Gerry Turner is a bachelor no more! After narrowing the pool of 22 eligible women to just two finalists—Leslie Fhima, 64, and Theresa Nist, 70—ABC's first-ever Golden Bachelor has proposed.
On the finale episode of the inaugural season of The Golden Bachelor, which aired on November 30, Turner, 72, Gerry proposed to Theresa, the retired financial services professional from Shrewsbury, New Jersey.
But first, he had to let Leslie down, and when we say it was brutal, boy, was it brutal.
After Leslie's last date with Gerry, she felt something was off. Even Gerry knew it, saying when you have a rhythm with someone, it made sense that Leslie felt something wasn't right. He returns to her hotel room and says, “When I left, you asked me if there was something I had to say to you…. I've made a decision of how I want to go about this. I've fallen in love with Theresa, and that's the direction I'm going to take.”
Understandably, Leslie is devastated. “So everything you told me the other night was a lie?” she asks. He says no, but she is adamant that it was. “At the time, that was the truth,” Gerry tells her. Leslie asks him where it went wrong, and he says it didn't: “You're both wonderful, but only one of you is right [for me].”
As excruciating as this is to watch, at least Gerry told Leslie that night instead of making her wait until the next day. Leslie acknowledges that, but still feels blindsided—and understandably so. “You said things that made me think you chose me,” she says through tears. “It's mind-boggling how you can say you love me, and then 12 hours later, say that you changed your mind. I poured my heart out. I fell in love with you. I fell in love with your family today. There's nothing you can do or say to make me feel better.” She does say that at the end of the day she wants him to be happy, and Theresa is “a great girl and I have nothing bad to say about her. I'm just blown away.” Gerry says he'll see himself out, and that's that.
In the moments after, we see Gerry's breakdown that's been teased all season in which he says “this was a goddamn close second” to the pain he felt after his wife's passing.
When ABC then cuts to the live portion of the finale, Leslie is sitting down with Jesse Palmer. She's understandably still devastated, and tells Jesse that, after her overnight with Gerry, she was “100% certain” she was his girl: “I just didn't expect [what happened next].”
Leslie even admits she picked out a proposal dress and wrote her vows. “In my head, I had this whole life planned for us.” She says that because Gerry gave her so many reasons to believe that she was the one, that's why she had those thoughts. “I felt like he chose me when we had our overnight,” she said.
When Gerry walks out onstage, the two embrace. She says she's had time to process everything now and is doing better, but it's still so hard. She says that on the group date at the pier, he slipped her a note. She doesn't say what it said, and I picture Kathy saying, “Zip it. It doesn't matter now.” Leslie continues and says that during their overnight date when the cameras were off, he said things to her that gave her 100% reason to believe she was his girl. “I don't know where it went wrong,” she said. “I felt like you painted a picture of what our life looked like…and I'd like to know what happened.”
Gerry says he wanted to give each person he was with his full attention, “and because of that, I got caught up in moments. In those moments I meant it. You're the person I believed was my person until suddenly you weren't,” he says. (Ouch.) He also says it didn't go wrong; it just went better with another person. Oy, Gerry. “I wish there was a better way of doing it,” he says.
Leslie says she doesn't know if she accepts his apology, but she gets it. He says he understands that. “I'll always cherish the memories you and I made,” he says. “I wish I could have done better. I'm human. I'm sorry.”
With all that said, Leslie says she's still glad Gerry told her he loved her “because it opened my heart to the person that's out there for me. I didn't think I was capable of loving that way. You showed me that I need a man with integrity and someone who is kind and all the things that I want, and I deserve that, and I'm going to find it.”
When we return, we're back to the final day in Costa Rica as Gerry is getting ready to propose to Theresa. He says he spent the morning praying to his late wife, Toni, hoping that she's guiding him.
Then we cut to Theresa getting ready. She says that when her late husband, Billy, proposed, he didn't get down on one knee with a ring, so this will be a first for her, should Gerry propose.
When Theresa walks up to Gerry, she says she thought she was going to live the rest of her life alone until she met him. “I'm so madly in love with you, Gerry,” she said. “And I feel the best is yet to come. I think you're the most wonderful man in the world, and I don't want to let you go.”
Gerry: “Oh, Theresa.”
He then says, “When I woke up this morning, it was difficult. I had really mixed feelings. I got to the point with the questions I asked myself, and came to the realization that you're not the right person for me to live with.” He pauses. She thinks he's sending her home and starts to cry. He has the nerve to not say anything and still keep her guessing. Then he says, “You're the person that I can't live without.” Dear Lord! Theresa can't believe it. She is actually impressed with his fake-out. (I mean, sure, if you like that type of thing during one of the most important moments of your life.) He then gets down on one knee and proposes, she says yes, and his daughters and granddaughters run out to congratulate them.
I'm not crying, I swear.
As messy as things got in the run-up to the proposal, Gerry and Theresa had a connection from day one. (Do you remember the sloppy cupcake makeout session? Unfortunately, I can't forget it.) However, she wasn't necessarily a shoo-in for the final rose. Though Theresa was treated to the first one-on-one date, during which she and Gerry bonded over their shared experience of losing a spouse, it looked as though Gerry was destined to end up with Leslie, the former professional dancer, as the weeks rolled on. Then, after the fantasy suite date, it appeared that a switch had been flipped—and the rest is reality-TV history.
At the live show, Gerry and Theresa make their debut as an engaged couple. They do look great together. Gerry says he will never use a pause as long as that for the rest of his life. (I mean, thank goodness.) Jesse asks Gerry what changed for him during his overnight with Theresa, and he says there were a lot of subtleties that added up for him, but basically she knew how to be in a long-term relationship. (All I can say is, Leslie, I'm sorry you had to hear that.)
Then, in the most awkward moment of the night (and that's saying something), Theresa tells Jesse that if Gerry won't admit to what happened in the fantasy suite, she will. (Again, where's Kathy and her “zip it” when you need it?) Theresa says that she “knocked his boots off,” and then adds, “With kisses! With kisses!” Even Gerry's granddaughters can't handle the conversation. Glad I'm not alone.
But prime time's newest couple aren't done yet. Also on Thursday, ABC revealed that it's sending Gerry and Theresa on a romantic vacation to Italy. And then there was an actually, truly groundbreaking twist: Gerry and Theresa are getting married very soon—and the event will be televised. Save the date: January 4, 2024, live on ABC!
And then Gerry’s and Theresa's families met each other onstage for the first time. Screams, hugs, and cheers followed. And with that, bring on the golden nuptials!
