Fans of “The Golden Bachelor” think it may be time to take a pause on elders looking for love.
Less than a week after “Golden Bachelor” star Gerry Turner and his wife, Theresa Nist, announced they are ending their three-month marriage, in part due to their long-distance living situation, ABC released a casting call for “The Golden Bachelorette.”
But fan reaction was far from rosy.
Here’s what you need to know:
Fans Have Concerns About the Next ‘Golden’ Season
Following the success of “The Golden Bachelor” in late 2023, ABC announced a female-led season on Instagram: “The moment you’ve been waiting for: #TheGoldenBachelorette is coming this Fall. 💛,” the network shared in February.
While the leading lady has not yet been confirmed, on April 17, 2024, a casting call announcement was posted on Instagram. “The Golden Bachelorette — Now Casting Senior Men Looking For Love.” Interested applicants were directed to bachelornation.com/casting for more information.
Irate fans did not hold back in the comment section.
“Oh stop. No one wants this,” one commenter wrote.
“breakup/divorce after 3 months?? 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! Naahh this time am not gonna watch,” another wrote.
“Probably not the best timing for this….” another agreed.
“I think they best wait a bit. We r recovering from the divorce,” came a fourth comment.
“It’s time for this chapter to close,” wrote another.
Other fans said casting should only be for contestants who live in close proximity to the lead.
“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.
“There’s no point in this. They have kids families different places of the world. Time to let it go. Bachelor in paradise 👏this season would be soooo good,” another wrote.
In fact, many fans agreed the network should let “The Golden Bachelorette” idea go and make room for “Bachelor in Paradise” this summer.
“Wait til next year and have BIP this year,” one commenter suggested.
Some fans think “Bachelor In Paradise” may be canceled. In February, former “Bachelor” host Chris Harrison teased on his “The Most Dramatic Podcast Ever” that he heard “they’re postponing it for a year or canceling it.”
The spinoff, which features castoffs from past Bachelor Nation seasons, usually films in June in Mexico.
Multiple Bachelor Nation Stars Expressed Concern Over the Failure of ‘The Golden Bachelor’
Ahead of “The Golden Bachelor” premiere, ABC entertainment VP Robert Mills told Variety that the show about seniors looking for a new mate felt like “a real universal love story.” “If we’ve done our job right, this should be absolutely a four-quadrant, with something for everyone,” he said last September.
But fans felt duped by Turner and Nist’s quickie marriage and divorce, and so did former cast members.
During an appearance on Sirius XM’s “The Happy Hour” radio show, former franchise star Tyler Cameron said “The Golden Bachelor” disaster “put a stain on love and Bachelor Nation.” “They just pulled the rug right out from under us,” Cameron complained.
On the “Ben and Ashley Almost Famous” podcast, “Bachelor in Pardaise” star Ashley Iaconetti said she didn’t “buy” Turner and Nist’s breakup story. She also called their joint breakup announcement “total BS.” “I just felt like there’s something phony about it,” she said.
And speaking with People magazine, former “Bachelor” star Nick Viall said, “I feel like maybe there’s more to the story that we’re not hearing. Maybe Gerry’s not as golden as we hoped he would be.”
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