The Golden Bachelor star Gerry Turner has dished about Fantasy Suites on the upcoming ABC spinoff and how they'll differ from typical The Bachelor and The Bachelorette overnight dates.
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And in many cases, couples choose to take their relationship to the next level and have sex for the first time.
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Given Gerry is 71-years-old and most of his bachelorettes -- who have yet to be formally unveiled by ABC -- will most likely be in their sixties, Gerry has teased what fans can expect from Fantasy Suites on The Golden Bachelor, which is set to air on Monday nights at 10PM ET/PT after new episodes of Dancing with the Stars this fall.
"I just think that a Fantasy Suite for someone of my age may look quite different," Gerry told Entertainment Tonight in an interview published on Saturday.
Gerry -- who spoke to ET before meeting his bachelorettes on Night 1 -- added, "The activities could be quite different than for someone in their 20s and 30s."
Gerry, however, said he wasn't nervous about overnight dates with several different women.
"[It makes] my daughters a lot more nervous than me," he joked, referring to his daughters Angie and Jenny as well as his granddaughters Charlee and Payton.
Gerry welcomed his daughters with his late wife Toni Turner, and while the girls were very supportive of their father finding love on television, they apparently don't want to watch him make out with bachelorettes on the show.
"They said absolutely none of that. They said, 'Don't do it," Gerry quipped, although he admitted he planned to ignore that "that part of the advice."
The Golden Bachelor continued, "They said, 'Pick your moments.' They said, 'Enjoy every minute you can.' They are very much fans of the show. They got me started watching it. They were the ones that motivated me to respond early on to the casting call."
And Gerry said his late life "would be thrilled for this" opportunity for him as well.
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"We talked frequently as time went on... about what we expected for the other if one of us didn't live forward, and it was, like, we both wanted the other to be happy," Gerry explained. "She would be very encouraging."
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When Gerry first walked into The Bachelor mansion, he said he was in "shock and awe."
"Sometimes I don't have any words for what's going on in my head. I was overwhelmed by the entire scene and overwhelmed by the history of what has happened here," said the retired restaurateur, adding how he was "not prepared" for the "pretty big task" of becoming a household name.
But Gerry gushed about how he was "more energized than nervous" about the process and dating multiple women at once. He said he looked forward to enjoying the women's company and getting to know each of them "very well."
In terms of what he was hoping to find in a partner, Gerry said, "I think the one thing I'm going to look for is that look in the eye. I've seen it before, and I know the feeling when it's there."
He elaborated "If I see that, that's going to be the person that I'm going to probably pursue above others."
Gerry went on to say how his future girlfriend -- or possibly wife -- will also have "a great sense of humor, particularly something that is self-effacing" and be sensitive, warm and kind.
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The Golden Bachelor began filming on August 3, according to Reality Steve spoiler blogger Steve Carbone, and Gerry said support from Bachelor Nation and fans everywhere has felt "pretty amazing" thus far.
"To feel the sensitivity and the affection from everyone was probably one of my biggest surprises," Gerry said. "I mean, everyone cares, everyone's committed to this, so it's a big responsibility."
Gerry was a high school and college runner, and he previously owned and operated a fast-food restaurant. Gerry eventually sold his business and spent the rest of his career in food distribution.
Gerry and his late wife, Toni, had met in high school in the 1960s, but they didn't begin dating until Gerry was a senior. The high school sweethearts eventually got married, welcomed two children, and stayed together for 43 years.
Toni fell ill and passed away in 2017, just six weeks after she retired from her job.
"I have very little experience in dating," Gerry said with a laugh on the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast earlier this summer, considering he was married for so long.
"It's been a tough process for me, I've got to admit," he added.
Gerry also teased on Good Morning America how fans shouldn't "discount" the possibility he may film a wedding special down the road.
An official fall premiere date and complete casting for the reality TV series will be announced at a later date.
On The Golden Bachelor, Gerry will be given a second chance at love and will search for a partner with whom to share "the sunset years of life," according to ABC.
"The women arriving at the mansion 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?"
The Golden Bachelor, which is being produced by Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon, has been in the works for quite some time.
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ABC's desire to film a senior edition of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette was first teased in early 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic seemed to delay producers' plans.
However, ABC executive Robert Mills assured fans in May 2022 that the long-mentioned spinoff would eventually come to fruition.
"The senior citizens show is definitely going to happen at some point," Mills told Variety at the time.
"The response to that is so massive every time we put up a casting call, so I think it's definitely coming sooner rather than later."
Mills added, "For us, we really feel a responsibility to find the right person to be that senior Bachelor. So, we're looking. COVID obviously put a major wrinkle in everything, but we are really looking back in earnest at it."
Mills hoped The Golden Bachelor would answer the following question: "[If you have] one great love in your lifetime, can you have another?"
Mills called that idea "really interesting" and "not something" producers usually get to explore on The Bachelor franchise.
Mills concluded that "Senior Bachelor" was "really high on" producers' list.
A casting notice for the seniors project had originally appeared online in January 2020, disclosing that "producers of The Bachelor" were looking for single men and women age 65 or older.
However, the casting notice didn't reveal what network was attached to the show or whether it would be an actual spinoff of The Bachelor franchise.
And then a commercial break that aired during Peter Weber's season of The Bachelor in February 2020 featured former The Bachelor host Chris Harrison saying in a voiceover, "Looking for love in your golden years?"
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Upon visiting the show's casting page at the time, producers called the "exciting" new project a "new dating show for seniors" and were looking for older "active and outgoing single men and women" who were looking "for a committed relationship."
After the episode of Peter's season aired, ABC reality chief Robert Mills tweeted, "#Bachelornation give us your Grumpiest Old Men, give us your Goldenest Girls. #TheBachelor."
"To be clear," he added, "this is [age] 65 [and up]."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
