The wait is finally over, and Bachelor Nation is finally about to witness the premiere of The Golden Bachelor, where 71-year-old widower Gerry Turner will meet 22 women in hopes of finding someone to live out the rest of his life with. We’re undoubtedly going to meet a lot of incredible women with some emotional stories, and many viewers may find it helpful to know which of those contestants are going to be sticking around for a while. We’re here to help with that, as Reality Steve has revealed the women who are rumored to be The Golden Bachelor’s final two.
ABC released the cast of the initial season of The Golden Bachelor, and one of those names was likely familiar to the loyal Bachelor Nation viewers. Patty Cuculo James — aka former Bachelor Matt James’ mother — will be one of the women looking for love with Gerry Turner on The Golden Bachelor. However, it seems Patty might still be available, should the network decide to go ahead with The Golden Bachelorette, as she was apparently sent home sometime before Hometown dates. Reality Steve revealed which women allegedly do make it that far, posting:
Faith Martin, Leslie Fhima and Theresa Nist are reportedly Gerry Turner’s final three women, who will embark on The Golden Bachelor’s first Hometown dates. That differs from The Bachelor/Bachelorette, which typically feature four Hometowns before advancing three people to Fantasy Suite dates. One of our big questions going into The Golden Bachelor was how Fantasy Suites would be handled, and now we at least know that Turner will have just two overnight dates.
With Faith Martin, a 60-year-old high school teacher from Washington, allegedly being sent home after her Hometown date, that leaves either Leslie Fhima or Theresa Nist (pictured below, respectively) as the woman Gerry Turner will hopefully propose to at the end of the journey.
Leslie Fhima is a 64-year-old fitness instructor from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her ABC bio lists her as a former aerobics champion, and you just know she’s into pickleball as much as the Golden Bachelor. Theresa Nist, meanwhile, is 69 years old from Shrewsbury, New Jersey. The financial services professional apparently enjoys board games, gardening and reading romance novels. Reality Steve writes that Fhima and Nist met Gerry Turner’s family in Costa Rica ahead of the final rose ceremony, which is said to have occurred August 31.
As of now Reality Steve hasn’t revealed who the rumored winner is, so we’ll be keeping an eye out for that to see if that news comes out before the end of the season. However, who the finalists supposedly are will help viewers know who to focus on when all 22 cast members are introduced during the premiere.
The Golden Bachelor is set to kick off at 8 p.m. ET Thursday, September 27, on ABC, immediately followed by the premiere of Bachelor in Paradise Season 9 at 9 p.m. ET. Both shows will be available to stream the next day with a Hulu subscription, and you can also take a peek at our 2023 TV schedule to see all of the other shows that are coming soon.
