The Golden Bachelor premiere featured slightly uncomfortable sex references, endearing tears from both the leading man and the women, and more than one make-out session. The energetic atmosphere of this new iteration of The Bachelor series is a much-needed cultural reset and attempts to erase false notions of what “seniorhood” should look like.
The Golden Bachelor follows 72-year-old Gerry Turner through his various dates with 22 eligible women, with the ending potentially culminating in a proposal.
Opening up as any typical season with an introduction of who the main man is and what he hopes to find by going on the show, Gerry instantly came across as one of the most likable Bachelors in a long time. Sparing viewers the cringe-worthy shower scenes and awkward displays of manliness, this new season instead focuses on what the show was originally intended to be about: finding true love.
The women of this season seem to be ready to have fun, defy age stereotypes, and roll over cultural norms. As each of the women emerged from the limo on night one, they brought the same sort of spunk and flirtiness— typical of a Bachelor premiere.
A few of the women stood out from their entrances.
Sandra, age 75, engaged Gerry in breathing exercises that involved more profanities than deep breaths and let her prioritization of intimacy be known straight away.
Theresa, age 70, declared that she came ready in her birthday suit. Much to Gerry’s apparent disappointment, she was wearing a nude bodysuit.
Faith, a 61-year-old pulled up Bachelor style in a random motorcycle proclaiming that she “is proof that you can live fast and not die young.”
Ellen, 71, screamed “Roberta we made it,” dedicating the entrance to her lifelong best friend who recently died, per a message shown at the end of the first episode.
The star of the show was Aunt Chippy, also known as late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s aunt, who sarcastically commented, “this ain’t no 80-year-old club that’s for sure.”
Gerry seemed almost emotional as he greeted the women, looking delighted and at the same time surprised by his delight. Calling the woman “lovely” and “poised,” Gerry likely cued an almost immediate “aw” from young hopeless romantics tuning in.
“I mean, we’re raising the bar,” 61-year-old April, who carried in a basket of eggs to make known that hers are “still very fresh,” said.
Gerry said a few women gained his attention from the way their smile reaches their eyes.
The women begin to adjust to the competitive environment as they all vied for a slice of Gerry’s time. April, proving to be a bit of a character early on, grabbed Gerry straight off the toast, suggesting her knowledge of needing to grab his attention away from the other woman, despite proclaiming that she had never seen The Bachelor before. April spent her minutes with Gerry going over a calendar she made him with a picture of herself for every month.
After stealing away from the “All About April” calendar, Gerry made his way to Natascha, who noted his muscles and proclaimed excitedly that she “won’t have to resuscitate him if we have an intimate moment.”
The continuous references to sex was a surprise and came off a bit corny but at the same time refreshing as talk about this subject from elderly people isn’t super frequent in pop culture.
A few jokes were aimed at teenage viewers, including Gerry’s attempt to say that his granddaughter told him he “had rizz.”
Faith busted out the guitar, flipping gender stereotypes by making the man sit through the awkward solo—a twist on the iconic scene from Barbie.
“You’re really very attractive,” Gerry blurted out, seeming completely entranced.
One of the most memorable senior moments came during the dance montage to “Lil Boo Thang” by Paul Russell.
“Nobody has fun like we have fun,” Gerry said with a wink to one of the women.
Throughout the episode, the women hyped each other up, seeming to all share the mission of letting go of age-induced stereotypes and just enjoying being dressed up and feeling good.
Gerry snagged his first kiss with a classic icing on the face clean-up act that called his previously mentioned “rizz” back into question.
He handed out the first impression rose to Faith, the motorcycle-riding, guitar-playing fun lover for her success in making him feel really special—major cute points for Gerry—and the second make-out of the night ensued.
Coming all the way from Iowa, Gerry Turner stepped into the role of Bachelor with an elegance unseen in recent seasons. After sending six women home Gerry was almost teary-eyed, but remained hopeful that he will find his “forever partner.” After losing his wife of 43 years, Gerry serves as an inspiration to young and old that anyone can find love if they remain open to it.
