‘Feel free to blur the lines’: ‘The Golden Bachelor’ star Gerry Turner reveals his casting comments to producers

The latest spinoff of ABC’s The Bachelor, titled The Golden Bachelor, is weeks away from its Fall 2023 premiere, and its first-ever lead Gerry Turner is dishing on the group of women joining him for the inaugural season.

Turner, a 71-year-old widower and grandfather from Indiana, told Variety he was “really skeptical” of the concept of finding love through the show at first, but now feels “very hopeful.” He confirmed that he’d been discussing the casting of the 20 hopeful women with the producers but said, “I wouldn’t want [a] say in casting.” Turner explained that he’s been dating for around four years and “wasn’t very good at casting for myself,” so he was happy to let someone else do that part. “I think that the process that they’ve used in the past and they’ve refined will bring some really fantastic candidates,” he shared.

Turner also said he didn’t give the casting group any prerequisites, but he did answer questions about his interests and told them, “I’d like someone who enjoys activity [such as] golf or pickleball or some sport and they use that to stay fit.” He also gave them a general age range, he admitted. “I think I said 60 to 70, but feel free to blur the lines,” Turner spilled.

While he admitted that he’d seen some Bachelor episodes in the past due to his daughters’ and granddaughters’ love of the show, he had no idea what to expect for his season. He told the publication that he asked producers many questions about the show but explained that, “true to form, they’ve told me that I’ll have to live through it to find out — so the curiosity keeps me going as much as some of the other excitement. But I’m going to be surprised, just like you, when we see the show.”

Turner is a retired restaurateur who spends his time with his children and grandchildren, loves hosting barbecues, playing pickleball, watching sports, and four-wheeling, according to a press release.

Turner’s first wife, Toni, was his high school sweetheart, and they married in 1974. They were married for 43 years until she “suddenly fell ill and passed away in 2017,” the press release states. While speaking with Good Morning America, Turner said he felt confident that his late wife would support his decision to appear on The Golden Bachelor. “She’s saying, ‘Yeah Gerry, do this,” he said.