The Golden Bachelor season 2
| The Golden Bachelor | |
|---|---|
| Season 2 | |
Promotional poster | |
| Starring | Mel Owens |
| Presented by | Jesse Palmer |
| No. of contestants | 23 |
| Winner | Peg Munson |
| Runner-up | Cindy Cullers |
| No. of episodes | 9 |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | September 24 – November 12, 2025 |
| Season chronology | |
The second season of The Golden Bachelor premiered on September 24, 2025 on ABC.[1]
This season features 66-year-old Mel Owens, a lawyer and retired NFL linebacker from Laguna Hills, California.[2] It concluded on November 12, 2025, with Owens offering a promise ring to 62-year-old Peg Munson.[3]
Production
Casting and contestants
Owens was announced as the second Golden Bachelor on April 22, 2025, during Hulu's inaugural Get Real House event.[2]
Notable contestants include Andra Wicks, who is the twin sister of season 1 contestant Sandra Mason; Carol Freeman-Branstine, who is the aunt and manager of baseball player Freddie Freeman and mother of professional tennis player Carson Branstine; Debbie Siebers, who was a fitness coach on reality show The Swan in 2004, and Lily Reeves, who is the sister of Rita Wilson and mother of Claim to Fame contestant Carly Reeves.[4][5][6][7]
Dancer and choreographer Paula Abdul, comedian Jared Freid, chef Ludo Lefebvre, season 1 contestants Sandra Mason, Kathy Swarts, and Susan Noles, and musicians KC and the Sunshine Band made guest appearances this season.[8][9][10]
Filming and development
Owens faced controversy in June 2025 over comments he made about his potential cast, stating that he would cut any women aged over 60 and did not want to date women with wigs or artificial hips.[11]
While it was rumored that Owens would be replaced as lead due to the backlash, filming ultimately commenced as planned in July 2025 in Los Angeles, and concluded in Antigua in August.[12][13] Owens later issued an apology for his comments.[14]
Contestants
25 potential contestants were revealed on July 19, 2025.[15]
The final cast of 23 women was announced on September 4, 2025.[16]
| Name | Age | Hometown | Occupation | Outcome | Place | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peg Munson[17] | 62 | Las Vegas, Nevada | Retired Firefighter and Bomb Tech | Winner | 1 | [3] |
| Cindy Cullers[18] | 60 | Austin, Texas | Retired Biomedical Engineer | Runner-Up | 2 (quit) | |
| Debbie Siebers[6] | 65 | Little Chute, Wisconsin | Fitness Professional | Week 6 | 3 | [19] |
| Cheryl Steele[20] | 66 | Lakewood, Colorado | Retired IRS Worker | Week 5 | 4–5 | [21] |
| Nicolle Briscoe[22][23] | 64 | Miami Beach, Florida | Yoga Instructor | |||
| Carol Freeman-Branstine[5][24] | 63 | Villa Park, California | Baseball Family Manager | 6 (quit) | ||
| Gerri Flowers[25] | 64 | Rockville, Maryland | Home Care Agency CEO | Week 4 | 7–9 | [10] |
| Robin Rocha[24][26] | 63 | Napa Valley, California | Wealth Advisor/Vineyard Owner | |||
| Roxanne Massey[18] | 62 | Austin, Texas | Longevity Nurse | |||
| Amy Kaplan[27] | 63 | Short Hills, New Jersey | Momager | Week 3 | 10–13 | [9] |
| Monica Brewer[28] | 62 | Huntsville, Alabama | Flight Attendant | |||
| Monica Parham[28][29] | 60 | Amory, Mississippi | Cosmetic Dentist | |||
| Terri Alani[30] | 71 | Houston, Texas | Cosmetic Dentist | |||
| Alexandra Tovar[22] | 67 | Miami, Florida | Luxury Yacht Sales Representative | Week 2 | 14–17 | [8] |
| Carla Kemp[24] | 62 | Los Angeles, California | Former Model | |||
| Diane Firmani[31] | 71 | Wasilla, Alaska | Librarian | |||
| Mylene Vasilescu[32] | 61 | Las Vegas, Nevada | Casino VIP Host | |||
| Andra Wicks[4][24] | 77 | San Francisco, California | Retired Federal Worker | Week 1 | 18–23 | |
| Lily Reeves[7][24] | 72 | Pacific Palisades, California | Retired Elementary School Teacher | |||
| Lisa Flaherty[33] | 66 | Marion, Ohio | State Park Employee | |||
| Maia Dreyer[24] | 58 | Malibu, California | College Sports Consultant | |||
| Susie Lampe[24] | 62 | Del Mar, California | Realtor | |||
| Tracy Thompson[34] | 62 | Lafayette, Louisiana | Interior Designer |
Call-out order
| Order | Bachelorettes | Week | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7/8 | |||
| 1 | Cindy | Gerri | Cheryl | Nicolle | Peg | Cindy | Peg | Peg | |
| 2 | Carol | Peg | Cindy | Debbie | Carol | Peg | Cindy | Cindy | |
| 3 | Diane | Carla | Roxanne | Cindy | Debbie | Debbie | Debbie | ||
| 4 | Terri | Terri | Debbie | Peg | Cindy | Cheryl Nicolle |
|||
| 5 | Carla | Cheryl | Gerri | Roxanne | Cheryl | ||||
| 6 | Alexandra | Nicolle | Monica P. | Gerri | Nicolle | Carol | |||
| 7 | Debbie | Cindy | Monica B. | Cheryl | Gerri Robin Roxanne |
||||
| 8 | Peg | Amy | Carol | Robin | |||||
| 9 | Gerri | Alexandra | Peg | Carol | |||||
| 10 | Lisa | Monica P. | Nicolle | Amy Monica B. Monica P. Terri |
|||||
| 11 | Maia | Mylene | Robin | ||||||
| 12 | Nicolle | Carol | Amy | ||||||
| 13 | Monica P. | Roxanne | Terri | ||||||
| 14 | Robin | Monica B. | Alexandra Carla Diane Mylene |
||||||
| 15 | Andra | Robin | |||||||
| 16 | Amy | Diane | |||||||
| 17 | Susie | Debbie | |||||||
| 18 | Tracy | Andra Lily Lisa Maia Susie Tracy |
|||||||
| 19 | Monica B. | ||||||||
| 20 | Roxanne | ||||||||
| 21 | Lily | ||||||||
| 22 | Mylene | ||||||||
| 23 | Cheryl | ||||||||
- The contestant received the first impression rose
- The contestant received a rose during a date
- The contestant received a rose outside of a rose ceremony or date
- The contestant was eliminated
- The contestant was eliminated during a date
- The contestant was eliminated outside the rose ceremony
- The contestant quit the competition
- The contestant won the competition
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date [35] | Prod. code [35] | U.S. viewers (millions) | Rating (18–49) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 1 | "Week 1: Season Premiere" | September 24, 2025 | 201 | 2.60[36] | 0.3[36] |
| 11 | 2 | "Week 2" | September 24, 2025 | 202 | 2.60[36] | 0.3[36] |
| 12 | 3 | "Week 3" | October 1, 2025 | 203 | 2.05[37] | 0.2[37] |
| 13 | 4 | "Week 4" | October 8, 2025 | 204 | 1.93[38] | 0.2[38] |
| 14 | 5 | "Week 5" | October 15, 2025 | 205 | 2.18[39] | 0.2[39] |
| 15 | 6 | "Week 6" | October 22, 2025 | 206 | 2.27[40] | 0.2[40] |
| 16 | 7 | "The Women Tell All" | October 29, 2025 | N/A | 1.99[41] | 0.2[41] |
| 17 | 8 | "Week 7" | November 5, 2025 | 207 | 1.93[42] | 0.2[42] |
| 18 | 9 | "Week 8: Finale and After the Final Rose" | November 12, 2025 | 208 | 2.51[43] | 0.2[43] |
Notes
References
- ^ Petski, Denise (July 17, 2025i). "ABC Fall Premiere Dates: '9-1-1' Franchise, 'High Potential', 'Grey's Anatomy', 'Dancing' & More". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
- ^ a b Campione, Katie (April 22, 2025). "'The Golden Bachelor' Gets Official Season 2 Renewal, Sets New Leading Man". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
- ^ a b Ogwude, Haadiza (November 12, 2025). "Who won 'The Golden Bachelor'? Mel Owens' final rose goes to former Las Vegas firefighter". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved November 13, 2025.
- ^ a b Thompson, Avery (September 4, 2025). "'Golden Bachelor' Season 2: Meet Mel Owens' Contestants — Including a Bachelor Nation Twin (PHOTOS)". TV Insider. Retrieved September 8, 2025.
- ^ a b Hurtado, Yamillah (September 25, 2025). "MLB Superstar Freddie Freeman Is Related to a Golden Bachelor Contestant". People. Retrieved September 27, 2025.
- ^ a b Meinert, Kendra (September 23, 2025). "Little Chute native with a reality TV and infomercial past among 23 contestants on 'The Golden Bachelor'". The Post-Crescent. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
- ^ a b Jones, Sarah (October 21, 2025). "Golden Bachelor's Lily Reeves Reveals She's Related to Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson: 'He Helped Raise My Daughters' (Exclusive)". People. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
- ^ a b Matarese, Jennifer (September 24, 2025). "RECAP: 'Golden Bachelor' Mel Owens begins his journey to find love, apologizes for podcast remarks". KABC-TV. Archived from the original on September 25, 2025. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
- ^ a b Reiher, Andrea (October 1, 2025). "Mel Gets Roasted! Who Went Home on 'The Golden Bachelor' Tonight?". Parade. Retrieved October 1, 2025.
- ^ a b Matarese, Jennifer (October 8, 2025). "'Golden Bachelor' recap plus contestant Monica B. muses on her time on show". KABC-TV. Retrieved October 8, 2025.
- ^ Chuba, Kirsten (June 26, 2025). "New 'Golden Bachelor' Mel Owens Says if Women on His Season Are "60 or Over, I'm Cutting Them"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
- ^ Reed, Sam (July 2, 2025). "The Mel Owens Golden Bachelor Drama, Explained". Glamour. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
- ^ Udler, Karen (November 3, 2025). "Antigua's Most Romantic Resorts Star in The Golden Bachelor's Season Finale". Caribbean Journal. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
- ^ Radloff, Jessica (August 1, 2025). "The Golden Bachelor's Mel Owens Knows Bachelor Nation Is Angry: 'I Deserved It'". Glamour. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
- ^ "Here's your first look at the women looking for love on 'The Golden Bachelor'". WSB-TV. July 20, 2025. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
- ^ Sullivan, Corinne (September 4, 2025). "It's Time to Meet All 23 'Golden Bachelor' Contestants for Season 2". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
- ^ Gallucci, Nicole (October 8, 2025). "Who Is Peg Munson On 'The Golden Bachelor' Season 2?". Decider. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
- ^ a b Simmerman, Alexis (September 24, 2025). "'The Golden Bachelor' season 2 cast features 2 Austin women". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved September 27, 2025.
- ^ Reiher, Andrea (October 22, 2025). "One Hometown Date Really Stood Out! Who Went Home on 'The Golden Bachelor' Tonight?". Parade. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
- ^ Thompson, Avery (November 2, 2025). "Who Will Be the New 'Golden Bachelorette' Lead? 5 of Mel Owens' Contestants Weigh In". Swooon. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
- ^ Reiher, Andrea (October 15, 2025). "A Devastating Elimination! Who Went Home on 'The Golden Bachelor' Tonight?". Parade. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
- ^ a b Feinstein, Naomi (September 8, 2025). "Meet the Miami Women on the Golden Bachelor Season Two". Miami New Times. Retrieved September 17, 2025.
- ^ Hearon, Sarah (October 8, 2025). "The Golden Bachelor's Nicolle Kate Briscoe May Have Just Become the Wildest Villain in Years". Us Weekly. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g Lindahl, Jennifer (September 16, 2025). "Will the 'Golden Bachelor' find love in his home state of California?". The Desert Sun. Retrieved September 17, 2025.
- ^ "New Montgomery County Hopeful Will Be On The Upcoming Season of The Golden Bachelor". The MoCo Show. September 5, 2025. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
- ^ "St. Helena woman to compete on 'The Golden Bachelor'". Napa Valley Register. September 17, 2025. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- ^ Hudgins, Ryan (October 20, 2025). "Golden Bachelor's Amy Kaplan Makes a Case to be the Golden Bachelorette (Exclusive)". Us Weekly. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
- ^ a b Rayburn, Josh (September 4, 2025). "Huntsville flight attendant, Birmingham dentist looking for love on 'The Golden Bachelor'". WAAY-TV. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
- ^ Van Dusen, Ray (September 24, 2025). "North Mississippi native looking for love on new season of 'The Golden Bachelor'". Monroe Journal. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
- ^ "Houston's 'Texas Tooth Lady,' dentist Terri Alani, joins 'The Golden Bachelor' for Season 2". Houston Chronicle. September 7, 2025. Retrieved September 8, 2025.
- ^ Stavick, Katie (September 17, 2025). "Wasilla woman joins the second season of 'The Golden Bachelor'". Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- ^ Donnellan, Sara (September 25, 2025). "See the 10 women Mel Owens sent home during 'The Golden Bachelor' premiere". NJ.com. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
- ^ "Marion native to appear as contestant on ABC's 'The Golden Bachelor'". WSYX. September 7, 2025. Retrieved September 8, 2025.
- ^ Brown, Joanna (September 4, 2025). "Lafayette native to compete for the heart of the Golden Bachelor in season 2". The Acadiana Advocate. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
- ^ a b "The Golden Bachelor Episode Listings". The Futon Critic. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
- ^ a b c d Pucci, Douglas (September 26, 2025). "Wednesday Ratings: NBC and CBS Share Leadership on Non-Scripted Laden Night". Programming Insider. Retrieved September 26, 2025.
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- ^ a b Pucci, Douglas (October 10, 2025). "Wednesday Ratings: NBC Leads in Viewers, MLB Postseason on Cable Tops in Key Demos". Programming Insider. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
- ^ a b Pucci, Douglas (October 17, 2025). "Wednesday Ratings: NBC and FS1 Again Share Victory on the Night". Programming Insider. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
- ^ a b Pucci, Douglas (October 24, 2025). "Wednesday Ratings: ESPN Leads Prime Time Among Key Adult Demos with NBA, Inside the NBA Hits 2-Year High for Regular Season in ESPN Debut". Programming Insider. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
- ^ a b Pucci, Douglas (October 31, 2025). "Wednesday Ratings: MLB World Series a Domestic and International Success". Programming Insider. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
- ^ a b Pucci, Douglas (November 7, 2025). "Wednesday Ratings: NBC Leeds Primetime in Total Viewers and CBS Earns Demo Victory". Programming Insider. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
- ^ a b Pucci, Douglas (November 14, 2025). "Wednesday Ratings: The Golden Bachelor on ABC Achieves 7-Week High in Total Viewers with Season Finale". Programming Insider. Retrieved November 14, 2025.