After years of promises from ABC, The Golden Bachelor is finally upon us, as America prepares to witness septuagenarian Gerry Turner’s journey to find love again. As uninspiring as Turner’s tagline — “I don’t always date twenty women at once, but I’m about to” — might be, seeing exactly how a man of his age will handle this unique situation is possibly the most intriguing aspect of the spinoff. It turns out one of his strategies involved a “pretty firm” rule he set for himself in regards to what he looked for in his future partner.
There’s no doubt that watching a 71-year-old widower navigate the world of dating multiple women is going to be a lot different than what we see with the young singles on The Bachelor/Bachelorette, and it sounds like Gerry Turner approached his quest for love differently this time around than in his younger years when he met his wife Toni. He told TV Insider he sought out some of his late wife’s characteristics in those he dated on The Golden Bachelor, but reveals the rule he had. In his words:
The parts [of my late wife] I’d like to find are character, values and the ability to be an equal partner. But I’ve cautioned myself and I’m pretty firm with the rule that I’m not going to make those comparisons. I’m not looking for Toni 2.0. It’s an altogether different game at 70 than with your high school sweetheart.
What makes The Golden Bachelor so unique is that Gerry Turner already found love, lived a whole life with his person and experienced the devastation of losing her. While he’s confident that he can find love again, his new partner could never and should never try to replicate what he had for 43 years with Toni. It wouldn’t be fair to the women for Turner to make comparisons, so that’s a solid rule.
Longtime fans of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette — and even Bachelor in Paradise — are used to seeing emotions run high, whether that’s Zach Shallcross’ broken “Sex Week” promises, Katie Thurston’s “gaslighting” accusations against Greg Grippo or Clayton Echard’s “Rose Ceremony From Hell.” However, Gerry Turner and his contestants have had much more life experience, and given the Golden Bachelor’s tears over his late wife in interviews leading up to the premiere, I think the emotion this time around is going to come from these seniors’ stories.
Despite Gerry Turner’s insight into how he approached his new relationships, I still have some questions about The Golden Bachelor, particularly what kinds of dates they will go on (we know there will be pickleball) and how Fantasy Suites will be handled.
At least we don’t have to wait long to find out! The spinoff is set to premiere at 8 p.m. ET Thursday, September 28, on ABC, followed by Bachelor in Paradise Season 9 afterward at 9 p.m. ET. Both will be available to stream the next day with a Hulu subscription. Be sure to also check out our 2023 TV schedule to see what other premieres are headed our way soon.