Mel Owens Reveals His Approach To Golden Bachelor Fantasy Suites

It’s almost time for Mel Owens’ Golden Bachelor fantasy suites — and while the Season 2 lead’s trip to Antigua promises tropical romance, there’s also tension in the air. In the teaser for the Nov. 5 episode, both Peg Munson and Cindy Cullers seem to express concerns about Mel’s level of commitment.

“I’m 62. I don’t have another five to seven years to waste,” Peg says at one point. In another clip, Cindy remarks: “I kind of want my guy to feel like he got struck by lightning and can’t live without me.”

Then there’s the confusing clip of Mel sitting alone at a candlelit dinner table, a grand fireworks display illuminating the sky above. The lonely scene seems to hint that one of his dates takes an unexpected turn — and not for the better.

So... what happens? While there are no spoilers about this season’s Golden Bachelor overnights, Mel did open up to Bustle about his mindset going into the make-or-break week.

Mel’s Approach To Fantasy Suites

While other Bachelor Nation leads have been specific about their fantasy suites plans — see Zach Shallcross’ “no sex” rule, or Joan Vassos’ request that beds be taken out of the equation altogether — Mel was a little more adaptable.

“This is how I basically operate in my entire life, all the time: I’m going to let it happen naturally,” Mel tells Bustle. “I think I have a good gut feeling, intuition, and I’m not one to force things, because I like to have it evolve naturally. And that was my approach.”

And while fantasy suites often come with grand love declarations, Mel says he didn’t want to “push” when it came to narrowing down his final two contestants. “I’m not going to overstep my hand. I’m not going to tell somebody something that’s not true, or mislead them,” he says. “I don’t want that to come back at me. So there wasn’t really a strategy, other than just to be myself and let things happen naturally.”

One Fateful Week

Mel’s commitment to not overstating his feelings is important on The Golden Bachelor. After all, one of Gerry Turner’s big regrets during Season 1 was that he said “I love you” to more than one woman, telling Variety that he confused his love for a moment with actually being in love. “When you say that to someone, it can become very destructive,” he said.

Of course, restraint can come with its own confusion. As seen in the fantasy suites trailer, both Peg and Cindy express confusion about where Mel stands — echoing concerns first voiced by their respective children during hometowns.