Why 'Golden Bachelor' Gerry Turner Was Initially Reluctant About the Show _ E! N
Why 'Golden Bachelor' Gerry Turner Was Initially Reluctant About the Show _ E! N
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:01 - Our next guest is proving it's never too late to find love.
00:04 - It's the first golden bachelor, my dream man,
00:07 Gary Turner, everybody.
00:09 Gary, you are literally my type.
00:12 Silver Fox, smart, handsome,
00:15 and America is gonna fall in love with you.
00:17 - Yes.
00:17 - Thanks for the kind words.
00:19 I appreciate that.
00:20 - I'm so curious, when you got that call from ABC,
00:24 like that you were going to be the next bachelor,
00:26 what was going through your head?
00:28 - Well, the most recent call was this February.
00:32 And I'd started the process almost three years ago.
00:35 So there'd been a time.
00:36 - Really?
00:37 - Yeah, the COVID had put an end to it
00:41 because early on several years ago, I was fired up.
00:44 I was all ready to go.
00:45 And then it went silent.
00:47 - I remember the talks.
00:48 - Yeah.
00:49 So when I got a call this February, I was pretty reluctant.
00:54 I developed a good close circle of friends.
00:57 I was really enjoying life.
00:59 Things were good.
01:00 I didn't feel like I had the need any longer.
01:03 - Yeah.
01:03 - And the ABC producers were very persuasive.
01:07 - I'm sure they were.
01:09 - They tantalized me with travel and beautiful women
01:13 and lovely scenes on faraway places.
01:17 And so they won me over.
01:19 - Well, I gotta ask you because if I date two people,
01:23 I'm in over my head.
01:24 Was there ever a time that you were in this process
01:27 where you thought, what did I get myself into?
01:30 - Yeah.
01:30 - Yeah, there were a few times,
01:32 especially when I got to the point
01:34 where I was in rose ceremonies
01:36 and I developed connections and friendships
01:39 and really felt like I was getting somewhere
01:42 in relationships only to realize
01:45 that there were eight women before me in a ceremony
01:49 and five roses on the table.
01:51 I remember one of them, I was doubled over
01:53 at the front of the mansion, had my hands on my knees.
01:56 I felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest
01:59 and I go, oh, geez, I can't do this.
02:01 I just can't do it.
02:02 'Cause I was down to the last choices
02:05 and I would look in the eyes of those women
02:07 and realize that we'd had good conversations
02:10 and we'd found that our families were compatible
02:12 and our values were compatible.
02:14 And all of a sudden, I had to say goodbye to them.
02:18 - I really feel like you come across as someone
02:20 that would take it slow, but I'm so curious
02:23 if there was ever a moment where you're like,
02:25 these women are kinda throwing themselves at me.
02:27 They're moving kinda quick.
02:28 Did that ever happen?
02:30 - There were a couple of times, yes.
02:32 I was trying to process as much information as I could
02:37 and compartmentalize the information
02:39 about each of the women.
02:41 And then someone would come along
02:43 and a whirlwind would be up their skirt
02:46 making, let's go, here we go.
02:48 (laughing)
02:49 - Not a whirlwind up their skirt.
02:51 - I'm gonna use that one.
02:52 - Little bit of trouble.
02:53 - Well, Gary, I gotta know because I watch "The Bachelor"
02:56 and I'm waiting for the fantasy suite episode
02:59 where things are gonna get a little interesting.
03:02 Was that part of the play in this season
03:06 and did you take someone up on the offer?
03:09 - So by the offer, I'm not sure what you mean,
03:13 but I'll give you my perspective on it.
03:15 There were fantasy suites.
03:19 I was eager to get to the fantasy suites,
03:23 but the difference was that I think at the age of 70,
03:26 I was more interested in an emotional connection,
03:30 an intellectual connection,
03:31 really getting to know the values and the morals
03:34 of the person that I was in the fantasy suite with
03:36 as opposed to when you're 30
03:38 and you're looking at the physical connection.
03:41 - Now, you have two beautiful daughters.
03:43 You have two beautiful granddaughters.
03:45 I gotta know, what did they say the minute you told them
03:48 that you were gonna be the first Golden Bachelor?
03:51 - Oh, they were over the top excited.
03:53 They were there at the very beginning,
03:55 urging me to fill out the questionnaire to start with
03:59 and start the process.
04:00 So they have been 100% in support of this all along.
04:04 - And how long have you been single for?
04:06 - Six years.
04:07 - For six years.
04:08 - Yeah, six years as of last July.
04:10 - What was the hardest point
04:12 about getting back out there and dating?
04:16 Because I know sometimes losing a significant other
04:18 can be hard and it can be daunting.
04:20 - It's hard.
04:21 - Actually, I think the hardest part of it
04:23 is that you don't know when you're ready.
04:25 It's almost you have to be in retrospect
04:28 and you go on a couple of dates
04:30 and realize it's not working
04:32 or you don't feel like you're doing the right thing
04:35 or just a variety of emotions that aren't quite right.
04:38 And then eventually you get to a point where,
04:40 geez, I went on a date last night.
04:42 I really enjoyed myself.
04:43 I wanna see this person again.
04:45 I wanna give it a try.
04:46 And then you go, okay, now I'm ready.
04:49 - Yeah.
04:50 - And the timetable was a lot slower than what I thought.
04:53 - Mm. - Mm.
04:54 - Yeah.
04:55 - Well, on this journey,
04:56 have you found a love worth pursuing after the show?
05:00 - I think you'll have to watch to see.
05:06 But I would say this.
05:08 I don't think I would be sitting here smiling
05:10 at that question had something good not happened.
05:13 - Okay.
05:14 - But again, you gotta watch.
05:16 - I'm rooting for you, Gary.
05:17 I'm rooting for you.
05:18 I want you to find love.
05:20 I think that the whole world is gonna be rooting for you.
05:22 - You are the nicest man in America.
05:23 - You really are.
05:24 - Thank you for that.
05:25 - You guys, you can fall in love with Gary
05:27 when "The Golden Bachelor" premieres tomorrow
05:30 on ABC and Hulu.
05:31 (upbeat music)
05:35 (upbeat music)
05:37 (upbeat music)