‘The Golden Bachelor’: Gerry Turner, 71, Named Star of New ABC Dating Show

The leading man of the upcoming Bachelor spinoff The Golden Bachelor has finally been revealed, as 71-year-old grandpa Gerry Turner becomes the ABC show’s first-ever senior citizen star.

Turner was unveiled on Monday’s (July 17) edition of Good Morning America, where he said, “It’s never too late to fall in love again,” adding that he’s looking for “a partner who is high energy, someone who’s fairly competitive, that they enjoy sports. Someone that maybe plays pickleball; someone that maybe plays golf.”

A retired restaurateur from Indiana, Turner is described as a “doting father and grandfather.” He was married for 43 years to his high school sweetheart, Toni, who passed away in 2017, just six weeks after she retired.

“She got robbed,” Turner told GMA about his late wife. “Every day that goes by, that’s the thought I have.”

Meet Gerry Turner, a 71-year-old father of two ready to find love again! ❤️#TheGoldenBachelor@goldenbachabc pic.twitter.com/BInRx9HbTj

— Good Morning America (@GMA) July 17, 2023

As for what his wife would think about him appearing on The Golden Bachelor, he said, “I have her picture on a dresser in my closet. Every morning, I give her the nod, ‘So what do you think about this?’ For a while, it was like I was having a hard time figuring out if she would be okay. But we always told each other, when one of us goes, we want the other one to be happy.”

He also revealed that it was his two daughters, Angie and Jenny, who encouraged him to sign up for the ABC reality show.

Entering our golden era 💛 Meet Gerry, #TheGoldenBachelor, coming to ABC this fall, and stream on Hulu. @goldenbachabc pic.twitter.com/te8AehzYdr

— The Bachelor (@BachelorABC) July 17, 2023

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See First Teaser for 'The Golden Bachelor' — When Will Star Be Announced?

The reveal also came with a playful video (watch above), which showed Turner suiting up while a voice-over said things like, “He posts his thirst traps in a leather-bound album,” “He doesn’t have gray hair, he has ‘wisdom highlights,'” and “Florida wants to retire and move to him.”

The upcoming spinoff series is set to showcase a “whole new kind of love story — one for the golden years,” according to the official ABC synopsis. “A hopeless romantic is given a second chance at love in the search for a partner with whom to share the sunset years of life,” the description continues.

The Golden Bachelor, Premieres, This Fall, ABC