The Final Four on The Golden Bachelor Looks a Bit Different

Spoiler Alert! The article contains spoilers from the first season of The Golden Bachelor.

The Gist:

• In the first season of The Golden Bachelor, Gerry Turner narrows down the women he will go on hometown dates with.
• He is only going on three hometown dates, which means there is a final three, not a final four.
• The hometown date picks are Faith Martin, Leslie Fhima, and Theresa Nist.

Fans of The Bachelor franchise are finally getting a chance to see what a more seasoned courtship could look like on The Golden Bachelor. The man with the love plan is 72 year-old Gerry Turner, a widower from Indiana who is ready to get back on the relationship horse. He will have 22 women from which to choose, all of whom are close to his age. This will be such a breath of fresh air.

As a consumer of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, I have often wished for a less chaotic version of the show. I know people love to eat up the mess and often request seconds, but I am far more interested in what a more emotionally settled series could look like. What if we swapped out drunken tears and added thoughtful discourse? As with the original, viewers are curious about the hometown dates and Gerry’s final four. We’ve got the scoop, but it’s not what you think.

According to an Aug. 30 Instagram post from Reality Steve, The Golden Bachelor has decided to only have three women go on hometown dates with Gerry. Typically on the original shows, there are four hometown dates followed by three women meeting the Bachelor or Bachelorette’s family.

I suspect the reason for one less hometown date is twofold. As Reality Steve pointed out, filming for The Golden Bachelor only lasted a month. The two original shows have a shooting schedule that can span anywhere from six to nine weeks. A quicker turnaround requires some cuts.

I also wonder if the ages of everyone involved have come into play. Before anyone panics, I’m not being ageist. I’m referring to the fact that Gerry as well as the contestants have families of their own to return to. Their lives are a bit more established and perhaps they can’t play as fast and loose with their calendars. Either way, Gerry’s decision is between three women, not four.

In the same spoiler-y Instagram post, Reality Steve revealed that the top three women vying for Gerry’s heart are Faith Martin, Leslie Fhima, and Theresa Nist. All of these hometown dates were filmed between August 19 and 23, with Gerry narrowing it down to two women before whisking them away to Costa Rica to meet his family.

Faith is a 60-year-old high school teacher from Benton, Wash. who “loves riding her horse, Liberty, through the mountains.” Gerry told Good Morning America in August 2023 that he’s looking for a “high energy” partner. It sounds like Faith has the right amount of lust for life he’s looking for. Hopefully, a lust for each other will kick things off!

Speaking of energy, Leslie is a fitness instructor from Minneapolis, Minn. who doesn’t let being 60 stop her from doing what she loves.This former aerobics instructor is sure to keep Gerry on his toes, literally and figuratively. Will Leslie be able to get Gerry’s heart pumping the same way she’ll be able to pump up his muscles? Only time will tell.

Last but not least, at 69, Theresa is the closest to Gerry’s age and appears to be the furthest from his self-described type. The financial services professional taught herself about the stockmarket but that doesn’t mean this moneymaker doesn’t know how to shake her moneymaker. Honestly, we could all use someone who is good with money so they can take care of business. How else can they afford to play hard?

Watch The Golden Bachelor premieres Thursdays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.