A PR expert reveals why Golden Bachelor is experiencing a sophomore slump (Image: ABC/Disney)

Golden Bachelor fans have bashed Mel Owens’ season of the show as “cringe” and “boring,” and a PR expert is now sharing why fans seem to be losing interest in the once groundbreaking show.

Season two of the ABC show has been struggling with viewers, as ratings have been plummeting, a sharp change from the show’s first season featuring Gerry Turner in 2023, and the first season of the Golden Bachelorette featuring Joan Vassos in 2024.

As viewers who are still tuning in and expressing confusion over the women’s fascination with Owens, others have simply stopped watching altogether.

Now, many have been left wondering what went wrong, and while some may feel it is easy to blame Owens, who was wrapped in controversy with ageist comments prior to filming, some also feel that the producers behind-the-scenes may be the reason.

Speaking exclusively to The Express US, PR Strategist and Aplles and Oranges PR founder Amore Philip shared her insight, warning that the show actually has a credibility gap that is leading to “fatigue” from its audience.

Golden Bachelor has seen a major decline in ratings over its second season (Image: Disney)

“In my opinion, the Golden Bachelor’s sophomore slump is less about one controversy and more about audience fatigue and a credibility gap,” she said. “The charm of the first season with Gerry Turner was its novelty because it offered a fresh emotional tone that stood out from the usual Bachelor formula.

“But as the franchise tried to replicate that success, it leaned back into the same overproduced tropes that viewers were already growing tired of. They are very challenged when it comes to originality it seems,” she continued.

Philip also shared that audiences are “quick to disengage” if they sense “insincerity” and the show is walking “a fine line” between “authenticity and manipulation.”

“The combination of controversy, and perceived overproduction makes it hard to sustain emotional investment,” she shared.

A PR expert shares the show is facing declining ratings because it has a “credibility gap” (Image: Disney)

Philip also shared that controversies surrounding the show’s two leads also played a role and didn’t help matters, as the end of Turner’s season–where he and Theresa Nist divorced after only three months– left people skeptical, while Owens’ comments added to the distrust.

“The controversy around Mel Owens’ ageist comments definitely didn’t help,” she said. “It fractured trust at a time when the franchise desperately needed relatability.”

“Gerry Turner’s season also left a lingering sense of skepticism,” she added. “When viewers feel misled, even subtly, they don’t return with the same enthusiasm.”

Overall, the franchise is “struggling to evolve.”

The show is also experiencing ‘audience fatigue’ from ‘overproduced tropes’ (Image: ABC/Disney)

“Reality dating as a format isn’t dying, but The Bachelor formula has stopped surprising its audience. To win viewers back, they need to strip it down, lean into real storytelling, and re-establish trust rather than relying on recycled drama,” she said.

The franchise has addressed issues behind the scenes that allegedly led to a toxic environment, resulting in the franchise choosing not to run a new season of The Bachelorette in 2025. The two showrunners for the show were also fired.

Since then, the franchise has employed new twists in shows, with the recent return of Bachelor in Paradise incorporating both traditional and Golden Franchise stars, but introducing an unpopular twist where they could choose love or money–a trope that has already existed on other dating reality shows.

Since then, they have also announced that they were casting outside of the franchise for the next Bachelorette lead for the first time, revealing Taylor Frankie Paul, the star of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, would take on the role.

The show has also suffered after viewers began mistrusting leads, including Owens (Image: Disney)

With her season not set to air until 2026, it’s unclear if that will help the franchise overcome the problems it has faced as a whole.

However, if the casting proves only to be a stunt and the show stil heavily leans on its old formula, it likely will face a similar slump that Golden Bachelor faced.

“The Golden Bachelor didn’t lose viewers because of one controversy,” Philip said. “It lost them because the franchise stopped feeling real. Audiences can forgive flaws, but not inauthenticity.”

The Golden Bachelor Season 2 finale airs Wednesday, Nov. 12 on ABC.