'The Golden Bachelor' star Gerry Turner feels attraction may be an issue for 'The Golden Bachelorette'

The Golden Bachelor star Gerry Turner believes attraction may be an issue when casting The Golden Bachelorette, should ABC choose to greenlight the spinoff starring a senior lady.


After their engagement aired on The Golden Bachelor, Gerry, 72, and Theresa, 70, participated in a lengthy interview with Katie Couric on her YouTube channel and discussed their thoughts on a potential The Golden Bachelorette spinoff.

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Katie, 66, pointed out how there probably aren't enough older men out there who would want to date an age-appropriate woman in her sixties or seventies.

"You know, I think there's a lot of truth in that," Gerry admitted, suggesting the show's housing accommodations would be a dealbreaker for most male seniors.


"[Theresa and I] joked about how the way that the women had to live in the mansion -- in bunk beds and all crammed... together in one room, it became very familiar. They enjoyed that experience."

Gerry continued, "And I was trying to put myself in that situation with a bunch of guys, and I don't think it would be the same."

Katie then noted that regardless of the housing issue, many of her older single female friends have found men their age want to date women 20 or even 30 years younger.

"That's absolutely true," Theresa agreed.

"That was my experience when I was dating, that they're looking for someone 15 or 20 years younger than they are. And I went into [The Golden Bachelor] thinking -- do you remember when I said, 'Oh, [these women] are 60-years-old,' as if that's so young? But it's young to someone who is 70!"


Theresa recalled, "I would say [to the cameras], 'Wow, I'm competing with 60-year-olds. What are my chances?!' And I really went in, I think, with a preconceived notion that Gerry would be more inclined to be with a younger woman."

Gerry flashed a look of shock on his face, but Katie joked, "Gerry, you know the drill! Come on, Gerry!"

And Gerry confessed, "I do. I do. But it's not that way. I think one of the inherent problems that will have to be resolved with The Golden Bachelorette is finding that right dynamic in age, because some of the very best candidates might actually be 60, or they might be barely 60."

Gerry explained that if ABC finds and casts guys who are older, "Will there be an attraction?"

Gerry acknowledged that, in his opinion, "age difference" is "going to be a real factor in putting that show together."


Theresa, however, interjected and told Katie that it should be more about a person's character, values and life goals.

"It's more about who a person is. It doesn't matter how old you are," Theresa insisted.

"That's totally true," Gerry conceded.

Theresa then elaborated, "If you are young in mind, body and soul, it doesn't matter what the age is."

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Gerry and Theresa are currently planning a January 2024 wedding and a move to South Carolina, but their love story has been tainted -- and recent headlines may have an affect on how quickly The Golden Bachelorette comes to fruition.

Shortly before the finale aired, Gerry was accused of misleading fans and lying about his grieving-widower backstory.

A woman claiming to be Gerry's ex-girlfriend told The Hollywood Reporter that Gerry had asked her out about a month after his wife Toni died in July 2017 and then they proceeded to date for nearly three years.

Gerry and this woman also allegedly lived together in Gerry's lake house in Indiana for a lot of their relationship.

"He's been exposed as a liar. This is a huge, embarrassing disaster... If producers were aware of his past, it's naive of them to assume no one would find out," a source recently told Life & Style.


"The Golden Bachelor generated so much excitement and great ratings that they've already started planning The Golden Bachelorette, but this news has ruined all that momentum. They definitely have egg on their face."

ABC executive Rob Mills last updated fans on the potential The Golden Bachelorette spinoff in late November.

During the November 27 episode of the "Bachelor Party" podcast, Rob was asked to reveal the most important quality when selecting the franchise's first-ever Golden Bachelorette.

"I don't know. It's hard. Usually, the problem we have is that there's not enough candidates," Rob explained.

"But here, somebody had said something, I think a few weeks ago -- I think it was during The Women Tell All -- about how all 12 of these women should get their own seasons. And I don't disagree!"

Rob pointed out how all the of the women would be great as the golden leading lady because they bring "very different stories" to the television screen.


"So it's really going to be difficult... [But] we haven't really [started]. I think right now, it's really important to get this season right, and so we haven't really dove deep into it," Rob said, adding how ABC hadn't begun casting for it yet.

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The Golden Bachelor host Jesse Palmer recently shared on Live with Kelly & Mark how he hopes there's a Golden Bachelorette spinoff and that he'd love to host it.

"Wouldn't that be great?!" Jesse exclaimed, prompting applause from the studio audience. "I think there should be, right?! There totally should be!"

And Jesse apparently agrees with Rob that ABC would have a difficult time choosing its star.

"I think there are multiple women from Gerry's season that would make amazing Golden Bachelorettes," Jesse said.


Jesse noted before the Thanksgiving holiday how he was still waiting for an official announcement from ABC on whether the network is going to greenlight The Golden Bachelorette.

"I'm literally on the edge of my seat waiting to get the news if, in fact, that's going to happen," Jesse shared on Live with Kelly & Mark.

Gerry's season of The Golden Bachelor attracted millions of viewers, more than recent seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.

The Golden Bachelor's premiere reached over 11 million total viewers across linear and streaming platforms after seven days of viewing, according to Variety.

Gerry's televised quest to find a forever partner reportedly achieved the largest multi-platform audience for The Bachelor franchise since Clare Crawley and Tayshia Adams' 2020 The Bachelorette season.

And after taping The Golden Bachelor: The Women Tell All special, Gerry told People that he would be "wholeheartedly in favor" of a female spinoff of the ABC reality dating show.


"I have no say in it, just to be clear, but I think it would be exciting because it's going to continue the theme that we've started of being hopeful and being visible at our age. So hopefully it happens," Gerry said.

The Golden Bachelor producers shared with Entertainment Weekly in September that a "golden" lady leading of the show is a real "possibility."

The Golden Bachelor executive producer Claire Freeland gushed, "It's been really inspiring to be part of this show for me."

"To be able to celebrate women of this age, and their stories, their life experiences, on the platform of mainstream media is very special," she continued.

Fellow executive producer Bennett Graebner admitted that he never realized "how much women in their 60s and 70s feel like they're not seen as viable romantic, sexual beings."

Bennett added, "And for the first time, we've heard it so many times from these women, they feel seen."


If ABC does decide to treat viewers to a Golden Bachelorette season, fans can expect to see the star dressed to the nines.

"I am so excited at the idea of styling a Golden Bachelorette!" the franchise's longtime wardrobe stylist Cary Fetman recently told EW.

"My perception of dressing a 70-year-old woman is completely different than it was three months ago. There is truly an inner beauty that comes out with maturity of reaching a certain age that gives a confidence many 20-year-olds do not have."

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski