As “The Golden Bachelor” Gerry Turner gears up for his journey of love to debut Thursday night, the inaugural senior leading man revealed he tried all sorts of dating before coming on the ABC spin-off series, from dating websites to setups.
“A friend that has a friend, a single person or two on this lake or that — the dating websites were probably the biggest part of it,” Turner told TheWrap of his dating experience ahead of the premiere. “I tried it all.”
Now, on the reality dating show, the 72-year-old will court 22 senior women 60 and older, all of whom hope to find a love that lasts through the next chapter of their lives. While Turner previously held the reins for his love life, he noted that he had to pass his trust to the show’s casting team to find his perfect match.
“I had to give over trust to the casting people, and I made the assumption that they would do a much better job of vetting women and doing the research on them… than I could do,” Turner said. “It turns out, they did a great job.”
With “The Golden Bachelor” in development for over four years at the network, Turner is hopeful the spin-off series brings “renewed interest” to the “Bachelor” franchise, which also debuts a new season of “Bachelor in Paradise” at 9 p.m. Thursday.
“A fresh look for anything, whether it’s the ‘Bachelor’ franchise or anything else… from time-to-time is really good,” Turner said. “It brings back attention; it brings back renewed interest. I’m hoping that’s what my season does for the franchise.”
As ABC tackled adapting the typical “Bachelor” format to a senior-focused journey of love — which shifts to one-hour episodes from the franchise’s usual two-hour airings, the leading man said the network found the right balance.
“I think the producers did a really brilliant job of blending two concepts — keeping the iconic moments of the franchise, yet bringing a renewed perspective to it — where things were just different enough with our approach, but yet it was still compatible with those iconic moments,” Turner said.
The show strategy must’ve worked for Turner, as he told TheWrap he recommends single seniors “jump on” the opportunity to join the next installment of “The Golden Bachelor, saying: “don’t think twice — do it.”
And if other “Golden” bachelors or bachelorettes aren’t able to get a spot on the show, Turner encourages those looking for love in the last chapter of their lives not to give up being open and looking for a companion.
“Don’t necessarily look at it as dating — look at it as finding a friend that you can spend time with because those things can grow into permanent, very rewarding relationships that last a lifetime,” Turner said.
“The Golden Bachelor” premieres Thursday, Sept. 28, at 8 p.m. on ABC.
