Would you date this man? Meet Gerry. The 71-year old new star of The Bachelor.

While The Bachelors (when not one but three men sought to find love in one season) might have left a sour taste in all our mouths, The Golden Bachelor could just be the refreshing spin-off we weren't expecting.

The new version of the American dating reality show has been in the works for three years, and as the first season gets ready to air, ABC has announced that 71-year-old Gerry Turner is the first-ever Golden Bachie.

Watch the trailer for season one of The Golden Bachelor. Post continues after video. 

"He posts his thirst traps in a leather-bound album. His DMs have postage... He doesn't have grey hair, he has 'wisdom highlights,'" the promotional video said of Gerry. "Florida wants to retire and move to him."

The new bachelor is a retired restaurateur, a proud father to his daughters Angie and Jenny, and a doting grandfather to Charlee and Payton. He lives on a lake in Indiana and is a widow to his high school sweetheart Toni, who he married in 1974.

"Together, they lived a full and happy life with their two daughters, Angie and Jenny, and later two granddaughters, Charlee and Payton," a statement read. "Sadly, after their 43 years together, Toni suddenly fell ill and passed away in 2017.

"Six years after Toni's passing, and with the support of his family, Turner is ready to put himself out there and find a love that will stand the test of time in his golden years."

Gerry Turner with his daughters and grandchildren. Image: ABC.

It was Gerry's daughters who encouraged him to sign up for the show, and they reflected on his heartbreak and loss on Good Morning America.

"[Toni] got robbed. Every day that goes by, that's the thought that I have," he said. "I have her picture on a dresser in my closet. Every morning I give her a nod, 'So what do you think about this?'"

He continued, saying he believes his former wife would support him being the first-ever Golden Bachie.

"For a while it was like, I was having a hard time figuring out if she would be okay," he confessed. "But we always told each other, when one of us goes, we want the other to be happy. She's up there rooting [for me]. She's saying, 'Yeah, Gerry. Do this.'"

Listen to The Spill, Mamamia's daily entertainment podcast. Post continues after audio. 

Fans of The Bachelor have had to wait three years for the Bachie reveal as ABC began taking in applications from "seniors looking for love" back in 2020.

"Some of the casting interviews we got, they were just so touching. It’s such a different way of doing The Bachelor because these people are just at a totally different place in their lives," executive producer Rob Mills said to Variety back in 2020. 

"There is an interesting thing about people who have hit the other end of the spectrum, who’ve lived their lives, they’ve raised their kids, some have been widowed or divorced and maybe some have never been in love.

"We thought that would be an interesting dynamic through The Bachelor prism."

The Golden Bachelor premieres in the US in September on ABC.

Feature Image: ABC/Instagram @bachelorabc

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