‘Bachelor’ Fans Outraged By ‘Golden Bachelorette’ Announcement

Following the news of Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist’s divorce, ABC put out an announcement regarding ‘The Golden Bachelorette’ — and fans aren’t happy.

Following the success of ‘The Golden Bachelor’ in late 2023, ABC announced it will continue the franchise with a female-led spin-off, ‘The Golden Bachelorette.’

ABC has yet to confirm who the lead will be, and while fans seemed excited at first, the situation seems to have changed.

Days after Turner and Nist appeared on ‘Good Morning America’ to announce their divorce, ABC shared a casting call for the upcoming season of ‘The Golden Bachelorette.’ The graphic included in the post reads, “Now casting senior men looking for love,” and includes a link to apply or nominate someone.

Following the post, many fans expressed interest in other spin-offs rather than seeing ‘The Golden Bachelorette.’

“No ‘Golden Bachelorette!!’ Give us ‘Paradise,’ ” one user said, referring to the popular show ‘Bachelor In Paradise.’

“Oh stop. No one wants this,” one commenter wrote.

“It’s time for this chapter to close,” another social media user expressed.

Others found the timing of ABC’s announcement to be a bit odd.

“Breakup/divorce after three months?? [Do] you want people to buy all the lies in the show?? You got me believing that love is possible at any age, only to break our hearts!” another wrote. “Nah this time [I] am not [going to] watch.”

“Probably not the best timing for this….” another agreed.

“I think they best wait a bit. We [are] recovering from the divorce,” another Instagram user commented.

As Theresa Nist and Gerry Turner claimed that location was one of the main reasons for their divorce, fans now want ABC to consider contestants’ residencies when looking for senior men to join ‘The Golden Bachelorette.’

One user suggested, “Here is my recommendation to the ‘Bachelor’ producers:’ Make it regional. ‘ Make sure that contestants live fairly close to the ‘Golden Bachelorette.’ People in their 60s and 70s have children, grandchildren, and sometimes elderly parents who need care.”

They added, “No one wants to move away from their children and their grandchildren, so if the ‘Bachelorette’ [lead] and her chosen winner live within the same general region, there is a chance for a much more successful relationship ensuing.”

“Keep the contestants local, so they have a better chance at actually seeing if it can work. Learn from Gerry and Theresa. Seniors are set in their ways and don’t want to leave family,” one fan wrote.

Another said, “There’s no point in this. They have kids and families from different places in the world. Time to let it go.”

“I think what shocked me the most is this wasn’t just a normal breakup or an end of an engagement, this was a divorce announcement,” he told PEOPLE. “I was caught off guard, and surprised by the abruptness.”

He added, “It doesn’t require lawyers to get out of an engagement. It does require lawyers to get out of a marriage, and I’m really curious what changed with Gerry and Theresa that made them so sure to sign up a marriage license, but now only to get a divorce.”

“I feel like maybe there’s more to the story that we’re not hearing,” he continued. “Maybe Gerry’s not as golden as we hoped he would be.”

“Theresa and I have had a number of heart-to-heart conversations. We’ve looked closely at our situation, our living situation, [and] so forth, and we’ve kind of come to the conclusion mutually that it’s probably time for us to dissolve our marriage,” the former ‘Golden Bachelor’ lead said.

He added, “The thing that strikes me the most in our conversations [has been] how dedicated both of us are to our families. So we look at these conversations, and we both think it’s best for the happiness of each of us to live apart.”