Mel Owens Ex Wife Warns Women As He’s Hit with $980K Divorce Settlement

As ABC prepares to launch the second season of its hit senior dating series The Golden Bachelor, controversy is already swirling around newly announced lead Mel Owens. The former NFL linebacker and Los Angeles-based attorney is facing intense scrutiny—not only for his divisive public comments about age and dating preferences but also for details emerging from his recent divorce settlement.

A “Bold” Warning From His Ex-Wife

In a candid interview with the Daily Mail, Owens’ ex-wife, Fabiana Pimentel Owens, didn’t mince words when asked about his upcoming reality TV role. The 46-year-old mother of two issued a blunt message to the women who may be vying for his heart on the show:

“Good luck. I mean, it’s going to be bad. But anyway, I don’t want to be involved in this.”

The pair married in 2002 and share two teenage sons, Lucas and Andre. Their divorce, finalized in December 2024 after a four-year legal battle, ended with Mel being ordered to make ongoing financial payments to Fabiana as part of the court-mandated settlement. While specific financial terms were not disclosed publicly, court documents confirm the obligations remain in effect.

According to court documents, the couple officially separated just 20 days before Fabiana—then working as a hotel marketing director—filed for divorce.

Despite their two sons now being legal adults (their youngest, Andre, turned 18 just one month after the divorce was finalized), the court granted joint legal and physical custody, reflecting an arrangement of shared parenting responsibilities.

Rather than being required to pay ongoing child support, Mel Owens was instead ordered to cover all expenses related to Andre’s final year of high school. This includes tuition, school fees, and the full cost of extracurricular activities until graduation.

Although Fabiana waived any future rights to spousal support, alimony, or separate maintenance, the court ordered Mel to pay her a lump sum of $980,000.

This nearly $1 million payment—due on or before February 28, 2025, per the judge’s order—covers a range of financial obligations. These include:

• Support arrearages: A total of $165,312, made up of $81,629 in unpaid child support and $83,683 in unpaid spousal support.
• Post-December 2024 support obligations, if applicable.
• Division of non-retirement community property assets and debts.
• A prior court-imposed monetary sanction.
• Contribution to Fabiana’s attorney’s fees and legal costs.

The ruling underscores the contentious and financially complex nature of the couple’s four-year divorce process—one that now casts a long shadow as Owens prepares to step into the spotlight on national television.

Owens, 66, recently made headlines for his unapologetic comments about the kind of women he’s interested in dating—remarks many fans and critics have blasted as ageist and tone-deaf.

Appearing on the MGoBlue podcast in June, Owens declared that he has no interest in dating women over the age of 60. “Cut,” he reportedly said when discussing that age bracket. He also emphasized a preference for “fit” women and disparaged the use of wigs and artificial hips—comments that sparked immediate backlash, especially considering The Golden Bachelor franchise’s aim to celebrate love later in life.

Social media users and entertainment columnists quickly called him out, accusing him of reinforcing unrealistic beauty standards and undermining the show’s heartwarming tone. “He missed the whole point,” one fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter). Others called on ABC to reconsider its casting decision.

Despite the mounting controversy and public pressure, ABC is sticking with Owens as the lead for Season 2 of The Golden Bachelor. Filming is slated to begin later this summer, with a premiere expected in fall 2025.

ABC has not issued a formal response to the backlash, and Owens himself has remained relatively quiet since the podcast aired.

With a high-profile divorce just behind him, financial obligations still in play, and a storm of public scrutiny building, Mel Owens enters the Bachelor Mansion with far more baggage than most. Whether viewers will accept him as a sincere suitor or see him as a miscast lead remains to be seen.

But one thing is clear: between controversial soundbites and a rocky personal history, Owens’ journey for love is already anything but ordinary.