During the Sept. 24 debut, the 66\u2011year\u2011old revealed his ex\u2011wife filed for divorce in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic after falling in love with someone else.<\/p>\n
“In 2020, during Covid, my Dad died. And then my wife filed for divorce. She had found someone new. I was shocked,” Owens said on the ABC show.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s heart-wrenching. I mean, it\u2019s the toughest thing I\u2019ve ever gone through. In the quest for love, along the way, you\u2019re gonna get knocked down even sometimes when it\u2019s unexpected. But you have to get back up and try to find it again. Since the divorce, I haven\u2019t really dated. I had to stay focused on my kids.”<\/p>\n
‘GOLDEN BACHELOR’ STAR MEL OWENS DOES DAMAGE CONTROL AFTER CONTROVERSIAL AGE PREFERENCE COMMENTS<\/a><\/p>\n Mel Owens and ex-wife Fabiana Pimentel were married for nearly 18 years, and share two sons. (John Nacion\/WireImage)<\/p>\n Even though his divorce was tough, Owens told Us Weekly<\/a>, “But, you know, I\u2019m never going to get in the way of someone\u2019s happiness.<\/p>\n “If you want to find somebody else in a different phase in your life \u2014 it hurts \u2014 but I can\u2019t get in the way of your happiness. And what\u2019s your happiness may not be my happiness.<\/p>\n “That\u2019d be a real conflict. You can\u2019t stop somebody, say, \u2018I\u2019m over here now.\u2019 You can beg and plead, but I\u2019m fine. Life is short, and if you\u2019re in love with somebody else, that\u2019s fine.”<\/p>\n Owens and his ex-wife, Fabiana Pimentel, were married<\/a> for nearly 18 years and share two sons.<\/p>\n LIKE WHAT YOU\u2019RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS<\/a><\/p>\n “Golden Bachelor” star Mel Owens said his wife of nearly 18 years left him for another man. (Disney\/Stewart Cook)<\/p>\n Describing how he coped with the emotional split, Owens added, “You live in the moment. Plus, I had kids, so I had to think about them before me. So, that was the main focus. And there were younger kids at the time \u2014 not infants, but teenagers. I let things work itself out, and it did. And have patience and understanding.”<\/p>\n As for whether his ex-wife will tune in<\/a> to “The Golden Bachelor,” Owens said, “I don\u2019t know, but my boys told me, like, \u2018Oh, she\u2019s not gonna be watching.\u2019 But everybody\u2019s peeking.”<\/p>\n ‘GOLDEN BACHELOR’ MEL OWENS FLIP-FLOPS ON DATING PREFERENCE, NOW SAYS THERE’S ‘NO AGE TO LOVE’<\/a><\/p>\n The retired NFL linebacker previously admitted that he requested “Golden Bachelor” producers limit his dating pool to women under age 60. (Monica Schipper\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Owens admitted, “I\u2019d be watching [if it was her]! Everybody\u2019s peeking.”<\/p>\n During a podcast interview in June, the retired NFL linebacker admitted he requested producers limit his dating pool to women under age 60.<\/p>\n “It\u2019s blind up until they get out of the limo. But they asked me, \u2018What\u2019s your preferences?\u2019 So, I just said 45 to 60, just being honest,” Owens said on the “In the Trenches”<\/a> podcast.<\/p>\n![\"Mel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/mel-owens-1.jpg\")
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