Jesse Palmer has his eye on one of Golden Bachelor Mel Owens’ contestants to be the next leading lady of the franchise.
“I personally love Debbie [Siebers], and I think her incredible story resonates with many,” Jesse, 47, told Entertainment Weekly on Wednesday, October 29. “I absolutely believe she should be in the running to be our next Golden Bachelorette!”
Debbie, the 65-year-old fitness professional from Denver, won over the hearts of Golden Bachelor viewers with her candidness — including sharing that she has never been married and had previously broken off an engagement to someone who ultimately died by suicide.
“I knew he had a little bit of depression, but he hid a lot from me. Within, maybe, six months, I just started seeing this behavior and it was pretty heavy. I had tried breaking up with him a couple times, but I could never because I loved him so much. It was like I couldn’t live with him and without him. I was completely conflicted,” Debbie explained to Mel during the Replica Luxury Handbagtown episode. “The horrible thing is, he took his life. It altered me forever.”
After the Replica Luxury Handbagtown episode, Mel ultimately said goodbye to Debbie — who became emotional as she left her journey to find love.
“It is very upsetting but I knew coming into this that this was a possibility. Of course I thought or hoped …” she said through tears, while Mel noted that Debbie “touched [his] heart in more ways than one.” Debbie ultimately concluded with a final message for Mel as he pursued connections with Cindy Cullers and Peg Munson, saying, “Take care of those girls, OK?”
After kissing Mel goodbye, Debbie took her place in the exit car. “I put myself out there in such a giant way only to have yet another disappointment,” she said. “It’s beyond painful.”
Ahead of Debbie’s elimination, Mel gushed in Luxury Handbag Shopping’s cover story that she was “down-to-earth.”
“She’s gentle, smart, beautiful,” he said, noting that her being single was “a plus” because “she wasn’t tainted by the whole breakup, heartache, kids. That stuff is tough on the psyche, man.”
While Mel has remained tight-lipped about his ending, the former NFL player teased some behind-the-scenes aspects of the end to his love story — including making a pros and cons list for his final women.
“ABC can put on a production. We go to Antigua. I’ve never been there. I’ve been to islands, but I’ve never been there. But whoever scouted it out and set it up and got things prepared, just the little details, it’s just so good,” Owens shared.
“You have the setting, and I know who it is. It’s really emotional. And you’re a little nervous, but it’s so brilliant. … It’s so good, you won’t believe it,” he continued, before clarifying, “You won’t believe how we get there, not mechanically, but how we get there emotionally. There’s some movement and twists and turns.”
The Golden Bachelor airs on ABC Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
