The latest addition to The Bachelor universe, The Golden Bachelor, will hit screens this September – with a twist on the original format. In the new spin-off, the bachelor will be a senior citizen, a 71-year-old widower, and a grandfather, Gerry Turner looking for love. Gerry will be paired up with women of a similar age, hoping to find the one to “share the sunset years of life” with, according to the show’s official description.
Fans of The Bachelor franchise will know all about fantasy suites. For those unfamiliar with the concept, fantasy suites are introduced in the series when the prospective bachelorettes are narrowed down to a few — typically three finalists. In these suites, the bachelor and his date for the evening will spend the night in a very romantic hotel room. The rest is… well, the rest is up to them.
Fantasy suites are typically where the most sexual, as well the most cringe-inducing, moments of The Bachelor happen. These rooms will be where couples try to take their relationship to the next stage, and many fall flat on their face when their advances are rejected embarrassingly.
With the new spin-off showcasing a cast of an older, more conservative generation, many of Gerry’s prospective golden girls will be reluctant to engage in such activities — especially in front of TV cameras. The golden bachelor himself has spoken out about this dynamic of the show is likely to change.
“I just think that a Fantasy Suite for someone of my age may look quite different,” Turner teased to Entertainment Tonight. “The activities could be quite different than for someone in their 20s and 30s.”
It certainly sounds like these new fantasy suites will be a more old-fashioned kind of courtship than we’ve seen in the infamous rooms before, with less emphasis on sex and more on connecting with one another — albeit a less physical one.
So what could happen in these rooms instead? “I think the one thing I’m going to look for is that look in the eye. I’ve seen it before, and I know the feeling when it’s there. If I see that, that’s going to be the person that I’m going to probably pursue above others,” Turner said.
So will these golden couples be making eye contact rather than making out with each other?
However, it looks like the golden bachelor won’t be getting too old school. The father of three said that fantasy suites “really don’t” make him nervous.” Rather, “They make my daughters much more nervous than me.”
Turner said that his children have tried to stave him off potentially embarrassing them with too much physical affection in front of the cameras. “they said ‘absolutely none of that.’ They said, ‘Don’t do it,’” Gerry said before adding that he’s “been ignoring that part of the advice.”