Gerry Turner has opened up about his search for love on the Bachelor, admitting that he ignored some sound advice from his daughters.
The 72-year-old was unveiled as the first Golden Bachelor, on the new ABC spin-off series.
, he has become a huge hit with viewers, as millions tune in to watch his attempt to find a partner to spend the rest of his life with.
During an appearance on the Jennifer Hudson show, the retired restaurateur shed light on the program so far, revealing that daughters Jenny and Angie gave him some tips before he took part.
‘My daughters were the ones that nudged me into applying for the show,’ he told the host. ‘We would watch the Bachelor, the Bachelorette and we’d text back and forth, find someone to make fun of a little bit…
‘When the ad came up, they go, “Dad, you should do that!” I wasn’t dating anyone, I didn’t have a good circle of friends at the time, and I was probably in the right spot to respond.’
When asked if they helped him within the program, Gerry explained that he actually went against their suggestions for the first night.
‘The advice I got I totally screwed up,’ he added to Jennifer. ‘They told me, “Dad, don’t kiss anyone the first night”.
‘I didn’t mind it at all. I liked it.’
The star turned to the Bachelor for a new companion following the death of his wife, Toni, in 2017.
Although he has enjoyed all the kissing, it has been a bumpy journey for Gerry so far, as Marina recently announced that , despite getting a rose in the premiere.
He was also on Thursday’s episode, while tensions began to simmer between the other women.
After he was announced as the first ever senior citizen looking for love on the franchise, the widower shed light on what viewers can expect, teasing an ‘incredibly bad situation’ when it was down to the final two.
‘I’m down to two people and realize that one of those two has to go home,’ he told Entertainment Tonight. ‘When you’re down to the last two people over that amount of time and that much investment, you really have strong feelings for them even though you know they’re not the right person. They are so close to it.
‘You’re connected so deeply and then you realize they have to leave. Oh my God, it was an incredibly bad situation.
‘You have to be genuine but you get in a moment when it’s almost as if you fall in love with the concept of being in love.
‘And it’s like, yeah, I want to be there. And the excitement and the glamour of a moment and all the energy, all of a sudden you feel it. And then the next day, when you sort it out, you go, “Oh geez, that wasn’t the authentic feeling that I was looking for.”’
The Golden Bachelor airs on ABC on Thursdays at 8pm ET.
