Everything To Know About ‘The Bachelor’s Senior Spinoff, Including the Ladies Left Competing for Gerry’s Heart
Bachelor Nation rejoice! The long-gestating new iteration of the franchise—The Golden Bachelor is here. The spinoff series premiered Thursday, Sept. 28 as part of a new all-Bachelor Thursday night lineup.
The Bachelor producer Mike Fleiss first announced in February via Twitter that the senior version of the ABC reality show was getting closer to reality.
“Major Announcement!!!! The Golden Bachelor is coming!!!” he tweeted.
The OG Bachelor premiered March 25, 2002, which means the franchise has been matching young couples on The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise for more than 20 years!
But now it’s time for “a whole new kind of love story,” ABC says.
This new unscripted series will give one hopeless romantic a second chance at love as they search for a partner with whom to share the sunset years of life.
The women arriving at the 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. In the end, will our Golden man turn the page to start a new chapter with the woman of his dreams, ABC asks in the show’s official synopsis
The ABC casting page, which is now presumably casting for next season, refers interested seniors to Casting Crane, which asks, “Are you entering your golden years and looking for romance? The producers of The Bachelor are looking for active and outgoing single men and women in their golden years for a new exciting dating show.”
ABC unscripted chief Rob Mills initially said the show was searching for people 65 or older but that number was lowered to 60.
What else do we know about the new older The Bachelor? Read below for more!
When is The Golden Bachelor finale?
After what seems like three short months, it’s time to say goodbye to Gerry Turner, our first golden bachelor. The Golden Bachelor finale will air Thursday, Nov. 30.
Who is The Golden Bachelor?
Gerry Turner is handing out the roses on The Golden Bachelor, ABC’s first-ever senior-focused version in Bachelor history.
ABC made the big reveal Monday, July 17 on Good Morning America, cheekily calling out several major differences between the traditional late 20s, early 30s Bachelor-verse contestants and the new golden version.
Turner is a now-72-year-old grandfather from Indiana (whose first name is pronounced as “Gary”). He also shared that his wife of 43 years, Toni, fell ill and died in 2017.
“He posts his thirst traps in a leather-bound album,” the promo said. “His DMs have postage. He gets the Early Bird Special anytime he wants.”
But perhaps one of the starkest differences: “If you call him, he’ll answer the phone.
“He doesn’t have gray hair, he has wisdom highlights. Florida wants to retire and move to him. He’s Gerry—and I’m your first Golden Bachelor.”
Here’s his full bio from ABC:
“A retired restaurateur and doting father and grandfather, Gerry [GAIR-ee] Turner lives in his dream house on a beautiful lake in Indiana. He’s often busy hosting barbecues, playing pickleball, cheering on his favorite Chicago sports teams, four-wheeling, and spending time with friends and family at restaurants and local haunts.
Always a romantic, Turner married his high school sweetheart, Toni, in 1974. Together, they lived a full and happy life with their two daughters, Angie and Jenny, and later two granddaughters, Charlee and Payton. Sadly, after their 43 years together, Toni suddenly fell ill and passed away in 2017.
What happened to Gerry’s wife?
During the “Men Tell All” special of Charity Lawson’s season of The Bachelorette, we learned what the heartbreaking story of what happened to Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner’s wife.
In a clip played during the episode, Gerry said he and his wife of 43 years had a plan for their golden years. His wife, Toni, retired in May 2017. They purchased their dream house on June 6. Things went south from there.
“She became ill and her
How does Gerry remember his wife?
Gerry brought a simple framed photo of his late wife that he kept in his room while filming The Golden Bachelor.
Who are the women looking for love on The Golden Bachelor?
ABC reveled the sexy 60-plus ladies vying for The Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner’s heart on Aug. 30. The cast includes the mom of a former Bachelor star and the ex-wife of an MLB player!
situation got worse over a couple of weeks,” he said.
Gerry continued, tearing up, “And so we went to the emergency room and she had a bacterial infection that infected her kidneys and infected her liver. So I took my wife to the emergency room on July 7. She passed away on July 15.”
When did The Golden Bachelor premiere?
The new Bachelor spinoff premiered as part of ABC’s fall 2023 lineup on Thursday, Sept. 28 at 8 p.m. ET.
Who got the first impression rose on The Golden Bachelor premiere?
Faith, who rode in on a motorcycle instead of the traditional limo arrival.
Will The Golden Bachelor air on ABC?
Yes! The Golden Bachelor airs on ABC on Thursday nights as part of an all-Bachelor night. The new spinoff will be followed by Season 9 of Bachelor in Paradise.
Who will host the new Bachelor spinoff?
Jesse Palmer will host The Golden Bachelor as he does for The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.
How will the senior Bachelor differ from the original Bachelor?
Mills has said the hometown visits will obviously be different, with suitors meeting the contestants’ children and other family members instead of parents. He elaborated to Variety, “There is an interesting thing about people who have hit the other end of the spectrum, who’ve lived their lives, they’ve raised their kids, some have been widowed or divorced and maybe some have never been in love. We thought that would be an interesting dynamic through the Bachelor prism.”
Are fans embracing The Golden Bachelor idea?
Most love the concept but some wonder if it’s really going to happen after taking so long.
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” one Twitter user shrugged.
How long has a senior Bachelor spinoff been on the drawing board?
The idea of a senior The Bachelor has been floating around for more than three years. During pilot Peter Weber’s 24th season that began in January 2020, fans saw some casting commercials for it. As Variety has reported, the show was expected to shoot and air by fall 2020, but the Covid-19 crisis scuttled plans.
Is The Golden Bachelor still casting?
While we know the full cast for The Golden Bachelor Season 1. The casting website is still up and accepting applications. We’re assuming the stories are similar to what
Mills told Variety in July 2020, “Some of the casting interviews we got, they were just so touching. It’s such a different way of doing The Bachelor because these people are just at a totally different place in their lives.”
What are producers looking for in potential Golden Bachelor cast?
On the Casting Crane site, applicants are being asked for physical appearance details such as height, weight, hair color, and eye color. Other questions involve occupations and salaries, education level, and where applicants were born. More contentious questions ask if the senior Bachelor hopefuls have ever been arrested or filed for bankruptcy! One important question asks, “Why would you want to find love on TV?”
What does a former Bachelor Nation star think about new spinoff?
The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise alum Josh Murray recently told TMZ he loves the new idea. “The older people need loving, too,” he smiled. “Everybody deserves love so hopefully it will be fun. I’ll watch it. I’m not watching the regular Bachelor stuff anymore [but] I’ll watch the senior one.” Murray said it will be refreshing because older contestants likely won’t be looking for fame after the show. “I think by that age, people actually want to find someone they’re actually looking for…It may be more genuine….I like the concept.”
