Emily Allgair, Editor

On Sept. 28, ABC aired their newest spin-off of “The Bachelor,” “The Golden Bachelor.” This show has the same set up as any other Bachelor show, only this time, the main star is a man in his 70s. This begs the question: who is the Golden Bachelor?

This season, the Golden Bachelor is Gerry Turner, a 72-year-old from Hudson, Indiana. As a retired restaurateur, Turner currently lives in a house on a lake in Indiana where he likes to host barbecues, play pickleball, go four-wheeling, watch his favorite Chicago sports teams play and spend time with his friends and family.

In 1974, Turner married his highschool sweetheart, Toni. Over their 43-year marriage, they had two daughters – Angie and Jenny – and two granddaughters – Payton and Charlee. In 2017, however, Toni died of an illness, leaving Gerry as a widower.

His family is supportive and even excited for Gerry’s quest for love, as they look forward to watching him put himself out there again. In an interview with Good Morning America, Gerry stated that he would like to find someone who is “high energy” and might like to play pickleball or golf. 

At the beginning of the show airing, there were 22 women after Gerry’s heart. According to Turner, these women had actually developed friendships throughout the filming of the show and did not take part in the usual drama that is seen on “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette,” but we will have to see for ourselves as the season goes on…

Although there is not as much drama among the contestants, it has been noted that Gerry will be seen to fall for more than one woman. This conflict will be seen towards the end of the season. Also seen will be “very specific events” that helped give Gerry clarity towards what his decision ultimately came to be.

Although he could not give away how the season ends, when interviewed by People magazine, Gerry did say that he was happy at the end of filming.

“The Golden Bachelor” airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and the following Friday mornings on Hulu.