Mel Owens' 46-year-old ex-wife, Fabiana Owens, has issued a fiery statement about Mel and how his The Golden Bachelor season is going to be a disappointment.

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After Mel, 66, made controversial ageist comments about his potential cast of Golden bachelorettes, Fabiana spoke out.

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When asked to comment on her ex-husband becoming The Golden Bachelor's Season 2 star, Fabiana took an opportunity to warn the show's upcoming cast of women.

"Good luck. I mean, it's going to be bad," Fabiana told the Daily Mail.

"But anyway," she added, "I don't want to be involved in this."

According to court documents obtained by the Daily Mail, Mel and Fabiana tied the knot in 2002 and were married for 17 years before Fabiana filed for divorce in February 2020, citing irreconcilable differences.

The former couple welcomed two sons together: Lucas, 19, and Andre, 18.

Following a four-year court battle, Mel and Fabiana finalized their divorce in December 2024. They share legal and physical custody, although their children are no longer minors.

Per the divorce settlement, Mel was ordered to pay his ex-wife a sum of $980,000, although she had never requested ongoing spousal support or alimony.

In addition to covering the rest of Andre's high school tuition and the cost of extracurricular activities, Mel was asked to pay his wife on or before February 28, 2025.

The nearly $1 million amount reportedly included over $165,000 in unpaid child and spousal support that accumulated over time.

Mel was reportedly awarded the former couple's home in Orange County, which they had purchased in 2008 for $840K and is now estimated to be worth over $2 million.

In mid-April 2024, Mel's mortgage loan had an outstanding balance in the amount of $430,531.

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Mel had reported in December 2024 that he was making $1,000 per month at Namanny, Byrne & Owens (NBO) Law, according to Mel's income and declaration form obtained by the Daily Mail.

Fabiana's income was reportedly nearly $7,000 per month at that time.

Mel did state, however, that he had $250,000 in the bank as well as $2.5 million in property.

When Mel, a former NFL player-turned-lawyer, was announced as The Golden Bachelor's Season 2 star back in April, ABC said Fabiana was Mel's "first love" in life.

ABC shared that when Mel got divorced and grieved the death of his father, he channeled his energy into being the best father he could be and coaching his kids' extracurricular sports teams.

The Golden Bachelor host Jesse Palmer told Us Weekly in April how Mel was looking for genuine and lasting companionship "in its purest state" and Mel was "going to be a great lead."

But Mel recently admitted that he wants his cast of senior women to be between the ages of 45 and 60.

Mel recalled during a June appearance on the "MGoBlue" podcast with Jon Jansen, "I said [to an executive producer], 'You know, if they're 60 or over, I'm cutting them.'"

Bachelor Nation has been expressing outrage and disgust over Mel's "ageist" and "superficial" remarks on social media ever since, prompting recent speculation ABC may replace Mel as the show's lead.

"It's a fluid situation. I don't know if anything has truly been decided," The Bachelor spoiler blogger Steve Carbone said during the July 3 episode of his "Reality Steve Podcast."

Carbone added, "There is still a chance Mel is going to be the Golden Bachelor because of whatever reason."

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Prior to Carbone's podcast comments, Jesse had suggested there was no plan to fire Mel.

When asked about Mel's age parameters for casting and the backlash that ensued, Jesse told Us, "I've seen the headlines, obviously, because I'm on social media. I have not heard the podcast."

Jesse revealed that ABC has yet to begin filming The Golden Bachelor's second season, which is expected to air in Fall 2026 on ABC.

"So I haven't spent a ton of time with Mel. The small amount of time I have spent with him, he seems like a good guy," Jesse shared.

"But I know I'm going to spend a lot more time with him pretty soon. I'm sure that's something we're going to talk about."

Carbone pointed out on his July 4 podcast how ABC may be leaving Jesse in the dark about their talks, at least for right now.

"If the higher ups are still deciding what to do with Mel, they don't need to include Jesse in anything. He has no executive producer credits on the show," Carbone explained.

"He's just the host. So they could easily say, 'Oh, Jesse, by the way, we're replacing him.'"

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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