America’s “Grandzaddy” Gerry Turner is ready to find love again, but he’s not looking for anything to replace the life-changing relationship he shared with his late wife, Toni.
During The Bachelorette‘s “Men Tell All” episode Monday night, the 71-year-old Golden Bachelor lead sat down with host Jesse Palmer and gave viewers a taste of what’s to come in his upcoming season, set to premiere at some point in September. As the retired restaurateur took America into his Indiana home to meet his two daughters, Angie and Jenny, and two granddaughters, Charlee and Payton, he opened up about the heartbreaking passing of his wife and high school sweetheart, Toni.
He shared that in 2017, he and Toni closed on their dream house on June 6, but things didn’t go according to plan. “She became ill, and her situation got worse over a couple of weeks,” Turner said, crying. He explained Toni developed a bacterial infection in her kidneys and liver, he took her to emergency room on July 7, and she passed away on July 15. “Every time I look at that lake, I think, ‘This is her dream. This is what she deserves. Why am I standing here alone?”
Six years after Toni’s death, Turner’s family is supportive of his search for love. But he knows, “No one’s ever going to replace Toni.” When asked if he thinks he can “find a love like that twice in a lifetime,” Turner said, “I don’t think that’s what I’m looking for. What I look for at the age of 70 is different than what I looked for when I was in high school and college. So I believe I’ll find my person — the new person that will make me whole again. And I think we’ll knit a beautiful relationship, but I don’t think it’ll look like the relationship I had with Toni. I don’t think it would be right to do it that way.”
The senior who loves four-wheeling, pickleball, and plaid shirts told Palmer, “It’s a whirlwind, the last couple of weeks. I feel like the last ingredient going into the blender for a smoothie and your finger’s right on the button to start it.” Though Turner is admittedly worried about remembering 25 names, he proudly told friends he passed his STD and drug tests and is ready to meet his ladies. He says overnight dates “might be a little different,” but as long as everyone is comfortable, he’s planning on having a Fantasy Suite week.
“Best-case scenario is I find out that Helen Mirren’s on the market, and she’s really happy to be on The Golden Bachelor,” Turner joked, flexing his experienced sense of humor. Though he’s still not schooled on social media, by the end of the night he was comfortably using the word “Grandzaddy,” so that’s some serious progress.
The Golden Bachelor premieres in September 2023, official date TBD.