical engineer, and peg is
sixty two. Now, before the season even got started. Don't
know how much this has an impact, but you remember,
and we didn't know we watched this first episode. He
was apologizing a lot, like, I'm sorry for what I
said on this podcast. We had what in the world
(06:14):
is he talking about? Well, he went on a podcast
before taping even started for this season, and this is
maybe where the wheels began to come off. But he
made statements robes that were for a guy who's sixty six,
you don't expect agism necessarily and discriminating.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Against Oh you do, though, when you're a woman, you
do expect it, actually.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
But yes, to that point, he went on and talked
about the type of women he wanted to be on
his show, and he wanted them younger.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
And so what I would say is that's not surprising,
and I would expect a sixty six year old man
to say that, but I wouldn't expect him to say
it publicly on a podcast before he goes on to
The Golden Bachelor.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Do I have right? His wife was nearly twenty years younger.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Correct, Okay, yeah, and he admitted on the show that
she basically wanted a divorce from him, dumped him because
she wanted to be with someone more her age.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Oh boy, this is some full circle shoot yaz.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
But this is what folks warn't about, whoever you are.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
If you marry someone twenty twenty five, thirty years older
than you, it might be great when you're twenty and
they're forty, but fast forward twenty thirty forty years it's
a completely different situation.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Okay. So that started his mess. At the beginning, he
was on a podcast had to do with the University
of Michigan football team or he played ball, but it
was supposed to be kind of light and kind of fun.
And he said he was asked by producers what his
preferences were. He said, ages forty five to sixty, just
being honest. Then we had lunch with the executive producers.
I said, you know, if they're sixty or over, I'm
(07:38):
cutting them. That's tough going on the Golden Bachelor. And
all the women on the Golden Bachelor, the women they
gave him an option, they were rage range age what
fifty eight to seventy seven? Yes, and the majority were
in that really kind of sixty five seventy two range, you.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Know what that's called babe age appropriate.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Yes, he's sixty six that those would be the women
he went to school with. They are the women who
are in his age bracket.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
He ends up. Now, the last two happened to be
I think two of the five youngest that were there,
but they were sixty and sixty two, but certainly the younger.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
What was even tougher about what he said because he
followed up after saying, I'll cut them if through over sixty,
And then he went on to explain that producers told him,
oh no, this is not the Silver Bachelor. This is
the Golden Bachelor. But they're going to be hot. Don't
worry about it. Don't worry about it.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Whoooo. That's also tough.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
So he says all this on a podcast, so controversy
starts before the show even gets rolling. This is how
the thing starts and what was the result thin ropes.
The ratings we talked about last season's premiere four point
four million, this season two point five million. Last season
second episode only dropped off a little. It had four
point three million viewers. The second episode of this season
(08:58):
one point nine mill. You hear that, folks, between four
point three and one point nine the third episode of
last season four million, third episode this season one point
eight million, and then robe last week's episode again they don't.
They're down to the finale.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
This is when people tune in, even if you haven't
been washed it all along. It's fun to jump in
for the finale. But last week's episode only got one
point nine to nine million.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
That's bad. That's real bad, and they know it. I'm
not gonna go through all the headlines and the but
a lot is being said out there about the show,
the future of the show. Who should be held accountable
for the ratings this year, but robes everywhere. I don't
see a whole lot of criticism of the show only
at the selection of this guy. Correct, he's not a charisman.
(09:45):
He could be the nicest guy in the world. And
he does seem to be accomplished, raised his kids, professional
career in football transitioned to being a successful attorney. A
Midwestern or who can't like mischieg gander.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
But here's the thing.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Being a Michigander myself, it's fun when I didn't know
anything about him when we first started watching it, and
I said that accent, I bet he's from Michigan, and
then sure enough. And the thing is, look, I mean,
I'll generalize because I'm among them, but look, Midwesterners are nice.
We don't tend to be loud, outspoken, controversial, exciting, no flair, yes,
(10:21):
and it's just it's it's we're thoughtful, peaceful, like just
generally speaking, you don't it's not like you put somebody
from Michigan with someone from New Jersey. Boom, Now you've
got something interesting to watch. Maybe so maybe they were
thinking the women coming in and I believe her.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
Name was Amy, and was she from New Jersey. But
there was some funny, fun characters.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
The problem is they didn't last, and so the show
loses a little bit of the pizazz if your main
character isn't the one with all of the charisma and.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
Charm, you know, and some of the pizzazz was voted away.
I would I'm thinking about some of his final ones,
and I mean, the fire is got some great in her.
Peggy love her, but some of the others were very
do you know what they Matt, We said this. I
didn't think he would end up with this firefighter. I
said she's too much for him.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
She's too much for him.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
That's exactly what you said. But she's great for the show.
And I will say that. Look, I do think some
of these women and you hear their stories and you
feel for them. They're vulnerable, they're a little shy, they're
a little.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
You know, war weary.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
They've been through a lot of crap, and so maybe
that also adds to the There is a reservation about
perhaps older women who have been who have lived through
enough life versus young you know, firecracker girls who just
will say anything, do anything. There was one of them
in this group this season, but she was the one
you love to hate. But again, once she left, there
(11:44):
wasn't that everyone needs a don't. Most reality shows go
by a formula, and you need the person you hate
and the person you're rooting for and the person. Yes,
you need those characters and the folks behind the scenes,
and these all these reality shows are casting. Just as
much a casting director would do for a show, they
do it.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
For a reality show as well.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
But what we've been We've been around enough folks who
always say to us, the last thing you want is
to be irrelevant. You have to in some way evoke
some kind of emotion from people. They love you, they
hate you, but it's worse if they just don't feel
anything for it.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Correct.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
And mel is kind of a guy where h yes.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
I see you have a headline in here about what
the critics believe the issue is with the down trotted ratings,
and this one kind of sums it up.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
The last one you have in here.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
Well to that point, there's a bunch that talk about
him being boring for different reasons, and he was bad
casting and all this, and I put this one in
their robes because this is the one, You know what,
this one just sums it up better than most of them. Yes,
this was after the first episode.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
After the first episode, okay, the critic wrote, Wow, yeah,
but you kind of could tell that's true. No amount
of depth or charm from the women can make up
for where this season has gone wrong. Mel Owens simply
isn't a charismatic lead.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
That's tough.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
We do it is and wonderful people can be bad TV,
that's okay, And people who are great TV some of
the shittiest people you haven't meet in your laves. I
right say that you couldn't stand to be around for
ten minutes in real life, but you'll watch them on TV. Yes,
that's just how it goes. What do you do? It's
(13:26):
a hit and miss. It's it's hard to all the
pressure on them to pick the right guy that's gonna
appeal to everybody. This is why they got Frankie Taylor
Paul now exactly. She's gonna bring it. This won't be
a problem with it.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
If The Golden Bachelor comes back for a third season,
I have a feeling they will go in that direction.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
That direction, that extreme direction.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
We wait, we've only had the Golden Bachelor, have we
had the Golden Bachelor, right yet, yes, we had which.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
One started it? I thought the Golden Bachelor.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Now, because honestly, we're new to the game again because
we interviewed Gary Turner. We we're excited about seeing this
franchise that we hadn't checked out yet. So we're new
to this and uh, it's been interesting and I wonder
if they'll take the well, we'll see what happens. Honestly,
they still have to see what happens with Taylor Frankie Paul.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
We know what's gonna happen with Frankie Taylor.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
I said it wrong. It's Taylor Frankie Paul. Frankie Taylor.
We both said it differently.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
Ms Paul. It's gonna be a great choice for that show.
We know she's going to be great. And another one
I saw is not in front of me, but I
just saw some social media user talking about how boring
this season was and said they should just stop it
now and let's just wait for the master class in chaos,
which will be Frankie Taylor Paul or Taylor Frankie Paul.
(14:42):
Which one? Is it? All right?
Speaker 2 (14:45):
Let me lookause now my whole head is we are
so so sorry, I think it's Taylor Frankie Paul.
Speaker 3 (14:51):
But oh no, I think no, wait.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Hold on, no way, we don't call her Frankie Taylor.
It's Taylor Frankie Paul. They tay the Frankie fall. Yes, yes,
I'm feel good about it, but folks, stay here. In
addition to figuring out all the names of the people
we're talking about in this episode, when we come back,
I will explain what we were talking about off the top,
why mister mel Owens made clear himself in last night's episode,
(15:18):
why he was the exact wrong guy to cast in
this show. Stay here, all right, The Golden Bachelor hasn't
been so golden for ABC this season. We've been talking
(15:38):
here about mel Owens him being the wrong person cast.
That is not us necessarily saying that. That is what
the TV critics and a lot of people, a lot
of viewers are saying, You're just not that charismatic. I
don't haven't seen anything negative but necessarily about him, No
dogging him or he's this or he's that, other than
he's just doesn't have the charisma to necessarily be a
TV star, right.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
I think maybe even with the podcast comments, they were
hoping that would get people to watch seriously, Like the
only thing that's been said negative about him were surrounding
his podcast remarks, and he quickly addressed them first episode,
apologized to everyone, and then never made another mistake again,
which probably was to his own detriment.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
You know what you say that now about the apology,
we saw the top even in that it was kind
of boring and matter of fact, and were kind of like, Okay,
seems like a nice enough guy, and we moved on.
I couldn't imagine anything vicious coming out of his mouth.
I have to he apologize, Like what did he say?
Speaker 2 (16:35):
And it's interesting, like just watching his interactions with the women.
He's so careful, he's so reserved and controlled, and that's
all wonderful in someone who you might be dating and
someone who is trying to make a smart, thoughtful decision.
Speaker 3 (16:52):
But it's not that interesting on television.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
Okay, to your point, Cindy, was it he was talking
to one of the women in the episode last night.
Cindy's kind of how the episode wrapped up. They were
doing their one on one night and robes this was
interesting and this is the conversation and we've had conversations
like this about this when it comes to relationships and
you have a woman here. The conversation goes back and forth,
(17:17):
and she's essentially trying to get answers from him. Where's
your head, where's your heart? What do you want? What
do you see from us? And he explained to her,
he said this, I am smart enough to know my
life doesn't work this way, when what he was talking
about is taking leaps of faith. He said, I Am
going to be smart and meticulous and careful and take time.
(17:38):
Her point is, you just came on the Golden Bachelor.
This whole show is a leap of faith. Can he
at all be the guy to lead this franchise If
you have an attitude of I need time to make
decisions about relationships, that right there should have disqualified him
(18:00):
in any interview he did in getting ready for this show.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
And what's so interesting about that is she basically said
that to him. She said, I am taking a leap
of faith, and this is what you signed up for.
Isn't this whole show about taking a leap of faith?
And add to that, when you say you're in the
golden years of your life, time is not on your side.
And she made a really excellent point which I totally
(18:26):
agreed with. She said, so you didn't even get married
until your mid forties, so you took all this time
trying to pick the right woman, and even with all
that time and all that thought and all those smarts
you put into your decision, it still ended in divorce.
And she said same. I mean she's also someone who
I think is out of a divorce I think a
(18:47):
twenty something year marriage, so they have very similar backgrounds.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
And she's like, so, what's holding you back now?
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Because that's how you applied your decision making last time around,
see how it turned out. So why not take this
leap of faith with me? I thought, frustrated for her
with her, and.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
I think a lot of people I don't want to
just say women, I think a lot of people did,
and that for me makes this season worth it. They
highlighted something right there that is so key in every relationship.
Almost you can imagine what are we doing? Are we
making the best decision with our head and on paper,
(19:22):
or are we taking a leap of faith? Does it
have to be some kind of balance to that? But
I felt Robes it was so sitting there looking at her,
and she is, well, you know what, these two are
our favorite. I can't say we have necessarily a one.
But I felt it was so unfair to her and
those other twenty plus women who are here thinking love
(19:44):
in love second chance could leave here with an engagement
with a guy who said I who now is admitting
in the eleventh hour, I need time. This is a process.
I'm not leading with my heart. I'm not taking a
leap of faith. That's just not compacts with the show
or with these women. It felt unfair.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
Agreed, and I think you you make the point. We
were talking about what this means in general, but when
you see younger people and younger leads and shows like this,
they're they're bigger risk takers. They just are younger folks
are in general. But it's so interesting to me. I know,
we all are making decisions based on past experiences and
(20:24):
even failures, but my god.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
I feel like older people should be quicker to take
a risk.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
You are running out of time. What are you waiting
for tomorrow? You could walk into the doctor and get
the worst news possible. And seriously, when you get to
a certain age, what do you talk.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
About with your friends?
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Oh, this happened, and this person's just got diagnosed with that.
I just I find it so ironic that older people
are less willing to take a risk, that they're more
I guess you're more set in your ways, so to speak,
but you're more risk averse, well.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
With the heart possibly, And you made this point a
younger folks. Younger if you're twenty five, this dude doesn't
work out. Look at all the people from Love Island,
they all broke up within what two weeks of the show.
Oh well, who cares?
Speaker 4 (21:09):
Moving on?
Speaker 3 (21:09):
I'm still hot, I can You'll find someone else.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
If this doesn't work off for one of those two women.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
I know, well, we already saw the few he sent away,
the last couple heart broken, and it wasn't tears for
the camera. It wasn't playing for the role that they
agreed to be in. No, their hearts were and you
could see and the women tell all they were still crying,
two of them specifically heart broken because they were so
desperate to find love. I did appreciate this, and I
(21:35):
think we should point this out. In a lot of
the reality shows we've been frustrated by. It's become a
game about getting an increased following on social media, about
becoming a bigger or better influencer, about getting a big
brand deal. You could tell these women, with the exception
of perhaps one, we're all in it truly, truly, because
(21:56):
they really wanted a partner for the last part.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
Of their lives.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Yeah, And I do not knock him for his attitude.
In fact, I would approach a lot of things the
same way. But in this environment, given who these ladies
are now, I appreciate the honesty, like, hey, I'm bean
straight with you, this is what's going on, and this
is where I am. But it was a heartbreaking moment
for a woman and for all of these women to
actually now at the end, like that announcement should have
(22:22):
been in episode one when they stepped out of that limo.
Hey there, I'm mel I'm really not looking for an
engagement right now. I want to take this thing slow.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
But there are rumors online that he does get engaged,
and in the previews they show him looking at a
ring in a box. So if he does propose, could
it be that he is also trying not to show
his hand. He's not supposed to let either woman know
where his head is, where his heart is because it
(22:50):
needs to all be a surprise.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Well, she had a rope node asleep after here talking
to him last.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
You know what was interesting though, So in this latest
episode we see Peg wake up in bed with him.
She's in a robe, he's shirtless. They're intimate and all cozy.
We don't get that with Cindy. Cindy, we didn't. It
just ended with her being a little frustrated by their
evening conversation about where this is going.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
They might pick up and they who knows how the
night ended, but it was these shows, every single dating show,
reality show, relationship show always ropes, no matter how much.
Sometimes I'm dismissive, but everybody's hot and they're just running around.
There's always relationship lessons. Right smack Dad in the middle
(23:34):
if you're looking for yes, right there with him.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
And we will be watching the finale next week. Correct, yes,
and we will find out who Mel chooses, not because
we care about who Mel.
Speaker 3 (23:47):
Ends up with, but because we really really love.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
Peg and Cindy and we can't wait to see which
one ends up potentially with the ring on it.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Yeah, we like Mel, Yeah, I have no We have
been jumping to watch these episodes but not for mal
we have a problem.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
But it's honestly, I would say, if you haven't checked
it out, oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
It's fun to just go ahead. There are not that
many episodes. We got through them in a day.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
It's up only eight or something.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
There's only eight, yes, so it's fun to catch up
in time for next week's finale. Not trying to necessarily
throw ratings anyone's way, but it really is. I do
like relationship shows that are authentic, and from this season,
most if not all, of these folks seem to be
there for the right reasons.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
So, folks, I always appreciate you hanging. I can't believe
we are here encouraging you, pushing you and promoting an
ABC Disney show.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
That was in my last comment in a veiled way,
like you know, we're not necessarily trying to promote the show,
but no, we do believe in these types of relationship shows.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
We call this growth robes. We're in a good place
and with that, folks, we all appreciate you spending some
time with us on t J. Holmes Own bab My
Dear Amy Roback talked to Austrian
Speaker 2 (25:10):
H
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