The Bachelor

Nick Viall fielded plenty of potential partners while starring in "The Bachelor" and appearing in two seasons of "The Bachelorette" ... and he eventually found love off-camera with his now-wife, Natalie Joy.

The pair have been through lots of changes over the course of their relationship, which has seen them go from casually dating to raising a child together ... and working together to co-host their shared podcast.

We're going to take a look at the background of Viall's wife to see how she established herself before marrying her husband ... and we'll check out how they've had to deal with some serious, heavy events over the course of their marriage.

Joy's had a non-traditional career path, as she dropped out of high school at 15 in order to pursue her modeling interests, according to The New York Times.

She eventually transitioned out of the fashion world, and she began working as a surgical technologist in her hometown of Savannah, Georgia.

Oh, and in case you didn't know, surgical technologists help prepare patients before and after procedures, sterilize equipment, and provide support for surgeons during operations, according to the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science.

In addition to her medical career, Joy's established herself as a media figure and often appears on her husband's podcast.

Joy's relationship with Viall, who's 18 years her senior, began after she slid into his DMs, and he later described his now-wife's actions as both unexpected and "funny" while speaking with E! News.

The pair eventually began seeing each other in June 2020 after an extended period of casual dating, and they moved in together five months later.

Joy and Viall made their red carpet debut in November 2021, and he let his fans know he had proposed to Natalie two years later.

The podcaster and his partner eventually made things official when they said their vows during a ceremony held in Joy's home state in April 2024.

The pair's wedding included plenty of guests -- including their daughter River, who was born just two months before the ceremony.

The thing is, the couple's journey through parenthood hasn't always been the easiest, as she revealed she was "actively miscarrying" their second child in a January 2025 episode of "The Viall Files" podcast.

Joy eventually got pregnant again, although she suffered another pregnancy loss two months later, and shared a message on her Instagram Story to express she might "never" feel the same again, according to E! News.

It's time to put your celebrity knowledge and skills to the true test, and for all you reality TV junkies ... this should be a piece of cake! Can you guess which Hollywood hottie put his summer bod on full display in this eye-popping shot?!

Okay, so he may not live in Hollywood, but he definitely got his start here ... When he's not workin' out and bulkin' up, he loves hoppin' on a boat in Florida.

Need one more clue? Kristin Cavallari kissed him for an 'Uncommon James' photoshoot.

Mel Owens has been in the media plenty of times over his life, which has seen him go from being a professional football player to a sports lawyer -- before signing on as the second "Golden Bachelor" on the popular television show.

The thing is, the sports figure landed himself in hot water in 2025, when he told producers he wasn't looking to date anyone over the age of 60 ... which caused a stir within Bachelor Nation.

We're going to check out what the television figure's done to make a name for himself prior to his appearance on the hit ABC series ... and see what he's said about his past comments.

Owens began his athletic career at the University of Michigan, where he served as one of the institution's linebackers for several years before ending his college career in 1980.

Mel brought his talents as a linebacker to the Los Angeles Rams, and he joined the team in 1981.

The professional athlete spent the entirety of his football career with the team, retiring from the NFL in 1989.

Following his stint with the Rams, Owens became a lawyer focusing on sports-related injuries and incidents ... he married and had two sons with a woman named Fabiana Owens in 2002, according to Us Weekly, and divorced his wife in 2020.

Owens' designation as the second Golden Bachelor was revealed to Bachelor Nation fans in April 2025.

The former professional football player will be following the first Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner -- who married and quickly divorced his own season's winner, Theresa Nist.

Jesse Palmer, who hosts "The Bachelor" and its various spinoffs, described Owens as a perfect candidate for the program in an interview with Us Weekly, where he said the former athlete had been through "hills and valleys in his personal life."

Palmer went on to describe Owens as a "great lead" and stated the lawyer "really wants to find a special person" through his involvement with the program.

The thing is, Owens upset much of Bachelor Nation when he was asked his dating preferences by show producers, answering he only wanted women within the 45-60 age range to appear on his season of "The Golden Bachelor," according to an interview for the "In The Trenches" podcast.

Mel stated he'd told producers he wanted all the women "to be fit" and asked them to stay away from "artificial hips and the wigs."

Owens later told Glamour he'd spoken to a friend about his comments regarding the age of the show's contestants, and claimed he didn't realize they'd "hit that hard" in their conversation, after which he wanted to publicly apologize for what he'd said.

Mel Owens is trying to make up for his insensitive comments about age as filming for "The Golden Bachelor" Season 2 gets underway ... revealing he apologized to all the ladies on the first night of shooting.

The reality TV star spoke to Glamour for an interview published Friday about a comment he made on a podcast in June, when he said he preferred to date a woman between the ages of 45 and 60 ... and, he said he told producers to "try to stay away from the artificial hips and the wigs, you know, that kind of stuff.”

The interview sent fans into a frenzy, and they called for his firing from the show ... which tipped Owens off to the fact that he'd said something wrong -- 'cause he admits until a respected colleague called him on the comments, he didn't see the big deal.

"The Golden Bachelor" Gerry Turner is weighing in on Mel Owens' turn as the star of the show -- saying it’s fair game to call out the new guy for wanting to ditch women over a certain age.

Gerry makes it clear to TMZ that Mel’s own 45-to-60 age-limit window -- and his intention to immediately axe anyone older -- is a bad look ... and he's urging the 66-year-old to be more open-minded about age and all the possibilities that can come out of it.

The TV star reflects on his own 'Golden Bachelor' days -- saying producers told him to stay receptive when he asked for women 65 and up. They promised gems on both ends of the age spectrum ... and turns out, they were right.

That's it for Bachelor Nation's Grant Ellis and Juliana Pasquarosa. The seemingly fairy tale couple has called it quits -- making their breakup official with respective social media posts.

They each shared heartfelt messages of their own confirming their split with the same overarching sentiments -- while they appreciated their time together ... they just weren't the best match.

On Grant's part, he said ... "We both gave this our best and poured a lot of love into each other, but after a lot of deep conversations, we've come to the understanding that we're simply not the right fit long term."

Kaity Biggar and Zach Shallcross are officially husband and wife ... TMZ has learned.

According to court documents, obtained by TMZ, "The Bachelor" alums tied the knot on May 23, 2025, in Texas.

The marriage comes more than two years after the pair got engaged during the season finale of the ABC dating show in March 2023. Zach and Kaitlyn -- known to fans as "Kaity" during her time on the show -- first met while filming season 27 of the series.

Filming for ABC's reality show "Bachelor In Paradise" has officially commenced -- bringing back familiar faces, host Jesse Palmer, bartender Wells Adams, and throwin' former "Bachelorette" Hannah Brown behind the bar as a new addition 🍹!

For the first time ever, the cameras moved from the OG Mexico location and picked up in a new hot spot -- Costa Rica!

Per social media, it looks like Palmer, Adams and Brown are havin' a hell of a time!

It’s that time of year -- temps are climbing, and so are the number of shirtless hotties flexing by the pool.

This guy’s serving serious abs and summer energy -- can you guess who he is? Here’s a hint: He once handed out roses on "The Bachelor."

Gerry Turner didn't find Mrs. Right on "The Golden Bachelor" ... but if at first you don't succeed, try again -- 'cause it turns out Gerry's taking another stab at happily ever after!

Turner tells TMZ ... he's got a new lady in his life, meeting her in a super modern way -- via Facebook.

The way Gerry tells it ... he gets a ton of Facebook requests, approving people he has many mutual friends with -- including a woman named Lana who reached out to him.

'Bachelor' babe Corinne Olympios loves a good pool moment, but her recent poolside photo shoot may just drown out all the others ...

The reality TV star -- who rose to stardom on Nick Viall's season of "The Bachelor" -- teased her 1.4 million followers, undressing by the pool and soakin' up that vitamin D!

Check it out ... Olympios stripped down, took off her crop top and showed off her slim physique in a black bikini.

She continued the shoot with a whole bun-cha sexy shots ... Here's a hot selfie exposing her bikini booty!

"The Golden Bachelor" is returning and the new leading man has a past life in the NFL.

Mel Owens was announced as the new 'Golden Bachelor' for Season 2 by ABC on Tuesday. The 66-year-old was selected as the ninth overall pick during the 1981 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams. He now works as a lawyer in Orange County, CA.

Owens was previously married and the two have two sons together, according to ABC.

Gerry Turner’s shutting down all those "Bachelor in Paradise" rumors -- telling TMZ he’s not about to swap his suit for swim trunks and hit the sands of Mexico anytime soon!

"The Golden Bachelor" star tells TMZ he turned down the offer 3 weeks ago when producers reached out to have him join the "Bachelor in Paradise" mix, which is throwing in some of their 'Golden' contestants alongside the usual beachy bunch for the first time.

Gerry’s main reason for passing is that he's basically been there, done that -- he tells us he already knows the women heading to 'BIP' and he's already established there's no romantic spark there.

From Nashville, Tennessee all the way to Nassau, Victoria Fuller showed up and showed out during her latest vacay .... sippin' wine and lookin' mighty fine in The Bahamas!

The reality TV star -- who appeared on Peter Weber's season of "The Bachelor" ... as well as the eighth installment of "Bachelor in Paradise" -- let her hair down and dove into her vacay with no fear!

Fuller swam with a shiver of sharks in the crystal-clear blue water ... and that was just scratching the surface of her action-packed bae-cation!

Kat Stickler's proving single life ain't all that bad ... 'cause she's living it up months after her breakup from former 'Bachelor' star Jason Tartick.

The YouTuber and influencer is regularly hanging out in tropical locales ... seen here lying back in an orange bikini on a recent trip down to Mexico.

Orange might be the new black ... but, sometimes the old black is just as good -- so, Stickler's also got this tiny bikini which she's featured in some of her other IG posts.

For today's "Foodie Friday," we're plating you with an excess of deliciousness and a wide range of hot 'n' cold dishes brought to you by 'Bachelor' star Matt James.

Phone eats first ... if you take a scroll through James' social media pages, you can't help but notice the mouth-watering food reviews, which he shares as he indulges!

No dish is off limits ... From ice cream to pizza to pasta ... this dude does not hold back from exposing all his fresh goodies and nudes noods 🍝!