Golden Bachelor: Owens dates final two in Antigua ahead of finale

Mel Owens, the 66-year-old star of The Golden Bachelor, spent overnight dates with the season’s final two women in Antigua in Wednesday’s episode as the series moves toward its Nov. 12 finale. Owens, a retired NFL player turned lawyer from Detroit, took 60-year-old Cindy Cullers of Austin and 62-year-old Peg Munson of Las Vegas to separate Fantasy Suite dates that included a dune buggy outing, a stingray swim and a romantic dinner that producers say takes an unexpected turn.

The episode, which aired on ABC at 9 p.m. Eastern, delivered the private conversations meant to clarify whether either relationship could move beyond the show. Owens, who played college football at the University of Michigan and was the ninth overall pick in the 1981 NFL draft, has said he takes the words love and commitment seriously. In a recent interview he emphasized the importance of affection and compatibility, saying that you have to like a person before you can love them, and that the Fantasy Suites provide time for substantive, off-camera discussion.

Production notes and promotional material described the Antigua dates as a last opportunity for Owens to probe the emotional and practical...