On his journey for a second chance at love, Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner has found himself falling for not one, but two women.
Theresa Nist and Leslie Fhima emerged as the final two contestants of The Golden Bachelor’s debut season on ABC. Hoping to only say “I love you” to one other woman after losing his wife, Toni, in 2017, Gerry never expected to develop such strong feelings for both Theresa and Leslie.
“I thought, ‘No, that’s absolutely not possible. That’s silly.’ How wrong I was,” Gerry exclusively told Us Weekly in September of falling in love with multiple women. “Because through the course of the journey, I really felt strong feelings for several of the women.”
Despite going against his initial instincts, Turner teased to Us last month that his season will feature a “good conclusion,” adding, “I was happy with how it turned out.”
The Golden Bachelor airs on ABC Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET. Scroll below to relive Gerry’s romantic journeys with Theresa and Leslie before his Bachelor Nation journey comes to a close:
The 1st Night
From the get-go, both Theresa and Leslie made strong impressions on Gerry upon exiting the limo. Leslie emerged from the vehicle in an old lady outfit, only to rip it off and reveal her true self underneath. “The women are amazing. Everybody looks really, really good,” she stated in a confessional. “We’re all breaking the stereotypical view of what a senior looks like or acts like.”
Theresa, meanwhile, celebrated turning 70 on the show by arriving in her “birthday suit.” Tricking Gerry, she slipped off her black robe to reveal a nude bodysuit underneath. “I couldn’t do that! I’ve got six grandsons,” she joked to Gerry.
Later that night, Gerry continued to make Theresa feel special on her birthday by giving her a celebratory cupcake. Theresa helped Gerry clean icing off his lip by giving him a sweet kiss. “It’s been forever since I’ve kissed a guy, and it felt incredible,” she gushed in a confessional. “It was just so good.”
Theresa’s 1-on-1
Gerry took Theresa on the first one-on-one date of the season in episode 2. “There’s a calm, there’s a peacefulness with Theresa. It’s amazing to know that just a gentle touch and a few words and we’re back to hopefulness about the future,” Gerry shared in a confessional. “Going into the date tonight, I hoped I would have a connection with Theresa. But once I discovered the depth of that connection, it was far beyond the expectations that I had.”
After agreeing to learn to speak Italian and travel to Italy together, the pair joined in on a surprise flash mob at the diner.
Leslie’s 1-On-1
For his one-on-one date with Leslie in episode 4, she and Gerry shared an afternoon of riding ATVs in the California desert. “I feel safe with him and cared for. It makes me feel special,” Leslie admitted in a confessional. “This is different. This is really different. I know he’s got my back. … I feel like he is the man I’ve been searching for, for a long, long time.”
Following their four-wheeler joy ride, Leslie confessed to Gerry that her feelings for him have “grown in the last few hours” and thinks she could share a “true partnership” with him.
“If this whole thing was happening and it wasn’t you and maybe someone else, I would have left,” she added. “But I’m here because of you.” The two shared a kiss before continuing the PDA in a hot tub.
“The feeling I have with her is just really warm, affectionate closeness,” Gerry stated in a confessional. “If things continue to progress like they have today, I would absolutely see Leslie as someone that I could leave here with at the end of the journey.”
Theresa’s Hometown Date
Just like she received the first one-on-one of the season, Theresa was the first of Gerry’s three hometown dates. “I didn’t expect to feel the way I feel for you, and it was from the first moment I met you,” she told Gerry before introducing him to her family in Shrewsbury, New Jersey.
The duo were joined by Theresa’s sisters, Charlotte and Mary, her daughter, Jen, her son-in-law, Matt, and their three sons. “It’s extremely important that Gerry fits in with my family, and I want to make sure that they like him. But how could you not like Gerry?” Theresa stated in a confessional.
Luckily, Gerry wins the stamp of approval from her family members, but not without some hesitation from Jen. “Normally, she’s here every day, pretty much, so we see her a lot. She’s part of our lives, like, we are a very close-knit family,” Jen informed Gerry while discussing what life post-show could look like for the couple. “I think it would be challenging, but, I mean, this is certainly a different scenario where I’m not her parent. I am her child, so I am certainly saying she can make that decision.”
Theresa and Gerry ended their hometown date by sharing a romantic ride on a Ferris wheel, on which Theresa revealed that she was in love with him. “When I entered this journey, I wanted to find love. And for the first time since 1968, I know that I have fallen in love again,” Gerry said of the moment in a confessional. “This is the love I’m looking for.”
Leslie’s Hometown Date
While Theresa’s hometown went off without a hitch, Gerry faced a tough critic in Leslie’s oldest brother Stuart during their get-together in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Before introducing Gerry to her three kids and three grandkids, she explained that Stuart took over the role of her father after her dad passed away when she was 16 years old.
“Gerry is so different from the men I’ve dated,” Leslie noted in a confessional. “I think he’d fit so well into my family. … I think they’ll see the love I have for him because it’s written all over my face.” In addition to Stuart, Leslie introduced Gerry to her three kids,Chloë, Eli and Zack, as well as her three grandchildren.
During a one-on-one conversation with Gerry, Stuart said he found it “very strange” that Gerry was dating two other women in addition to Leslie. “I’m very protective of her, and to be honest with you, I’d hate to see her hurt again,” he stated, adding he wants “somebody to really just love her and take care of her.”
Gerry went on to ask whether Stuart would give him and Leslie their blessing down to line, to which he responded, “If Leslie and you came to me and said, ‘We want to get married,’ I would be happy about that and I would definitely give you my blessing.”
After the date, both Leslie and Gerry shared that they were in love with each other, with Gerry even admitting in a confessional that he could see Leslie “being my future wife.”
