A recent claim about the demise of ABC's new The Golden Bachelor decision was apparently greatly exaggerated.

ADVERTISEMENT

Mel Owens may still be The Golden Bachelor's new senior star despite a widely-reported claim ABC had fired and planned to replace him.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)

Mel, 66, was announced as The Golden Bachelor's Season 2 star back in April, and he recently admitted that he wants his cast of senior women to fit an age range of 45 through 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 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."

But Carbone was backtracking from a more definitive claim he had made only a day earlier.

"(EXCLUSIVE): I'm hearing that Mel Owens is OUT as the Golden Bachelor due to recent negative publicity surrounding his June 4th podcast appearance," Carbone tweeted on July 2.

"Expect an announcement soon incl who is going to replace him. Haven't heard a name yet on who that is. Will update if/when I hear."

Carbone explained on his July 3 podcast that a source had initially told him that Mel was "being replaced" as the Golden Bachelor.

"After I posted [on X], a few hours later, I got information from the same source who said, 'Fluid situation right now. I don't think they know what they're doing yet,'" Carbone clarified.

Carbone -- who's not sure if his X post has anything to do with ABC's alleged indecisiveness -- said he believes ABC is looking to see if there's any way to salvage Mel's The Golden Bachelor season.

"Whatever the case may be, a few hours later, I was told, 'It's a very fluid situation right now,' which means it could go either way," Carbone reiterated.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)  

Carbone said he thinks ABC and producers are "scrambling behind the scenes" and "figuring out what to do" about Mel.

"But to me, that means you already have your answer. If you had to have one meeting, at all, about whether or not Mel Owens should continue as your Golden Bachelor, that should be your answer, which is no, you shouldn't," Carbone said on his podcast.

"The fact you even have to discuss this means that he shouldn't be your Golden Bachelor. It's not making any sense. Now, I haven't heard any details as to why they may possibly keep him."

Carbone said if ABC does choose to keep Mel onboard, the network should address the controversy with fans.

"I don't know how you throw this guy out there and trot him out like he's never said anything... This show is going to lose their fanbase if they put Mel out there," Carbone claimed.

"It just doesn't make any sense... This show is going to kill the Golden franchise if they trot him out there."

During Carbone's July 4 podcast, the spoiler blogger repeated how he has "no idea" where The Golden bachelor is headed for Season 2.

"Are they keeping Mel? Are they not? I haven't heard anything new in the last 24 hours," Carbone confirmed.

He elaborated: "The last thing I heard is the situation is still fluid and they have not 100 percent made a decision. It's still possible that Mel will be the Golden Bachelor, and it's still possible they will recast him."

Prior to Carbone's X post on July 2, The Golden Bachelor host Jesse Palmer had suggested there was no plan to get rid of Mel.

When asked about Mel's age parameters for casting and the backlash that ensued, Jesse told Us Weekly, "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.

"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.'"

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)

On The Golden Bachelor's official Instagram page, fans have been lashing out at executive producers in the comments of Mel's April casting announcement.

ABC captioned the video of Mel, "He's 66 and single -- for now. Meet Mel Owens, a former NFL player-turned-lawyer, proud father, and your next Golden Bachelor."

A fan exclaimed, "THIS AINT THE BILL BELICHICK SHOW!"

One person chimed in, "FIND SOMEONE ELSE. THIS IS LITERALLY AGAINST WHAT YOU MADE THE SHOW FOR!!!!!! Hello??"

Another person vented, "How is it 'Golden' if his minimum age requirement is only like 10 years older than some of the regular Bachelor/ette contestants?"

Many commenters agreed ABC should "cut" Mel or "lose your viewers," and more comments poured in about how ABC had "really screwed up" by selecting Mel to hand out roses.

"No one is going to watch this," a person wrote. "You virtually lost everyone over 60, your demographic for this show. Just what we need. More misogyny by an older white man towards beautiful older women. Huge marketing fail."

Even Selling Sunset star Chrishell Stause expressed disapproval over Mel's shocking age requirement given he'd be the "Golden" Bachelor.

"We love The Golden Bachelor because of how wholesome it is," Chrishell, 43, wrote via Instagram Stories in late June, according to Us. "This type of energy will ruin it."

Chrishell set her post to "Hell to Da Naw Naw Naw" by Bishop Bullwinkle.

Because Mel hasn't conducted much press for The Golden Bachelor and there's been very little promotion of his season to date, Carbone recently acknowledged that it's certainly not too late for ABC to replace Mel.

When Mel had confessed that he wanted to date women between 45 and 60, he apparently got reprimanded.

"[The executive producer said], 'Oh, no, Mel, you can't! This is not The Silver Bachelor. This is The Golden Bachelor,'" Mel recalled on the Michigan podcast.

"[He assured me], 'But they're going to be hot. Don't worry about it. Don't worry about it.'"

Mel also said the executive producer had told him that he can't use the word "cut" when speaking about The Golden Bachelor eliminations.

"I know they're going to be beautiful," Mel conceded. "I know they are, but I had no say in them. I had no resume."

Mel shared how he had also asked the casting team for fit women who stay in shape and like to work out.

"And I told them, 'Try to stay away from the artificial lips and the wigs, you know, that kind of stuff, right?'" Mel said.

Mel added how he's looking for an energetic woman who wants to live life and continue learning.

Mel, who now lives Orange County, CA, was married for 25 years to his "first love," with whom he welcomed two sons, before they divorced.

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 their extracurricular sports teams.

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

Jesse concluded, "I think he's a great choice to be our next Golden Bachelor."

Mel was picked to follow in former The Golden Bachelor star Gerry Turner's footsteps.

Gerry had proposed marriage to his The Golden Bachelor winner, Theresa Nist, on the show's Season 1 finale in late 2023.

Gerry and Theresa, proudly showing off their love, rushed to the altar and got married in January 2024 for a televised wedding special on ABC.

Three months later, however, Gerry announced his split from Theresa and claimed distance was the problem.

Gerry filed for divorce from Theresa in April 2024, and then the pair's divorce was finalized in June 2024.

Since then, Theresa has said there's more to her breakup with Gerry than just the miles between them, and Gerry has claimed his early 2024 diagnosis with an incurable cancer had major influence over the pair's decision to part ways.

But Joan, the first star of The Golden Bachelorette, did, in fact, find her happily ever after.

Joan picked Chock Chapple as her The Golden Bachelorette winner on the show's finale in November 2024, and the pair is still happily engaged and making a long-distance relationship work.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)

Interested in more The Bachelor news? Follow our Bachelor Nation News Page on Facebook or join our The Bachelor Facebook Group!
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON GOOGLE NEWS