Bachelor Nation's Wells Adams and Joe Amabile have revealed why they believe The Golden Bachelor star Gerry Turner was given more "grace" than past The Bachelor stars.
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On The Golden Bachelor, Gerry said, "I love you," to a whopping three bachelorettes -- Theresa Nist, Leslie Fhima and Faith Martin -- which resulted in two totally crushed women by the end of his season.
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But it wasn't the first time The Bachelor viewers have watched a leading man profess his love to more than one woman. And in those prior cases, i.e., former The Bachelor stars Ben Higgins and Clayton Echard, the men were torn apart and received major backlash for leading women on.
Gerry, however, managed to escape a lot of the hate as his love story aired on ABC.
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"He is a little older so we give him a little leniency," Joe told Us Weekly in a joint interview with Wells Adams to promote their new partnership with a cocktail collection.
"Our Bachelors have a little experience going into their season where Gerry -- he never watched the show, he never partook in The Bachelorette... He's 70-something-years-old so whatever, you've got to take your shots."
Wells, 39, pointed out that although Ben had done the same thing, he still considers Ben to be "the best Bachelor" of all time.
As fans probably recall, Ben had said, "I love you," to both of his Final 2 women, Lauren Bushnell and JoJo Fletcher, in the days leading up to his marriage proposal to Lauren. (Ben and Lauren ultimately split, and now they're both happily married to people outside of Bachelor Nation).
"So, listen, maybe there's something to it," Wells said of wearing one's heart on his sleeve.
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"I think that's what made Gerry so lovable is he's very believable. I believe all the things that he saying. He came at it very authentically."
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Wells added, "And then I think that he did probably feel very strongly for three women and so I can kind of give someone some grace if I think that they really felt that way."
During Gerry's final days of filming in Costa Rica, he decided to propose marriage to Theresa, devastating Leslie in second place.
Gerry and Theresa are now planning a January 4, 2024 wedding, and they intend to move to South Carolina soon for a fresh start as a couple.
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"Now if I think [Gerry] was being, like, an F-boy and, you know, just trying to get in people's pants, then I would be like, 'Gross.' But I really believe that Gerry felt this way and so I'm allowing him a little bit of grace in that scenario," Well shared.
"Should [he] have done it? Probably not, but here we are."
And Joe agreed with the Bachelor in Paradise bartender, who are both happily married to The Bachelor alum Serena Pitt and actress Sarah Hyland, respectively.
Joe shared, "It's hard to picture Gerry as an F-boy. I think that's what he's got going for him."
Wells and Joe's "F-boy" comments are a little ironic, however, because Gerry has been scrutinized in recent weeks for allegedly fabricating his "perfect man" pre-The Golden Bachelor dating history.
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According to a woman claiming to be one of Gerry's ex-girlfriends, she told The Hollywood Reporter that Gerry had begun dating her about a month after his wife Toni died from a bacterial infection in July 2017.
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The woman also claimed she had dated Gerry for nearly three years and lived in his Indiana lake house for about two of those years.
The woman's allegations contradict Gerry's heartbreaking The Golden Bachelor backstory of having been a lonely, grieving widower for years after his wife's unexpected passing with little-to-no dating experience.
Other sources also told The Hollywood Reporter that Gerry had dated more women leading up to his stint on The Golden Bachelor.
Gerry has since addressed the accusations against him, which included claims he had been shallow and cheap to his former live-in girlfriend, whom he also allegedly body shamed and brutally dumped.
Theresa also broke her silence about the unflattering report following The Golden Bachelor's late November finale broadcast.
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