ABC has confirmed that The Golden Bachelorette is officially happening following the success of The Golden Bachelor.
The Golden Bachelorette will debut in fall 2024. The spinoff announcement came on Saturday, February 10, at The Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour.
Host Jesse Palmer previously hinted that a female-led spinoff of the dating show for seniors could be in the works. “Absolutely. I really hope that’s the case,” he told E! News in October.
Still, Palmer played coy about the potential series. “I can’t speak on behalf of executives or anybody else, obviously,” he added. “I’m sure everyone’s waiting to see how this one goes first. But I know there are thousands of women across America deserving of that.”
The Golden Bachelor was a hit from the start, with its September 2023 premiere bringing in the Bachelor franchise’s biggest multi-platform audience since the 2020 Bachelorette season starring Clare Crawley and Tayshia Adams. The spinoff series followed Gerry Turner, a 72-year-old widower who lost his wife of 43 years, as he searched for love with women in their 60s and 70s.
As the inaugural Golden Bachelor, Gerry was skeptical that he would find love with multiple women, but he ultimately fell into the same trap as past Bachelors and Bachelorettes. “I thought, ‘No, that’s absolutely not possible. That’s silly.’ How wrong I was,” he exclusively told Us Weekly in September. “Because through the course of the journey, I really felt strong feelings for several of the women.”
Despite his deep connections, Gerry did not believe that he was truly “in love” with more than one woman. “In retrospect, I realized that in that particular moment, whenever it was — the setting was such that, ‘Yeah, it was easy to look at someone and tell ‘em that you loved ‘em,’” he explained. “But once you get through it all and you look back, then you realize that there is just really one person that really meets the standard in all situations that you want it to be.”
While Gerry set several boundaries for himself before filming began, he ended up letting his heart guide him through the process. “I had a few rules, but I was breaking them all. That was the problem. So I decided I would stop,” he told Us. “[My daughters and granddaughters] were worried that I was going to be that guy that was kissing everybody on the first night. And I said, ‘Nope, I’m not going to kiss anyone on the first night. You’re not going to see that. Maybe not even as we get into it.’ Well, as you’ll see, I failed on the very first night, but I don’t feel bad about it at all.”
Gerry ultimately fell for Theresa Nist who he married last month in the televised Golden Wedding special, which aired one month after the Golden Bachelor finale.
“I have learned that you are the woman I can’t live without. I learned that you make me calm with the touch of your hand. I’ve learned you make me laugh with the easy comfort of a long-lost friend,” he said during his vows. “I’ve learned you are a strong and independent woman, and your strength gives me joy. I’ve learned that you make me a better person, a better man because of your sensitivity and soft voice. Theresa, I now know I have found a full partner to share the experiences life will throw at us.”
Nist echoed the same love in her vows.
“I love your heart, your soul. I love your smiles, your laughter. We have so much fun together. We laugh until we cry,” Theresa said during her vows. “We have that same, deep love of family. We have so much love to share and now so many more people to share it with. I promise to be your calm in a storm, to comfort you when you’re sad, laugh with you when you’re happy, and to stick with you throughout it all, but most of all, to have fun and to enjoy for the rest of the time we have left on this Earth, which could be another hour. I love you with all of my heart and I cannot wait to be your wife.”
