Single seniors and ‘glam-mas’ of Oz, get ready – The Golden Bachelor is headed Down Under! TV Blackbox recently confirmed the news that the hit US spin-off series of the mega-popular The Bachelor TV show is a go for Australia.
First introduced by ABC, the series cast 72-year-old widower Gerry Turner as its premier ‘Golden Bachelor’. And audiences loved it!
They fell in love with the endearing silver fox. “I mean, I haven’t dated in 45 years,” Gerry sweetly told Entertainment Tonight before the show aired.
Whatever the former restaurateur was dishing out, viewers were eating it up – the two-plus-hour finale in December 2023 drew in 6.1-million viewers, making it the biggest Bachelor episode in three years.
THE GOLDEN WEDDING
Naturally, ABC capitalised on its success, airing Gerry and his fiance 70-year-old Theresa Nist’s wedding in a live special called The Golden Wedding. Unfortunately, all the bravado didn’t lead to a ‘happily ever after’ – the couple divorced only three short months later.
The rumour mill was rife with reasons why the couple split. The Hollywood Reporter, for one, claimed that Gerry was actually in a long-term, live-in relationship with another woman after the death of his wife, whom he was married to for 43 years.
Other drama was brought up around his true employment. The dirt that was uncovered painted a very different picture of Gerry – one that was a stark contrast to the wholesome image that was portrayed on screen.
WHERE TO WATCH THE GOLDEN BACHELOR IN AUSTRALIA
Drama aside, things could be different for the lovebirds in Oz. And you’ll have a chance to find out on Channel 9, who picked up the series spin-off.
Channel 10, which was previously home to the popular reality franchise, was originally thought to commission The Golden Bachelor as well. However, the network decided not to renew any version of the Bachelor franchise after giving it the axe in May.
As far as the host, rumour has it The Voice‘s Sonia Kruger is a serious contender.
“The word on the street is that Sonia could reboot The Golden Bachelor on Channel Nine in 2025,” a source told Yahoo Lifestyle. “Channel Nine loved working with Sonia and everyone would welcome her back with open arms. There is a real bidding war which will see two networks keen to lock her services down in the new year.”
Nine is planning to formally announce The Golden Bachelor at its annual UPFRONTS event in October. As of now, the network has refused to issue any more announcements, regarding its programming.
