In this case, all that glitters really is gold.
The leading man for The Golden Bachelor, the newest addition to the Bachelor franchise, has been confirmed as Gerry Turner. Unlike The Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise, which focus on men and women in their 20s and 30s, this series will follow the 71-year-old as he meets women who are looking for love in this later stage of life. Some contestants may have been divorced, widowed or never married. And though the identities of those vying for Gerry's heart have yet to be revealed, here is everything we know about the leading man.
"I'm Gerry. I'm 71-years-young," he said in an interview with Good Morning America on July 17. "I'm from Indiana and I'm going to be the first golden bachelor, because it's never too late to fall in love again."
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The retired restauranteur was married to his high school sweetheart Toni, with whom he shares two daughters, Angie and Jenny, and later two granddaughters, Charlee and Payton, for 43 years until Toni's passing in 2017. Turner lives on a lake in Indiana, and, per ABC, when he's not filming TV shows, he enjoys getting outside on a four-wheeler, hosting barbecues and playing pickleball. And while he said his new reality is "still sinking in," when it comes to setting the example for dating in one's 70s, Turner is up for the challenge.
"I think my thoughts always go to the way I've done things," he continued. "Don't give up. There's always possibilities."
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And as he looks for love the second time around, he reflected on what he thinks his late wife would make of his newest endeavor.
"I have her picture on a dresser in my closet," Turner shared of his late wife. "And every morning I give her the nod, 'So what do you think about this?' For a while I was having a hard time figuring out if she would be okay."
He continued, "But we always told each other when one of us goes we want the other to be happy. She's up there rooting, she's saying, 'Yeah Gerry, do this.'"
And as Turner revealed, it was his adult daughters who prompted his journey to finding love again as they were the ones who signed him up. He said he felt like there was "nothing to lose." So, what is he looking for in a partner?
"I'd love it if I found a partner who was high-energy," he revealed. "Someone that maybe plays pickleball, someone that maybe plays golf."
And whether there may be a wedding in addition to roses in Turner's future? He answered, "I wouldn't discount it."
The Golden Bachelor will premiere on ABC this fall.
