Did 'Golden Bachelor' Mel Owens Hide the Truth About His Much Younger Ex-Wife From the Women?
- - Did 'Golden Bachelor' Mel Owens Hide the Truth About His Much Younger Ex-Wife From the Women?
Andrea ReiherNovember 6, 2025 at 3:45 AM
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Disney/John Fleenor
Part one of The Golden Bachelor Season 2 finale took a surprisingly awkward turn during Mel Owens and Cindy Cullers’ overnight date — and it all seemed to hinge on one uncomfortable question about Mel’s past.
The Question That Brought Dinner Conversation to a Screeching Halt
During the dinner portion of their Fantasy Suite date, there was a very strange segment where Cindy asked Mel why he waited so long to get married — a question that immediately changed the tone of their evening.
He was 43 when he got married, which, yes, is a little later than a lot of people are when they get married, but it’s not like he was with the love of his life for decades and refused to tie the knot or something.
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What makes the exchange even more curious is that it definitely seems like Mel never addressed one key detail about his marriage: his ex-wife Fabiana Pimentel Owens is nearly 20 years younger than he is.
Mel was 43 when he married Fabiana in 2002; she was just 24 at the time. The two went on to share two sons — Lucas and Andre — before divorcing in 2024 after a lengthy legal battle, though they actually split in 2020, and it took nearly five more years to finalize the divorce.
Did Mel Conveniently Omit the Information That Fabiana Is 20 Years Younger Than He Is?
It’s unclear whether the women on The Golden Bachelor knew about the age difference between Mel and Fabiana, but it would make sense if he chose not to reveal that after his controversial comments about wanting contestants to be between 45 and 60 years old.
During the dinner, Cindy’s line of questioning suggested she believed Mel had waited a really long time to actually get married, which is fairly presumptuous of her. It was like she assumed he waited until middle age to find the right partner on purpose or something.
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This really made me wonder if the women knew about the age gap between Mel and his ex-wife. Cindy seemed to be operating under the assumption that they were basically the same age and waited to get married, which, again — presumptuous. For all she knows, they might not have even met until they were both nearly 40, so it wasn't like Mel was dragging his feet or something.
Also, Mel really could not have married Fabiana much sooner than he did. I mean, assume they dated for a while and were engaged for a while, so how old was Fabiana when they met? 21? 22? When does Cindy expect him to have gotten married? Which, again, lends some credence to the idea that the women didn't know during filming how much younger his ex-wife is.
It was a strange, tension-filled moment — one that may have shifted Mel’s view of Cindy heading into the finale’s second half. Honestly, it felt to me like she absolutely torpedoed her chances right there because she was really grilling him. It was like she was assuming that since he "waited so long" to get married the first time that he would also wait a long time now, and that made her uneasy? It was very unclear exactly what she was digging for in questioning his marriage.
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Inside Mel Owens’ Marriage & Divorce
Before his Golden Bachelor debut, Owens was married to Fabiana Pimentel Owens for nearly two decades. The pair’s divorce wasn’t finalized until December 2024, nearly five years after Fabiana filed in February 2020.
Court documents obtained by Us Weekly revealed that Owens was ordered to pay nearly $1 million in child and spousal support, property division, and attorney’s fees. Despite claiming to earn just $1,000 a month, he retained more than $2.75 million in assets — including their $2 million Orange County home.
When asked about his appearance on The Golden Bachelor, Fabiana told the Daily Mail, “Good luck. I mean, it’s going to be bad. But anyway, I don’t want to be involved in this.”
The second part of The Golden Bachelor season 2 finale airs Wednesday, November 12, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, with the finale streaming the next day on Hulu.
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This story was originally reported by Parade on Nov 6, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
