How Could — If At All — Gerry and Theresa’s Quick Divorce Affect ‘The Golden Bachelorette’?
As Bachelor Nation continues to speculate about Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist's 99-day marriage, there appears to be more pressure on The Golden Bachelorette than ever — but could fans be overreacting? Let Us break it all down.
After years of casting delays, ABC premiered the senior spinoff of The Bachelor in fall 2023. Viewers were quick to root for Gerry, 72, and more than six million people tuned in to watch him propose to Theresa, 70, in November 2023. Two months later, more than 80 percent of the audience returned to watch Gerry and Theresa exchange vows on The Golden Wedding.
So when the pair announced their breakup three months later on Good Morning America (with Gerry filing the legal paperwork to end their marriage that same day, as Us Weekly exclusively revealed), fans didn't waste time voicing their opinions. While some viewers were upset and mourned the relationship, many poked fun about how fast things ended. As always, there were the "I told you so's," with some viewers (and even matchmaker Patti Stanger) returning to the idea that Gerry should've picked his runner-up, Leslie Fhima, to begin with. Others declared they "knew" it would never last based on the track record of the franchise.
That leads to the section of fans who felt bamboozled as they believed Gerry and Theresa's "successful" season re-legitimized the show after decades of broken engagements and failed relationships. It's up for interpretation what defines success in Bachelor Nation — fans being entertained throughout the season is sometimes enough for Us — but there is a portion of the fandom who is claiming to write off the upcoming Golden Bachelorette in light of Gerry and Theresa's split.
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"After this, another season is not needed….?????? #GoldenBachelor," one person tweeted.
Another fan pointed to the speculation that ABC decided not to order season 10 of Bachelor in Paradise in favor of Jenn Tran's upcoming season of The Bachelorette (set to premiere in July) and The Golden Bachelorette (set to air in the fall). "Is it too late to cancel the golden bachelorette and have bip instead #GoldenBachelor," the user wrote.
The network has yet to announce who the Golden Bachelorette will be, which could get many viewers back on board. There is a divide amongst fans on whether they would want to see divorcée Theresa hand out the roses. Leslie is another option as the runner-up, but many viewers want to laugh along with Susan Noles or haven't gotten over how heartbroken Faith Martin was to say goodbye to Gerry. While it's entirely possible ABC could opt not to pick from Gerry's contestants, others still think of Joan Vassos being forced to make an early exit because of a family emergency.
Throughout the history of The Bachelor franchise, the lead has had the ability to renew attention to the show — whether it's because the pick is a such plot twist (Arie Luyendyk Jr., Hannah Brown, Clare Crawley and Nick Viall come to mind) or because they come across so lovable (Ben Higgins and most recent lead Joey Graziadei are the universal examples.)
On the same note, the wrong lead could cause more damage. Prior to Joey in 2024, interest in The Bachelor appeared to hit an all-time low with Clayton Echard inexplicably being plucked from the middle of the pack on Michelle Young's season and Zach Shallcross being labeled boring. (Interesting to acknowledge that Zach is still with his final rose winner, Kaity Bigger, which should satisfy those rooting for a love story. So why were his ratings — and subsequent Instagram followers — on the lower side?)
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On the topic of Bachelor history, it's important to point out that we've seen this film before. Let Us remind you that there were two seasons of The Bachelor (with no trips down the aisle) before the first-ever Bachelorette Trista Sutter (née Rehn) met and married Ryan Sutter on the first gender-swapped season in 2003.
Could The Golden Bachelorette follow in Trista's footsteps and bring another round of renewed love? If you look inward and think about why you really tune in — does it really matter?
The Golden Bachelorette is set to premiere on ABC in fall 2024.
