Meet The First Golden Bachelor!

Who is the first Golden Bachelor? Meet 71-year-old Gerry Turner, the man seeking love in his golden years.

“It’s never too late to find love…again” – the motto for ABC’s new series The Golden Bachelor. On September 28th with host, Jesse Palmer, Bachelor Nation roots for 71-year-old Gerry Turner to find his second chance at love. Let’s take a look at who he is, and how he became the first ever Golden Bachelor!

Gerry Turner’s Love Story

Turner was introduced to Bachelor Nation this summer at the “Mens Tell All.” He spoke with Jesse Palmer and showcased a video illustrating his relationship with his family, and the love of his life, Toni.

Turner married his high school sweetheart and had two daughters who later gave them two granddaughters. After 43 years of marriage and six weeks after their retirement, Toni developed an illness and passed away in 2017.

In an interview with Good Morning America, Turner admits his everyday thought – “she got robbed.” Even with her gone, Turner still holds her close to his heart and feels her presence. He has a photo of her on his dresser in his closet, and still seeks her approval. “Every morning I give her a nod, ‘So what do you think about this?’”

Turner admitted that he had doubts about entering the show six years after his wife’s passing. But, he reminded himself that they always said to each other, “When one of us goes, we want the other to be happy.” He knows Toni is up there rooting for him and cheering, “Yeah, Gerry. Do this!'”

As avid fans of the show, Turner’s daughters signed him up. He agreed because he said he had “nothing to lose.” He even tells GMA that he is open to remarrying.

Turner reveals to the host of the Golden Bachelor that his love for Toni is irreplaceable. But he is ready for a different kind of love that will help him feel whole again. “I think we’ll knit a wonderful relationship. But I don’t think it’ll look like the relationship I had with Toni and I don’t think it would be right to do it that way.”

Who is he? And who is his perfect Bachelorette?

At 71 years young, Turner is a retired restauranter living in a lakehouse in Indiana. He enjoys spending time with his family and hosting barbecues. In a “Get to Know Gerry” video on Twitter, he says that one of his favorite activities is cooking breakfast with his family because “even though it’s chaos, everybody gets what they want.”

This bachelor is also quite active and is looking for someone just as adventurous as him. He enjoys playing pickle-ball and four-wheeling. He reveals he wants a partner with high energy, and who can perhaps play either golf or pickle-ball. Turner wants to know how the person spends their time, and if they enjoy cooking because he enjoys his time in the kitchen.

When asked if there would be fantasy suites – a special time for the contestants to get to know one another more intimately without cameras – Turner said yes! The audience immediately gasped and laughed. But Turner said that it would be a long way down the journey.

Re-entering the modern dating world as a….Grandzaddy?

During his interview at the “Men’s Tell All,” Palmer explains that Turner is trending on Twitter. The 71-year-old bachelor responds with “If I knew what that meant, I’m sure I would appreciate it.”

The host further shows tweets with captions, “Gerry can GET IT,” or the most memorable “GRANDZADDY.”

The dating game has changed since the last time Turner was a bachelor, to say the least. While the digital age of texting and social media will take some time, he is also re-entering the dating world on national television. His daughters and granddaughters are well aware of the show’s dynamics, and support him through this journey.

They’ve even helped him practice how to hand out a rose. Turner jokes that the best-case scenario is if the actress Helen Mirren is one of the contestants.

Bachelor Nation has fallen in love with Turner’s lack of social media knowledge, but he is an expert when it comes to love. His advice to Palmer’s question on maintaining a long-lasting marriage is, “Look at your spouse everyday, and tell them you love them. The day comes too soon for one of you that you can’t do that. And I would give anything to be able to do that one more time.”

His heartfelt words touched thousands of fans at the “Mens Tell All,” some of the Bachelors from Charity’s season even getting emotional.

Turner describes how he will know he found the right one saying, “They will have that look in their eye, like, oh gosh, okay I found my own grandzaddy.”