Hometown dates hold a lot of weight for Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner.
“The last time I met [the] family of someone that I was about to fall in love with was in 1968,” Gerry, 72, shares in a confessional in Us Weekly’s exclusive sneak peek at The Golden Bachelor’s Thursday, November 2, episode. “I’m really excited about it because family is very important to me.”
While Bachelor Nation fans have seen several hometowns over the years on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, Gerry teased that his dates will “look a lot different from someone who’s in their 20s and 30s” as he will “be meeting the children instead of meeting the parents.”
As the clip shows footage of Gerry arriving at an airport and boarding a flight to his first hometown, he notes in a confessional that the week will be a “critical” one in his journey to find new love.
“I have three women left. I have Faith, I have Leslie and I have Theresa — and they all have said that they’re falling in love with me,” he continues. “But it’s been so long since I first felt those feelings with my wife, so I’m in uncharted waters here.”
Although his feelings for his final three women “are strong,” Gerry clarifies, “I only want to say ‘I love you’ to one more person in my lifetime. So, I hope I’m able to sort my feelings out and do the right thing.”
Unlike other Bachelor Nation hometown dates, Gerry will only visit three contestants instead of his final four. He handed out hometown roses to Faith Martin, Leslie Fhima and Theresa Nist during the show’s fifth episode on October 26 episode, eliminating contestants Ellen Goltzer, Sandra Mason and Susan Noles as a result.
“I know that I have the responsibility right now of holding your hearts in my hands,” Gerry told the group during episode 5 rose ceremony. “And I consider this one of the most important steps I could possibly take.”
Ellen’s elimination, in particular, came as a shock to both herself and fans alike as she was the first contestant to tell Gerry she was falling in love with him. “Saying goodbye to Gerry was not an easy thing to do,” she wrote in a heartfelt Instagram post after the episode. “I was falling in love, and I hadn’t felt those kinds of feelings for a guy in years.”
Ellen went on to praise her experience on the show, stating that she has “a new lease on love.” She continued: “I am so thankful to everyone at @goldenbachabc!!! I have a new lease on love, I know I can fall in love again, and like my best friend Roberta said — never say never!!! I’m so ready to find my forever person, I wasn’t ready for so long, but I’m so ready now! 💛🌹.”
Despite her elimination, Sandra revealed in an interview with Entertainment Tonight that she did not regret her decision to miss her daughter’s wedding to appear on The Golden Bachelor. “My son-in-law said to me, ‘Mom, the ceremony is eight minutes. The marriage is forever.’ He said, ‘Go. Go!’” she told the outlet earlier this month. “My daughter, she said, ‘Mom, I found my guy, you go find yours.’ They were both a little perturbed that I was even considering not going because of their wedding. They’d each been married before. She’s almost 51, he’s 53.”
The Golden Bachelor airs on ABC Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET.
