Who Did Gerry Turner Pick on The Golden Bachelor?
Gerry Turner
Gerry Turner’s journey on The Golden Bachelor ended tonight with the beloved star revealing his heartbreaking choice between the final two ladies: Leslie Fhima and Theresa Nist.
Bachelor Nation has embraced sincere Gerry's quest to find late-in-life love. And as he winnowed down the list of ladies vying for his final rose, ratings soared.
But just a day before his dramatic finale, The Hollywood Reporter published a bombshell article in which a former girlfriend of Gerry’s claimed she’d hooked up with him just a month after his wife Toni died and dated him for three years.
The article cast doubt on the wholesome Midwestern life Gerry has presented on the show.
But whether fans are now lovers or haters of the senior star, millions tuned in to see if Gerry got a happy ending with dancer/fitness instructor Leslie or financial services professional Theresa.
Read on to find out more about The Golden Bachelor finale!
Who did Gerry pick on The Golden Bachelor?
At the end of the two-hour final episode and “After The Final Rose” special, viewers saw the handsome widower, 72, get down on one knee and propose to Theresa Nist.
Not only did Gerry propose to Theresa but host Jesse Palmer made another big announcement: the couple will be getting married on an upcoming special called The Golden Wedding.
How did Gerry propose to Theresa?
Gerry told cameras he'd asked late wife Toni for guidance and she approved.
When he met Theresa on the decorated platform in romantic Costa Rica, she noted how the world thought love was only for the young. She admitted she'd thought so, too, until she met Gerry.
Gerry led Theresa to believe he had picked Leslie and said she was not the woman he could live with and then after a dramatic pause said, "You're the person I can't live without."
"Oh, my God!" Theresa responded, realizing he'd picked her.
Gerry got down on one knee and said, "I love you one thousand percent. Every day I choose you. Will you marry me?"
Theresa said yes and there were hugs, kisses, and a big Neil Lane diamond ring on her finger.
Gerry gave her the final rose, which was actually golden!
"We're engaged!" they shouted as family joined them.
What did Gerry and Theresa say on 'After the Final Rose'?
Gerry told Jesse he felt Theresa knew how to successfully maintain a relationship the more he got to know her.
"I knocked his boots off!" she told the crowd, but then added, "With kisses."
The couple revealed they have talked on the phone every night for hours while having to keep their relationship secret.
Jesse told them the show would be sending them on a trip to Italy, a place they had talked about together on their first one-on-one date.
How did Theresa’s visit with Gerry's daughters go?
As expected, Gerry's family really it off with Theresa when they met in Costa Rica. Gerry really wanted his daughter's take on Theresa as he struggled to make his final decision.
Gerry’s daughters Jennifer and Angie and granddaughters took Theresa aside and listened to her story about how her husband Billy had died of kidney failure after they’d been married 42 years.
The girls thought Theresa’s widow story was similar to Gerry’s and decided they would love it if he proposed to her.
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They told him how much they liked Theresa and Gerry felt “encouraged” by their feelings.
“They were way enthusiastic,” Gerry soon told Theresa.
They kissed and he again told her he loved her.
What was Gerry and Theresa’s final date before decision like?
Theresa had a last chance to see Gerry before he had to choose between the two ladies.
“Now that I found him, I don’t want to lose him,” she told cameras.
Gerry noted that it was “transformational” for his daughters to approve of her.
The two felt that their late spouses were part of them.
Gerry admitted to Theresa that there was “one rose [left]…a pretty binary situation. You either stay or go.”
Theresa told Gerry she wanted him to “overwhelmingly” want her.
The star agreed he wouldn’t propose unless he was “a thousand percent or nothing.”
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She moaned to cameras, “Leslie’s still here…did he say ‘I love you’ to her? This is extremely hard.”
What happened with Leslie?
Leslie had her meeting with Gerry’s family and he told his daughters about her “sense of humor. Her energy is infectious.”
Leslie told cameras, “I know what we have is special. I don’t think it can be duplicated.”
She told his family they always had fun together and recalled her favorite moment on their fantasy suite date in which “He said the word f---.”
In a private chat, Leslie told the granddaughters how nervous she was but also happy.
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“I want to go through life with him," she gushed.
Payton got teary-eyed and said in confessional they’d had hearts set on Theresa, but loved Leslie, too!
Leslie admitted to Jennifer and Angie that the thought of a proposal caused anxiety for the twice-married divorcee.
But after talking to Gerry, she recalled to them, “This calm came over me.”
She cried to the girls, “He is the man of my dreams.”
Angie told Gerry that Leslie’s free-spirited ways were attractive, but Jennifer wondered if her emotion was worrisome!
Gerry told cameras it was “debilitating” to think about his choice.
What made Leslie's heart sink?
In an awkward private moment, Gerry and Leslie had trouble talking after she’d met his family.
“It’s time for me to take off,” he told her, and they hugged.
Leslie told cameras, “He wasn’t quite himself today.”
Later, they got together again and he wanted to “start fresh again.”
Leslie gave Gerry a gift of a book she’d make “of our memories together” on the show.
He said, “I appreciate what you’ve done,”
“I love you very very much,” she said.
“That’s such a special sentiment,” he said, but didn’t return it!
“Be happy,” Gerry told her. “I think it’s time for me to go.”
“Is there something you want to tell me?” she asked.
“No. Just that I have a tough decision to make.”
Leslie knew things were weird as he left.
Gerry sat on the stairs outside her door and cried. Leslie sobbed in her room.
“I’m definitely not confident now,” she told cameras.
Gerry told cameras he needed to go back to talk to Leslie.
What did The Golden Bachelor admit to Leslie?
“I’ve made a decision. I’ve fallen in love with Theresa and that’s the direction I’m going to take,” he told Leslie.
His shocked runner-up raged about their suite, “Everything you told me the other night was a complete and utter lie! What went wrong?"
Gerry replied, "You weren't wrong. Leslie was right. I'm sorry."
Leslie shouted, "I can think whatever the f--- I want, now!"
She said she felt misled that he'd chosen her during their fantasy suite date.
"It's mind boggling. You say you love me. 12 hours later, you changed your mind," she complained.
Leslie told Gerry she was glad she didn't have to walk out on a platform in a $60,000 dress, because he'd dumped her in the hotel room!
"I'll see myself out," he said.
He told host Jesse, "I took a good person and f---ing broke her heart."
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How did Leslie react on "After the Final Rose"?
Leslie told Gerry on the live special when they reunited how blindsided she'd felt.
She'd reiterated to Jesse: "I went and picked out a dress. I wrote my vows."
Then she told Gerry she loved his integrity but his words had made her feel certain she was the one.
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The star explained he'd wanted to give every contestant his full attention: "I got caught up in moments. It didn't really go wrong, Leslie. It was better with someone else.
"In my own imperfect way, I couldn't find another way of doing it graciously. I'm human and I am sorry," he told her in front of the live crowd.
Leslie and Gerry wished each other the best.
What big announcement did Jesse make at the end?
Gerry remarked about Italy that they could use the trip as their honeymoon because "we're going to get married as quickly as possible."
Then Jesse dropped the big bomb--he and Theresa are getting married in January in a televised wedding--on ABC!
Jesse unveiled a promo slide for The Golden Wedding, which will air live on ABC on Jan. 4!
"You're invited to the wedding," Jesse shouted to screaming fans.
