He’s good-looking, tan, and has great hair. Twenty-two attractive women moved into a Mediterranean mansion, hoping to steal his heart—on television. Yawn. You’ve heard this before, right? “The Bachelor” is over twenty years old.
But this time something was different. This Bachelor, Gerry Turner, was 72. The women in the house were between 60 and 75.
Lesson summary
Hi there, it’s Jeff and we are about to start another Plain English lesson. This is number 641, so our friend JR, the producer, has uploaded the transcripts, audio, and much more to PlainEnglish.com/641.
As you know, here on Plain English, we help you upgrade your English with stories about current events and trending topics. And we always show you how to express a new idea in English, too.
Here’s what we have for you today. “The Golden Bachelor” is a spinoff of “The Bachelor” reality TV franchise, and this one features older adults. It was a hit—not just at the senior center, but among young people, too. We’ll take a closer look at the first senior-citizen dating show to hit network airwaves in America.
In the second half of the audio lesson, I’ll show you how to use the English expression “angle for.” I think we’re ready. Let’s dive in.
A new kind of reality on ‘The Golden Bachelor’
“The Bachelor” was one of the first reality shows, and the first hit to focus on romance and dating.
“The Bachelor” has survived as one of the most popular reality television franchises since its premiere in March 2002. In the show, a roster of women compete for the affections of one man. Week after week, the man eliminates women from the competition, until he selects the winner to marry.
“The Bachelor” has led to a series of spinoffs. “The Bachelorette” flips the script, putting a single woman at the center, while it’s the men who compete for her. Other spinoffs feature returning contestants and exotic locales. An entire subculture has grown around the show’s fanatic followers. Just search “Bachelor Nation” and you’ll see what I mean.
But what started as a fresh, exciting concept has become depressingly familiar. The conflicts and rivalries that were once so riveting now seem recycled. The show promises that two people will find love. But the majority of winning couples split up before ever tying the knot .
The show’s popularity has attracted contestants whose goal wasn’t to find love, but instead to find fame—as an influencer after leaving the show. Cynical audiences wondered whether the contestants’ antics were in the spirit of winning the competition, or of generating buzz for their post-“Bachelor” careers.
So “The Bachelor” needed a second act . And it found it from an unlikely place: a bachelor and contestants who, themselves, were looking at a second shot at love.
“The Golden Bachelor” starred Gerry Turner, a 72-year-old widower from Indiana. He was married for 47 years to his high-school sweetheart. She died in 2017, just weeks after Gerry retired. His story of grief, and his desire for a second marriage later in life, set the tone for the season.
The contestants, too, brought their stories of love and loss. Unlike the typical “Bachelor” contestants, these women had lived full, rich lives already. They brought their own stories of grief, divorce, loss, raising children, jobs, retirement, and hobbies.
Several, including Gerry, used hearing aids. “I’m awfully nervous,” one contestant confessed as she met Gerry for the first time. In a later episode, Gerry met a contestant’s grandkids.
Viewers said this dynamic made the show seem more real. Love wasn’t a game for the contestants. Sure, there was drama, but the contestants didn’t have time to waste. They had kids and grandkids to think about. While a few did have public social media accounts, none seemed to be angling for post-show fame.
Gerry and his dates did active older adult activities: they rode horses, hiked to a waterfall, took a hot-air balloon ride. They even played Pickleball ! And what would a “Bachelor” franchise be without steamy make out sessions and shots of the Bachelor and his date enjoying morning coffee in bed.
ABC, the television home of “The Bachelor,” is said to have been planning a senior-citizen spinoff for ten years. Broadcast television audiences skew older. ABC’s median viewer is 64, despite the fact that so few shows focus on older adults. So what took them so long to make a senior “Bachelor”?
Keep in mind that the show was a risk. It wasn’t at all clear if audiences wanted to see romance and physical intimacy among older adults. Only a handful of dating shows in the English-speaking world have featured older couples. One of the most successful, “My Mum, Your Dad,” in the UK., focused more on the family dynamic than on the romance.
The Golden Bachelor was a huge success for ABC. Senior centers around the country organized watch parties. But The Golden Bachelor appealed to all age groups. It was ABC’s most-streamed reality TV show. And it set records in younger demographics too; more than half the viewers of the finale were under 65.
Even reality-tv skeptics hoped that it would open people’s minds. It showed life over 60 as a time of rebirth, adventure, and discovery. It showed how the loss of a spouse can affect a widow or widower in the next relationship. And even those that don’t like dating shows can be happy that this show started conversations—among people of all demographics—about love and ageing.
One contestant, 60-year-old Joan, had to leave the show early to care for her daughter. “As you get older,” she said, “you become more invisible. People don’t see you anymore. Like you’re not as significant as when you’re young.” She was grateful for the chance to be seen and celebrated at her age.
I didn’t watch it. I have never been a fan of “The Bachelor.” Once when I was sick, once, I watched a spinoff, “Bachelor in Paradise” and I was entranced—I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. That’s when I knew this was dangerous: I needed to stop watching! This was not going to lead to good habits, I told myself, so I didn’t watch again.
I did see promos for the Golden Bachelor, and I watched some clips on YouTube to prepare this story. I thought the concept was interesting, although I didn’t want to see the contrived drama. And there’s something a little not right about 22 women lining up to prove their worth to one man, no matter how old they are. I don’t know. But it was really popular. Gerry and the winner got married on television shortly after the new year.
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