&34;The Golden Bachelor&34; star shares his thoughts on reuniting with his exes at &34;The Women Tell All,&34; the lemon bar drama, and more. Golden Bachelor Mel Owens defends aspiring influencer Nicolle: 'She was into me' &34;The Golden Bachelor&34; star shares his thoughts on reuniting with his exes at &34;The Women Tell All,&34; the lemon bar drama, and more. By Kristen Baldwin :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/KristenBaldwinauthorphoto9b7138438eee4a52b47c71675aebb117.

"The Golden Bachelor" star shares his thoughts on reuniting with his exes at "The Women Tell All," the lemon bar drama, and more.

Golden Bachelor Mel Owens defends aspiring influencer Nicolle: 'She was into me'

"The Golden Bachelor" star shares his thoughts on reuniting with his exes at "The Women Tell All," the lemon bar drama, and more.

By Kristen Baldwin

Kristen Baldwin

Kristen Baldwin is a TV critic for **, and a writer and editor with 25 years of experience in entertainment journalism. Prior to EW, she served as editor-in-chief of Yahoo Entertainment, and is currently a member of the Television Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. She does not know how to football the Super Bowl.

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October 29, 2025 10:00 p.m. ET

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Mel Owens, Nicolle. Credit:

Disney/John Fleenor

For *The Golden Bachelor *star Mel Owens, riding a horse during his one-on-one date with Cindy was a little scary. But facing 15 of his exes at *The Women Tell All* reunion? Not so much.

"I wasn't fearful, because I really had very good relationships with them," Mel tells **. "I think I left on good terms with all of them. Obviously, I was anxious, but actually I was really happy to see them. We're part of the alumni group now, so it's pretty special."

Though none of the women at Wednesday's *Women Tell All* had bad things to say about Mel, the reunion special did tackle the season's biggest controversies, including Nicolle's blatant influencer ambitions and the tension over those lemon bars (which, once again, involved Nicolle). After reuniting with the women on stage and watching his "journey" unfold on TV, Mel gave *EW* a call to share his thoughts on all the drama, his many on-screen smooches, and who he thinks should be the next Golden Bachelorette.

Jesse Palmer, Mel Owens.

Disney/John Fleenor

**The *Women Tell All *really focuses on what went on between the women during season, a lot of which you probably weren't privy to at the time. When you watched the show back, what conflict surprised you the most?**

**MEL OWENS: **Obviously, there's personalities that come together and some don't come together. But I think overall, from what I've heard, most of the women have a real good sisterhood together. Even when there was a little bit of sniping, it all stays inside the group and was taken care of internally. I haven't seen too much really spill out in public.

**There was a lot of discussion at the reunion about Nicolle's influencer ambitions. Watching it back, what went through your mind when you saw her saying, "I'm not dating Mel, I'm dating America" and things like that?**

I just really take it in stride. Some things people say off-the-cuff, and they really don't mean it in that way. She said that, but her actions were completely different. She was into me. At the end when she was leaving, you probably saw, she goes, "Oh, if it doesn't work out, call me." If she doesn't care anything about me, she wouldn't have said that, in my opinion. And what she said about "dating America, not Mel," it's like, I'm sure there's a little bit of truth there, but it's no big deal.

**Well, she also said, "Maybe you'll choose me for Golden Bachelorette!"**

This was, I think, secondary when she went home. You know, the next best thing is to be the Golden Bachelorette. There's nothing wrong with aspirations.

**We also really need to hear your thoughts on #LemonBarGate — the scandal that arose after Nicolle took credit for making you lemon bars, even though several women helped make them?**

The lemon bars were good! [*Laughs*] The lemon bar thing, I love lemon desserts. I did mention to Debbie that my favorite dessert is lemon meringue that my mother made, or anything in the lemon family. I guess she went back and said, Hey, Mel likes lemon desserts. In Nicolle's defense, she did have the recipe. They didn't have their phones or the internet, so she had written out on a piece of paper a recipe that she remembered. She was the one who actually put it together... There is something to be said about putting the initial effort into it. But the real issue is she took credit for all of it — the girls had an issue with that. Sometimes, you get overzealous and, you know, you want to make an impression. But the lemon bars came out great, and it was her recipe. So congratulations to her.

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**Debbie said it was sometimes hard to pull things out of you. In retrospect, do you think you were as open as you could have been?**

Well, everybody can be more open about whatever they want to be. Some things people just don't want to talk about, because you're not familiar with the person or you're not comfortable talking in front of cameras. So, some things I didn't want to talk about, or it wasn't appropriate for me at that time to talk about. I don't put things out there to see what sticks and then talk about it — it's just not the way I do things. But I was open to all questions, and I would answer them truthfully.

**What's the funniest thing you've read about yourself online since the show's been airing?**

One thing that makes me laugh even now is about the whole podcast thing. Some guy was talking about it, and he goes, "Clown alert! The guy's 66 years old!" That's one thing that always stuck with me.

Disney/John Fleenor

**What's it like watching yourself smooch so many different women on camera?**

It's not as crazy as I thought it would be. My friends are the ones commenting to me on it, like, "Oh my God, you're kissing so many women!" I thought I'd be more squeamish about it, but I really wasn't.

**Of all the women who were at the *Women Tell All*, who do you think would make the best Golden Bachelorette?**

Personally, I would think Debbie would be a great Golden Bachelorette because number one, she's been on film before. She's a former fitness-video instructor. Her demeanor on camera is good. Obviously, she's got a good temperament, and she's honest and sincere. The fact [that she] hasn't been married, I think, is a big plus. It's a good thing because it's something that she sincerely is looking forward to — and she deserves it.

*This interview has been edited for length and clarity. *

*The Golden Bachelor *airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

Original Article on Source

Source: "EW TV"

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Published: October 30, 2025 at 04:57AM on Source: ALPHA MAG

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