We Went Behind the Scenes of ‘The Golden Bachelor.’ Here’s What Happened

‘Kisses of joy’

We can say one thing for sure: Turner’s blue eyes are even nicer in person than they are on screen. He tells AARP that he hopes to find that special someone, but also that the show will help dispel the many misconceptions people have about older adults and romance — like that “older people probably aren’t going to kiss passionately, and older people are probably going to take naps as opposed to staying up late. The first night [when he met the 22 women], I was up until 7:30 a.m.! They had to pull me away. I did not want to leave. I wanted to stay and party.”

And yet, he adds, he is more interested in making an emotional, rather than physical, connection. “I think I’ve kissed every one of the women in the house,” he says, “but they’re not kisses of passion. They’re kisses of joy and support and friendship.”

Turner’s also clearly become comfortable in the spotlight. Wearing gray shorts and a blue T-shirt, he hams it up in front of the pickleball audience, clustered around the court, while the crew and producers prepare for shooting under the hot sun. He runs around the edge of the court, offering high-fives and asking, “How many pickleball players are here?” to a wave of cheers.

(Left to right) Trista Sutter, "The Golden Bachelor" host Jesse Palmer and Gerry Turner.

John Fleenor/ABC

The big game

The plan is for the eight women to play two games of doubles, then the two winning teams move on to battle it out in a final bout. The champion duo will grace the cover a future issue of InPickleball magazine, and, maybe more important, impress Gerry with their pickleball prowess. Presiding as referee: Joey Graziadei, 28, who came close to winning Charity Lawson’s heart on the last season of The Bachelorette, and is set to be the next star of The Bachelor. Gerry and special guest Trista Sutter — the very first Bachelorette, in 2003, who’s famous for having made one of Bachelor Nation’s rare love matches with her pick and now-husband of two decades, Ryan — are joined by the show’s host, Jesse Palmer, at a table in front of a banner, “First Annual Golden Bachelor Pickleball Championship,” to observe and judge the games.

Palmer tapes his introduction before the ladies appear on the court for the competition; he calls this the “sports event of the century” and a “historic” moment.

The humming audience consists of members of the club who’ve been invited to act as fans. Before the taping starts, a group of them excitedly gather in the club office to sign release forms distributed by a young ABC rep. Among the wannabe fans is Evangeline Lara, a petite divorcee of 74, wearing big sunglasses, white pants, white shirt and sporty white cap who says she’s watched The Bachelor but didn’t know about The Golden Bachelor until now. “If I had, I would have applied!” she says. “I think he’s cute.”

Then she drops a bombshell: “Gerry has a tattoo, right here,” she says, pointing to her upper arm. She saw him changing his shirt on the court earlier, though was too far away to decipher the image. “I have one too,” she adds, pulling down the back of her pants a few inches to display a little dolphin tattoo.

Back on the court, the women finally show up, displaying a hammy, energetic vibe similar to Turner’s — clapping and grinning, and wearing eye-scorchingly bright short-skirted get-ups: the Dinky Pinkies in pink (Faith and April), Pickle-icious Paddles in green (Kathy and Ellen), Bitchin Kitchens in orange (Nancy and Sandra) and Picklettes in purple (Theresa and Susan).

In the first game, the Pickle-icious Paddles toast the Dinky Pinkies 6-0 – though perky April gets in a particularly good shot (“Did you see that Gerry?” she asks, her blond braid swinging) — and then the pair trounce the orange team in the championship round.

Afterward, Sutter says she’s impressed with the sportsmanship and camaraderie among the women, and sees a difference between this group and those on shows with younger contestants. “They are so supportive of each other,” she adds. “I don’t know if it’s an age thing… but I can totally see that if they were younger people, maybe they would be a little more cutthroat.”

And Turner, ever the gentleman, is certainly not a typical Bachelor. “These are just such good people,” he says, earnestly, of the women he’s courting. “I want them all to win and be happy in life.”