Posted in: ABC, Opinion, TV, TV | Tagged: ABC, Gerry Turner, opinion, the bachelor, The Golden Bachelor

The Golden Bachelor: ABC's 3-Month Faux Fairytale Ends In Divorce

After three months of marriage, ABC's The Golden Bachelor and his bride have called it quits - to the shock & awe of absolutely no one.

The Golden Bachelor was a reality show sensation that long-time fans of the dating franchise championed last fall. Hell, I even did. Gerry Turner seemed like a genuinely great man whom America just wanted to protect and pray that he would find his second chance at love. The day before the finale aired, we learned that it was all pretty much a sham that we should have seen coming because in this world we aren't allowed nice things. He chose Theresa Nist, which was a surprise to viewers, and the two did marry in a televised special in January that nobody cared about. Now, it's over.

The Golden Bachelor Ends Up Like Most Of The Others

THR is reporting today that the couple is splitting up after only three months of marriage. Not only did they never even move in together, technically, I think they can just get an annulment. Nist insists that the revelations of the article that was published detailing his rotten behavior "did not play a part" in the decision, but come on. The two sat down for an interview with Good Morning America to talk about the split that surely had most of the people who watched it rolling their eyes and scoffing.

And so, The Golden Bachelor ends up where most of the regular contestants end up after being on the show: alone and disgraced in some way. Look, I am an unabashed Bachelor fanatic. I watch all the shows, I discuss them with people who don't want to hear about them, and Bachelor Nation on social media is one of my favorite fandom communities. Nobody, and I mean nobody, watches this show because we think this is a place to find true love. As of 2023, the combined success rate of the couple made on the show is 19%.

And yet…The Golden Bachelor looked and felt different. Sure, Gerry may have turned out to be an asshole – but on the dates with the women (as they aired on the show, at least), he genuinely made the women feel appreciated, listened to, and held adult conversations about topics people of their age trying to find romance would actually talk to each other about. I refuse to say that they duped us – right? No, I think they stumbled into something that COULD work but had the wrong person in mind to help them test it out. The regular shows have turned into nothing but a tool to up your Instagram following, but the real potential of people meeting and sparking a romance they can build on is in this version of the show.

Okay, maybe they duped me.

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