The Golden Bachelor has truly been an excellent show; a new version of the The Bachelor, but with significantly less drama. It’s refreshing to watch 72-year old Gerry Turner’s calm approach and emotional intelligence. However, that doesn’t mean that there haven’t been some head-scratching moments along the way.
And by “less drama,” I don’t mean there isn’t any. I was surprised to see the Theresa-Kathy situation arise, but I even more taken aback by some of the other developments. So, here’s a list of five things that, perhaps foolishly, I found odd while watching this welcomed first season of The Golden Bachelor.
5. Theresa’s boasting
Theresa is a great woman with a golden heart (see what I did there?!), and she and Gerry have a wildly strong connection, one that Theresa can’t help but constantly talk about to the other women. Maybe it’s not intentional boasting — after all, she’s falling in love — but she often seems to forget that the other women are there for the same reason. As Theresa kept talking more and more about what Gerry did for her — including talking to her in private in her bedroom, and sharing things that will certainly earn the ire of the other women — she appeared happily unaware of how she might appear to some of her fellow contestants.
Though she is well-meaning, she wasn’t playing it smart at all, and she may have created an enemy or two as a result.
4. Kathy focusing too much on Theresa
Kathy was one who took exception to Theresa’s boasting, so she decided to speak to her about it. Kathy was right to call her out in private for her constant Gerry giddiness — for Theresa’s own protection — but she should’ve left it at that. Instead, as Theresa failed to heed Kathy’s advice, Kathy just kept telling her to “zip it!” This was really born out of annoyance more than anything, but it hurt Kathy’s chances, and came back to bite her as Gerry later learned of it, and thus refrained from giving her a rose.
Here’s a tip: If someone is single-handedly raising the emotional temperature or making others feel frustrated and they refuse to listen to your advice, then let them be the one to create drama, otherwise you’ll be the target. In this case, Kathy did become the target, but it also likely became clear to Gerry that she was more focused on Theresa than she was on him.
3. The women revealing their sexual exploits
Nothing was more bizarre than seeing these women play “Never Have I Ever.” One of them even admitted that she had kissed another woman’s husband, and had sex pretty much everywhere, while another said that she and her then-husband often had sex at the workplace. The stories were somewhat funny, but also somewhat difficult to hear, because it made me wonder whether certain things really need to be revealed for this wholesome version of The Bachelor.
Sure, there’s usually a lot of intimate TMI on these types of shows, but these are literally grandmothers, and airing their sex lives for the whole country to hear makes for some unbelievably odd viewing. Some might argue I’m being ageist, but I argue that many people, of all ages, seem to have lost their ability to be discreet when it’s appropriate.
This sexual over-sharing happens on the Bachelor in Paradise often, too, and it’s just as cringeworthy to me. When kissing-and-telling happens on The Golden Bachelor, though, there’s an added element of secondhand embarrassment, as I find myself hoping their grandchildren aren’t watching. Even a lot of the other women seemed taken aback by the spicy admissions.
2. Gerry’s gift-giving to Ellen
On Gerry and Ellen’s date, they took photos as part of a mock-up novel cover. The setup appeared strikingly similar to a wedding photoshoot, and Gerry even gifted Ellen a gorgeous pair of earrings that apparently weren’t just for the shoot. Nonetheless, after the date, Gerry gifted Ellen with a photo, beautifully framed, of one of the wedding-esque shots they took earlier that day. Some believed this to be quite the gesture, though the producers likely set this all up, anyway. However, I couldn’t help but think, “this is just going to break Ellen’s heart if she doesn’t end up with Gerry.” It was too much. Ellen said it was on of the greatest gifts she had ever received. A couple of episodes later, Gerry sent her home.
1. Sandra missing her daughter’s wedding
I get that this show is a chance to find love, but I also get that your children getting married is a once-in-a-lifetime event (hopefully). So, it strikes me as unusual to me that a mother would skip her daughter’s wedding — although, maybe her daughter gets married all the time — in favor of a reality dating show. Furthermore, when she told Gerry — on the very day of the wedding, mind you — they phoned her daughter together as a surprise congratulations. That’s cool, but why wouldn’t Sandra, or the producers, make arrangements for her to miss, what, a mere day-and-a-half of filming?
Considering the situation, I figured that Sandra would likely be sent home at some point anyway, and sure enough, that’s exactly what happened. Had he known about it beforehand, maybe Gerry would have sent Sandra home in time to attend her daughter’s nuptials. I can only assume that Sandra will likely later regret not being there, despite her daughter assuring her it wasn’t a big deal. Yet, everyone on the show seemed to think this was such a wonderful sacrifice to make to find love.
Despite all of these odd occurrences, I rather enjoyed the show for its mature approach, and genuinely hope that there is a season 2 or, even better, a season 1 of The Golden Bachelorette.
