The Golden Bachelor star Gerry Turner has reflected on ABC shocking him with an STD test and the "ridiculously thorough" vetting process he had to go through for the show.
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Gerry recalled, "I was in Florida in February of this year, and I was actually traveling with an old girlfriend -- we were just friends -- and I got a call from ABC wanting me to initiate the process to go get a STD test."
Justin cracked up laughing as Gerry admitted "it was a little bit of a tender moment" for him.
Gerry, who was happily married for 43 years before his late wife Toni unexpectedly passed away in 2017, acknowledged how he had no experience in this area of testing.
"As I recall, that may have been my very first -- ever -- STD test," Gerry admitted.
"I had no idea what was going to happen. I didn't know if they were going to look in the iris of my eye, take a urine sample, [or] a blood sample. I had no idea. Did not know."
Gerry said the woman he was traveling with already knew that he was in the running to star on The Golden Bachelor because the process had actually started three years ago, well before the coronavirus pandemic.
"It went dark during COVID, and so she kind of knew what was going on, but we were on vacation and we were enjoying a good time," Gerry explained.
"And it was like going to a clinic at such and such a place was going to take most of the next day. So we were both a little resentful about giving up a day of vacation. Her reaction was a little bit stronger than mine."
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And the STD test wasn't the only test Gerry had to pass in order to be offered The Golden Bachelor role.
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"I had to send my fingerprints to the FBI, and there were numerous background tests," Gerry shared.
"There was a psychological evaluation that was like 360 questions and then another hour of interview. I mean, the vetting process is ridiculously thorough."
Gerry previously revealed in September that when producers had selected him in February 2023 to star on the show, he initially didn't want to do it.
"The conversation was very persuasive," Gerry told Entertainment Weekly at the time, adding how the producers had emphasized "the excitement" about potentially finding his "forever partner" and being able to travel.
"You put all this together, and I start looking at my calendar and it's blank, and I'm thinking, 'Hey, this might be a pretty good deal.'"
Gerry therefore accepted the position, and ABC was apparently thrilled.
"When we announced that we were doing the show, so many of the viewers [were] speculating about who this guy would be, and they thought it was going to be some 40-something silver fox," The Golden Bachelor executive Bennett Graebner explained to EW.
"It was never going to be that person. We felt it was important to choose someone who really felt like a Golden Bachelor, not one of our Bachelors who had aged 10 years."
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And so when casting "went through the files" and found Gerry, fellow executive producer Jason Ehrlick said Gerry's application went to the top of the pile and remained there.
"Although we kept looking, we just couldn't find anyone better than Gerry," Jason shared.
"He was exactly what we looking for, which is obviously incredibly handsome -- but it's so much more than that. He was kind and considerate and genuine, someone who had experienced real love before, and unfortunately experienced loss, and could come to this open and filled with hope that it could happen again."
Roughly 30,000 women applied to join The Golden Bachelor, and the show began filming in early August.
When cameras began rolling on The Golden Bachelor, Gerry had a lineup of 22 beautiful and poised bachelorettes to choose from, all ranging in age from 60 through 75.
Gerry is now down to only two bachelorettes on The Golden Bachelor: Leslie Fhima and Theresa Nist.
Gerry will choose between the two ladies and hopefully find his forever person on The Golden Bachelor finale, which is set to air as a two-hour episode, including a live After the Final Rose segment, on Thursday, November 30 on ABC.
Click here to read spoilers for the ending of Gerry's The Golden Bachelor season.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
