ABC has been teasing Bachelor Nation with this spinoff for years, calling for fans to nominate their parents, grandparents or other older singles for the chance to find love on TV in their golden years. Finally we know who that first lucky leading man is, as Gerry Turner was introduced as the first lead of The Golden Bachelor on Good Morning America. However, there’s still a lot we don’t know about the show and how the 71-year-old’s season will compare to his 20-something counterparts on The Bachelor/Bachelorette.
Below are the questions I still have about the new ABC spinoff, but first, let’s discuss what we do know about Gerry Turner and his forthcoming reality TV journey.
Who Is Gerry Turner, The First Golden Bachelor?
Gerry Turner — a 71-year-old grandfather from Indiana — has been tapped as the first man to lead ABC’s new Bachelor spinoff, The Golden Bachelor. There were questions ahead of the announcement about how old ABC considered the “seniors” they were looking for, and many also wondered if it would be a celebrity or familiar face to Bachelor Nation. Turner is neither of those, but rather, a widower, having been married to his high school sweetheart Toni for 43 years before she died in 2017. His two daughters encouraged their dad to apply to the show, and Turner said Toni’s “up there rooting” for him:
I have her picture on a dresser in my closet. Every morning I give her the nod, 'So what do you think about this?' For a while it was like I was having a hard time figuring out if she would be OK. But we always told each other, when one of us goes, we want the other one to be happy. She’s up there rooting [for me]. She's saying, 'Yeah Gerry, do this.'
These are the kinds of stories that make me excited about The Golden Bachelor, because the cast is bringing in a whole lifetime of love, loss and life experience. I also love that Turner has the support of his family, and I wonder if they will be more involved in the process than we typically see.
What Is The Premise Of The Spinoff?
There haven’t been a whole lot of details released about the format of The Golden Bachelor and how it will differ from the franchise’s flagship dating show; however, it’s safe to assume the show will follow the same general format. Gerry Turner will go on dates — both of the group variety and one-on-ones — and then hand out roses to the women he wants to keep around.
Over the weeks, the number of women the Golden Bachelor is dating will get smaller and smaller, and with Gerry Turner saying he “wouldn’t discount” doing a wedding special at the end of his season, it looks like the goal of the spinoff is to end with a proposal. But here’s what I’m still curious about …
Who Will Gerry Turner Be Dating?
Just as there were questions about how old The Golden Bachelor lead would be, lots of Bachelor Nation fans are curious about the ages of the women he'll be dating. Will they, like the star of the show, be septuagenarians? I am personally hoping they pair Gerry Turner with women with similar life experience — which is to say NOT women young enough that we might expect to see them on The Bachelor proper. As for what he’s looking for, Turner told GMA:
I'd love it if I found a partner who was high energy, someone who's fairly competitive, that they enjoy sports. Someone that maybe plays pickleball, someone that maybe plays golf.
The specific age range of the cast isn’t necessarily important, but I’d like to see people who can at least understand where he is in life as a widower with grown children. According to ABC, the women arriving at Bachelor Mansion will have a “lifetime of experience, living through love, loss, and laughter, hoping for a spark that ignites a future full of endless possibilities."
Will The Golden Bachelor Feature More Diversity Than Its Predecessors?
I’d be lying if I said I had any hope that The Golden Bachelor would not cast a white man as its lead. In 27 seasons of The Bachelor, only one Black man has led a season, and Charity Lawson on the current iteration of The Bachelorette is only the fourth Black woman in 20 seasons to hold the position. To that point, Gerry Turner looks eerily similar to some of the past Bachelors 40 years his junior.
However, I am slightly more optimistic that we’ll see some diversity amongst the rest of the cast. Body diversity has been missing from the franchise as much as racial diversity, and I’m hopeful The Golden Bachelor can continue to evolve in what the subjects of the franchise’s love stories look like.
Will They All Live Together? What Kind Of Dates Will They Go On?
The women on The Golden Bachelor’s inaugural season may well be 50 years older than the contestants we’re accustomed to seeing on The Bachelor/Bachelorette. Are the producers really going to make the whole cast bunk together in Bachelor Mansion? Obviously a co-habitating situation would be more ideal for filming purposes, but I’d sure be campaigning for separate hotel rooms if I were cast for the show.
Furthermore, what kind of dates should we expect to see? Things like the fancy dinners or going out on a boat are options that could carry over from other Bachelor seasons, and the lead himself offered some good ideas by throwing out pickleball and golf. But what about things like the song-writing challenge we saw recently on The Bachelorette? Are the women going to be made to roast each other? (That sure would be something.) Obviously we can count out tackle football, and probably several other dates we’ve seen, like rock-climbing and bungee jumping.
Will There Be Fantasy Suites?
Here’s a big one: Fantasy Suites. I don’t even know where to start with all of my questions. How much does America want to know about Gerry Turner’s sex life? How much will Turner feel comfortable revealing? Will he wait until the end of his journey to consummate his relationships? Will his daughters and granddaughters have to watch him invite three separate women to forgo their individual rooms? Will he pull a Zach Shallcross and issue a “no-sex” mandate?
If you weren’t interested in The Golden Bachelor before, tell me you’re not curious to tune in and get the answers to these questions.
There’s certainly still a lot we don’t know about The Golden Bachelor’s maiden voyage, but Gerry Turner appears to be quite the charmer, and I’m looking forward to watching his journey to fall in love again, whatever that journey may hold. All of our questions will be answered when the spinoff premieres this fall, and in the meantime, tune into The Bachelorette at 9 p.m. ET Mondays on ABC, or stream it the next day with a Hulu subscription.
