A new Golden Bachelor is ready to kick off season two.
Former professional football player Mel Owens, 66, has been revealed as the ABC dating series’ new lead, Disney Entertainment Television Publicity confirmed April 22.
The retired NFL linebacker—who played for the Los Angeles Rams for nine seasons after being selected as the ninth overall pick in the 1981 NFL Draft—might have been a pro football player, but he knows that finding love is not a game.
A Detroit native and University of Michigan graduate, Mel is a Midwest man at heart, the Disney press releases notes, although following his retirement from football, he moved to Orange County, Calif., to pursue a career in law. And his former profession even inspired his law career, as he helps people with sports-related injuries.
Beyond California helping shape his second act career-wise, it was also where he met his first wife, whom he shares two sons with. Still, as the press release notes, Mel is no stranger to difficult times, navigating the loss of his father and the end of his marriage. But amid those trying times, the former athlete remained focused on raising his boys and coaching their extracurricular sports teams.
