The first season of The Golden Bachelor — a spin-off of The Bachelor featuring contestants 60 and over — premiered on September 28, 2023 on ABC.
This season features 72-year-old Gerry Turner, a retired restaurateur and widower from Hudson, Indiana. It concluded on November 30, 2023, with Turner choosing to propose to 70-year-old Theresa Nist. ABC aired the wedding as a live special, The Golden Wedding, on January 4, 2024. They divorced three months later.
Production Filming and development Filming began in August 2023 in Los Angeles, and concluded in Costa Rica.
As a result of the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, the series aired on Thursday nights followed by the ninth season of Bachelor in Paradise instead of on its originally intended Monday-night scheduling, to fill timeslots left vacant by scripted shows.
Casting and contestants Notable contestants included Patty James, mother of season 25 Bachelor Matt James, Renee Halverson-Wright, author and former Chicago Honey Bears cheerleader, and Susan Noles, ex-wife of retired baseball player Dickie Noles. Former Bachelorettes Kaitlyn Bristowe and Trista Sutter, and then-incoming season 28 Bachelor Joey Graziadei all made guest appearances this season.
Concetta "Chippy" Potenza—aunt of comedian and ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel—made a cameo as comic relief in the first episode, appearing as a fake "23rd contestant" trying to meet Turner, and sleeping through the rose ceremony.
The day before the finale aired, an exposé was published by The Hollywood Reporter claiming that Turner had been in a long-term, live-in relationship after the death of his wife, contrasting with the persona he presented on the show. Additionally, there were discrepancies regarding his employment.
Joan Vassos, who departed the show due to a family emergency, later became the lead for the first season of The Golden Bachelorette in 2024.
Contestants The 22 contestants were announced on August 30, 2023. NameAgeHometownOccupationOutcomePlaceRefTheresa Nist70Shrewsbury, New JerseyFinancial Services ProfessionalWinner1Leslie Fhima64Golden Valley, MinnesotaFitness InstructorRunner-Up2Faith Martin61Benton City, WashingtonHigh School TeacherWeek 63Ellen Goltzer71Delray Beach, FloridaRetired TeacherWeek 54–6Sandra Mason75Doraville, GeorgiaRetired Executive AssistantSusan Noles66Aston, PennsylvaniaWedding OfficiantApril Kirkwood65Port St. Lucie, FloridaTherapistWeek 47–8Kathy Swarts70Austin, TexasRetired Educational ConsultantNancy Hulkower60Alexandria, VirginiaRetired Interior Designer9Christina Kempton73Sierra Madre, CaliforniaRetired Purchasing ManagerWeek 310–11Edith Aguirre60Downey, CaliforniaRetired RealtorJoan Vassos60Rockville, MarylandPrivate School Administrator12 (quit)Jeanie Howard65Estill Springs, TennesseeRetired Project ManagerWeek 213–15Natascha Hardee60New York City, New YorkPro-Aging Coach & Midlife SpeakerPeggy Dercole69East Haven, ConnecticutDental HygienistMarina Perera60Los Angeles, CaliforniaEducator16 (quit)Anna Zalk61Summit, New JerseyRetired Nutritionist Week 1 17–22 Maria Trice60Teaneck, New JerseyHealth & Wellness DirectorPamela Burns75Aurora, IllinoisRetired Salon OwnerPatty James70Raleigh, North CarolinaRetired Real Estate ProfessionalRenee Halverson-Wright67Middleton, WisconsinAuthorSylvia Robledo64Los Angeles, CaliforniaPublic Affairs Consultant
Future appearances
The Golden Bachelorette Joan Vassos was the lead of the first season of The Golden Bachelorette, in which she got engaged to Chock Chapple.
Bachelor in Paradise Season 10
April Kirkwood, Faith Martin, Kathy Swarts, Leslie Fhima, Nancy Hulkower, and Natascha Hardee appeared on season 10 of Bachelor in Paradise. Hardee, Hulkower, and Kirkwood were eliminated week 4. Fhima was eliminated week 5 alongside Gary Levingston. Martin was eliminated week 6 alongside Kim Buike. Swarts was eliminated week 9 alongside Keith Gordon.
Got to Get Out
Noles appeared on the first season of the Hulu show Got to Get Out.
Call-out order OrderBachelorettesWeek1234567/81EdithFaithTheresaEllenSandraFaithLeslieTheresa2EllenEllenNancyKathyLeslieLeslieTheresaLeslie3SandraTheresaLeslieFaithEllenTheresaFaith4LeslieJoanJoanSandraFaithEllenSandraSusan5MarinaNataschaEdithLeslieSusan6ChristinaLeslieEllenNancyTheresa7JoanChristinaSandraSusanAprilKathy8NataschaEdithSusanApril9PeggyNancyChristinaTheresaNancy10PamelaAprilFaithChristinaEdith11KathySandraApril12NancyJeanieKathyJoan13TheresaKathyJeanieNataschaPeggy14AprilMarina15ReneePeggy16MariaSusanMarina17AnnaAnnaMariaPamelaPattyReneeSylvia18Susan19Patty20Sylvia21Jeanie22Faith
The contestant received the first impression rose The contestant received a rose during a date The contestant received a rose outside of a rose ceremony or date The contestant was eliminated The contestant was eliminated during a date The contestant was eliminated outside the rose ceremony The contestant received a rose during a date but quit the competition The contestant quit the competition The contestant won the competition
Ratings The season premiere of The Golden Bachelor was the highest-rated premiere in the Bachelor franchise since 2021. ABC stated that the premiere had the highest Live+3 viewership of any Bachelor episode since The Bachelorette season 16, the highest key demographic (18–49) viewership in the franchise since a Bachelor in Paradise season 7 episode in 2021, and was the network's most-streamed non-scripted program on Hulu. The season finale was seen by an average of 6.1 million viewers, making it the most-watched episode of the Bachelor franchise since the March 2021 finale of The Bachelor season 25 featuring Matt James.
Episodes Special
References
External links