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Just when you think The Golden Bachelor already had its finale, it adds one more sneaky episode that changes everything.
Things can move quickly in The Bachelor world, and 72-year old Gerry Turner’s whole life has moved in a completely different direction in the past several months. He was cast as the first Golden Bachelor, met all the golden women, and chose one. He was called by many “the best Bachelor in Bachelor Nation history.” Now, he decided to do something that changes that completely.
Gerry Turner is getting married.
He will no longer be the best Bachelor as the he weds Theresa Nist on Thursday night Jan. 4, in a ceremony that will air live on ABC.
However, that doesn’t change that he was the best Bachelor ever. Here are all the reasons why he was the best, and why ABC should take notes on how it should be done for future seasons of the their-suitors-are-us show.
First of all, Gerry being 72 means the audience expects emotional maturity — and we certainly got it. Gerry didn’t have time to waste with drama. Though he listened to the ladies when there was drama, he didn’t give in to it. Gerry’s maturity is not rare in men north of 30, so it always puzzles me when the show features men (and women) who often handle such situations poorly. One need not be 72 to possess emotional intelligence.
Gerry also never intentionally made any of the women feel like they weren’t special. Even the ones whose hearts he was forced to break later offered glowing reviews of their experience with him.
Additionally, Gerry is pretty straightforward, but not in a demanding or rude way. He will tell you what he thinks, but because he generally thinks good of people, then his general attitude respect is always on display. He also is man of his word, and won’t be breaking any rules that he himself sets, unlike some Bachelors.
Mr. Turner did court controversy by fibbing about his most recent relationship, but it seems that ABC allegedly pushed him not to reveal it — so can he be blamed entirely? After all, unlike some other Bachelors, he wasn’t in a relationship leading up to the show.
ABC should desire their headliners of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, respectively, to be upfront and mentally mature people; the image they paint for the role is a grown-up one, making adulthood some of the draw for people to tune in to see who will date — and perhaps get engaged to — the single most desirable bachelor/bachelorette. Many times, the lead role fails to still be considered desirable by the end of the show, when that person’s faults become clear. In some rare cases, they become so undesirable that they are labeled, rather appropriately, as the villain.
The problem is that ABC seems to cast for looks to make people want to tune in to see more of that person. What if they went for the looks, personality, and maturity? Their process doesn’t seem to involve a massive background check into the character of the individual, thanks in part to ABC choosing someone who was a suitor on the previous season, but perhaps it should. After all, maintaining an image of the lead being the most desirable person should be a priority, though it seems ABC’s priorities lean towards drama, especially in the people they choose to date the lead.
Then again, what does ABC care? Drama equals ratings. The show has been on for two decades and is always successful but, despite some couples living happily ever after, the fact is that a vast majority of couples formed on the show break up.
So, when it results in marriage, then ABC will do what it can to show that off, and wisely so. When the very first Bachelorette got married — and made it seem like the show truly was about real love — ABC aired it and paid the couple — Trista and Ryan — $1 million.
This strongly suggests that Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist will be paid perhaps as much, and the wedding itself is paid for by ABC. Not a bad deal, to have someone pay for your wedding and then pay you a million dollars. It will no doubt encourage more people apply to be on the show.
Almost as soon as the couple finishes saying “I do,” we head into season 28 of The Bachelor, which starts on Jan 22 as the series moves back to Mondays. Joey Graziadei, a suitor of Charity Lawson on the previous season of The Bachelorette, will be in the lead.
Will he be a hero or a villain? Time will tell, but maybe Gerry Turner can show up and give some advice, which would only help the show and those on it.