Over the past two months, both viewers and 72-year-old retired restaurateur Gerry Turner have gotten to know Minneapolis fitness instructor Leslie Fhima via ABC’s “The Golden Bachelor.” During the two-hour finale that airs at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 30, we’ll learn whether Turner chose to pursue a romance with Fhima or New Jersey financial services professional Theresa Nist.
“I honestly have no idea how I’m going to decide,” Turner told the camera during the episode that aired Nov. 2, when Turner gave Fhima one of his two final roses.
The latest spin-off of the reality TV juggernaut “The Bachelor,” “The Golden Bachelor” brought the dating-in-front-of-cameras concept to the baby boom generation. In addition to the 64-year-old Fhima and 70-year-old Nist, the cast featured 20 other women ranging in age from 60 to 75.
“The Golden Bachelor” has found success with both viewers and critics. The Hollywood Reporter noted the show has earned the strongest ratings in the franchise since 2021, both in live viewers and streaming via Hulu. In the New York magazine culture blog Vulture, Emily Palmer Heller wrote “Gerry’s story is lovely” and praised producers for keeping the show a tight and entertaining one hour each week in a time when the flagship “Bachelor” can run up to three hours per episode.
A former professional figure skater, Fhima was previously married to local restaurateur David Fhima. According to her ABC biography, Fhima has run 10 marathons and is the mother to three kids and “glama” to three grandchildren: “She also loves spending time with her mini Aussiedoodle, Billie. Leslie is looking for a real man who will enhance her life, and she’s ready to put it all on the line to pursue love.”
Turner was born in Missouri, but grew up in Iowa and lived in the Quad Cities with his high school sweetheart Toni until her death in 2017. He has since retired to Indiana, where he lives on a lake. He has two daughters and two granddaughters.
Viewers got to meet Fhima’s family during the Nov. 2 episode when Turner visited Minneapolis for a hometown date, which was filmed in August. They spent time on the Stone Arch Bridge and met with family at Brick x Mortar in downtown Minneapolis. “I think you would be a very good couple,” Fhima’s 6-year-old granddaughter, Sofia, told Turner.
Most importantly, Turner used the hometown date to drop a certain four-letter word: “A wise man told me, ‘Don’t walk by an opportunity to tell someone you love them when you love them.’ And Leslie, I love you.”
During the most recent episode that aired Nov. 16, Turner and his two finalists traveled to Costa Rica for overnight dates in the show’s notorious “fantasy suites.” Turner and Fhima spent the day rappelling down a 170-foot waterfall despite her fear of heights. “I’ve given birth three times,” she said. “I should be able to do this.”
Things got rather specific during the romantic dinner that followed when they discussed how long it’s been since they’ve had sex. Fhima said it had been a year, while Turner only said it had been “a long time.”
They also talked about where they would live if they end up together. “I don’t know how we would decide,” Turner told Fhima. “We’ll have to figure that out. But I think there’s no one else I’d rather try to figure it out with.”
Whatever the case, Fhima made it clear where she stands on the potential relationship: “I have butterflies when I see him. I’m sad when he leaves. We complement each other and I’m definitely looking forward to my happily ever after.”
