The Golden Bachelor Premiere Recap: Out With The New, In With The Old — Who's Your Pick To Win Gerry's Heart?
The Bachelor franchise is embracing old age with the inaugural season of The Golden Bachelor, which finds 71-year-old widower Gerry Turner hoping to get a second chance at love. Is there already a frontrunner in the race for his heart?
Thursday's premiere introduces us to Gerry as he gets dressed up in a tux... and puts his hearing aid in. (Yep, this is a whole new Bachelor.) With Cat Stevens gently strumming in the background, Gerry explains that he was happily married for 43 years to his high school sweetheart Toni until she suddenly fell ill and died six years ago. He emphasizes that no one will replace Toni in his heart, but his daughters and granddaughters encouraged him to find someone who makes him happy. And so here he is, the first ever Golden Bachelor — and shucks, we're kind of rooting for the guy.
Gerry is ready to greet his ladies, and the first one out of the limos is Edith, who's clad in a shiny gold dress. (And she speaks Spanish!) Next, he meets Ellen, whose close friend Roberta is battling cancer and is a big Bachelor fan. (Note: Roberta has since passed away; see end of recap.) One woman exits the limo wearing an old lady wig and hobbling on a walker — but she quickly tosses those aside. She's Leslie, a fitness instructor and dancer who once dated Prince. (She even claims he wrote "Sexy Dancer" about her! Can we get a fact-check on that?) The ladies start to blur together after a while — how's he going to remember all these names? — but Gerry insists he's game: "Tonight is worth staying up all night, if that's what I need to do." Theresa says it's her birthday and offers to show him her birthday suit (!)... but it's just a nude-colored dress. (Her grandchildren must be so relieved.)
April grew up on a chicken farm and presents Gerry with a basket full of eggs, telling him, "My eggs are still very fresh." She does a chicken dance, too, and former NFL cheerleader Renee does a cheer routine for him. Also in the mix: Patty, aka the mom of former Bachelor Matt James, and... Jimmy Kimmel's Aunt Chippy? (She's just there as a joke. We think.) The ladies gasp when Faith pulls up on a motorcycle and promises Gerry "the ride of his life." The competition here is refreshingly cordial, though, with the women all giggling and supporting each other. When Gerry makes his way inside, April is the first to grab him, showing him a calendar she made of all Aprils to tell her life story. Gerry tells Ellen, "You have my attention," before they share a warm hug. Faith pulls out a guitar and serenades him with a song, and Leslie gets his hips moving with a funky dance, with all the ladies joining in to make it a dance party.
Things get serious, though, when Jesse brings out the first impression rose. Theresa is worried she didn't get any time with him yet, but Gerry gallantly present her with a birthday cupcake — and they share the season's first kiss! But the first impression rose goes to Faith, and they share a lip-lock, too, with the other women gawking from afar. At the rose ceremony, Gerry hands out roses to Ellen, Theresa, Joan, Natasha, Leslie, Christina, Edith, Nancy and April. A nervous Kathy says, "I'm trying to put my name in his mouth"... and it works! She gets a rose, along with Sandra, Jeanie, Marina, Peggy and Susan. Heading home are Bachelor Matt's mom Patty and cheerleader Renee, among others. Aunt Chippy, meanwhile, slept through the rose ceremony: "Did I get a rose? Did I at least get a petal?
Plus, we get a preview of the season ahead, with Gerry and the ladies experiencing lots of adventures, lots of kisses — and lots of tears. (Gerry is an emotional guy.) There are some tough conflicts ("You made it sound like you chose me!" one woman pleads) and some hard goodbyes. A tearful Gerry says, "The only time I've ever felt worse in my whole life was when my wife passed away. And this is a goddamn close second."
Added to the very end of the episode was an In Memoriam card for bachelorette Ellen's aforementioned friend Roberta, who lost her fight with cancer after the premiere was filmed:
Who's your early favorite to win Gerry's heart? Vote in our poll, and then hit the comments to share your post-premiere thoughts.
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