ABC recently unveiled the star of its new "Golden Bachelor" season, former NFL player Mel Owens, after two successful “Golden” seasons featuring singles aged 60-plus. Last week, Owens, age 66, broke the internet when his comments on the "In The Trenches" podcast went viral:

"They asked me, 'what's your preferences?' So, I just said 45 to 60, just being honest. You know, if they're 60 or over, I'm cutting them. They got to be fit because I stay in shape, should work out and stuff. And I told them, you know, try to stay away from the artificial hips and the wigs, you know, that kind of stuff, right."

A scan of social media reveals women are not impressed.1 "Selling Sunset" star Chrishell Stause expressed dismay on her Instagram, "We love the 'Golden Bachelor' because of how wholesome it is. This type of energy will ruin it.”

Women aren’t the only ones raising eyebrows. Even Barstool Sports pulled no punches2:

“You tell those ABC producers to get out there and find those hussies. You're not here for a distinguished, age-appropriate partner who relates to you in life experience and wisdom. You're here for a lineup of trim that'll give you 5-10 years of mind-blowing sex before inevitably giving you a heart attack and riding off into the sunset after snaking away your life savings from your two adult sons.”

The Bachelor viewership skews heavily female,3 so women’s reactions will likely have the biggest impact on ratings. Let’s unwrap the psychology behind why women are bristling at a Medicare-eligible man who is gunning to land a wife 10-20 years his junior.

Decades of research reveal a “double standard of aging” such that women are viewed as less attractive as they age compared to men.4 Studies also show that older women feel “invisible” in society,5 and this is reinforced by gender disparities in media representation: 80 percent of film characters over 50 are male.6

The Golden Bachelor's reinforcing of the devaluation of older women may also feel personal to older women who have waded into the dating pool. Men are far more likely than women to have dated someone 10-plus years younger (25 percent vs. 14 percent), and nearly half who have done so cite physical attractiveness as the reason.7

Dating apps add fuel to the fire. At age 56, supermodel Paulina Porizkova bemoaned her difficulty in finding prospects on dating apps, only to discover that dating app algorithms prioritize younger women's profiles because the apps assume they are who men want.8 Older men can certainly make wonderful partners, but women in Owen’s preferred age range may be hesitant to get attached to older men for fear of the following consequences of age misalignment.

Having an elderly partner during middle age risks caregiver overload. Middle age is when many adults become........

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