Gerry Turner has made his most heartbreaking decision yet. On Thursday’s season finale of “The Golden Bachelor,” the 72-year-old retired restaurateur decided to end his relationship with Leslie Fhima to pursue a relationship with Theresa Nist.
In last week’s penultimate episode, Gerry told Leslie that he thought she was the woman he couldn’t live without. However, Gerry still went on his Fantasy Suite date with Theresa, after which he said he felt like “it was the first day of the rest of my life.”
“I’m in love with both of them, and in each case I’ve told them ‘I love you.’ I can imagine a life together with each of them,” Gerry told the cameras of Leslie and Theresa. “…At this point I know I can’t put it off any longer. As hard as it is, I think I’ve made my decision.”
Despite this, Gerry decided to introduce both Leslie and Theresa to his family. That decision, host Jesse Palmer told ET, was Gerry’s way of “letting things play out to the very, very end.”
“I think he was very open to every conversation, every moment where these women were potentially opening new doors and discovering more. I think he was really excited to do that,” Jesse said. “Part of it is the women meeting his family, but I think a big part of it is also just the time he spends, the chemistry he has between him, and just being honest with himself.”
Leslie arrived to meet Gerry’s family after giving her approval to Theresa and things went well for them too, leading to even more uncertainty for the lead actor.
Although Leslie was thrilled with how things were going with Gerry’s daughters Jenny and Angie and granddaughters Payton and Charlee, she sensed something was wrong with Gerry, who she felt didn’t seem to be “quite himself.”
This uncertainty continued throughout their evening together, as Gerry told Leslie, “I know time is running out and I have to make a life-changing decision, and that’s kind of getting on my nerves.”
However, Gerry decided to “start over” after getting over that, and he and Leslie drank wine, laughed and enjoyed each other’s company. Leslie touched Gerry’s heart when she gave him an album full of memories of their time together.
The evening ended on a sour note when Leslie expressed her love for Gerry and he didn’t fully reciprocate those feelings.
“Be happy,” Gerry told Leslie after tearfully hugging her. “Be happy too,” she replied.
The couple shared a long hug at the door, after which Leslie asked, “Is there anything you want to tell me?”
“I have a difficult decision to make,” he replied. “It’s harder than I ever thought possible.”
As he left Leslie’s room, Gerry sat on the stairs and burst into tears. Meanwhile, Leslie told the cameras: “I’m definitely not confident right now. I know why he had today off. I know exactly why.”
Gerry returned to Leslie’s room to talk to her again and decided to end things for good.
“It was difficult and I kind of made a decision about how I wanted to approach it,” he said. “I fell in love with Theresa, and that’s the direction I’m going to go.”
She asked if everything he told her in the Fantasy Suite was “a complete lie,” which he denied, saying, “It was the truth back then.”
“If I had known how much pain I would have caused someone, I would never have taken the first step on this journey,” Gerry said.
Leslie said the whole thing was “typical” of her life and that “nobody picks me.”
“You made it sound like you chose me. “You said things that made me feel like this was it,” she cried. “You led me down a path and then you turned away and left me there. That’s how I feel. It’s mind-blowing, to be honest.”
Gerry replied: “I’m sorry. I wish I had something to say, but I know that’s not the case.”
Leslie noted that “Theresa is a great girl” but said she was “blown away” by the turn of events.
Gerry left the room a second time while Leslie threw herself in front of the cameras.
“I’m tired of being out there,” she said. “Time is running out.”
It’s no surprise that the moment was emotional, as Jesse previously told ET, “I think this is the most emotional goodbye I’ve ever seen in the history of the show – Bachelor, Bachelorette, Paradise.” I mean, it’s really devastating.” It’s heartbreaking.
Gerry also broke down and told Jesse: “I took a really good person and broke his bloody heart. I hate myself…I think the only time in my life I ever felt worse was when my wife died and that’s a damn close second.”
“That moment, that conversation with Gerry, was about as raw a conversation as I’ve had with anyone, probably the rawest I’ve ever seen or ever had with anyone since hosting the show. Jesse previously told ET. “That’s a moment I’ll never forget. Just because I saw it was heartbreaking for him. The way he described it was just so emotional. I don’t even know how to describe it. It was just really intense.”
During the live portion of the show, Leslie commented on Jesse: “The heartache that I experienced, the blindness that happened to me, all these emotions looking back, I see it again… I was devastated.” I’ve been unapologetic about this whole thing… I haven’t fallen in love with anyone in a long time so it’s hard. It’s really hard.”
“I was just so sad because… I was 100 percent convinced that I was his girl [because of] Things he said to me on our night out…I felt like I could be part of this family right away…I just didn’t expect that,” she added. “…I went and picked out a dress, I wrote my vows and imagined us living a life together…I had this whole life planned for us. He shot me so high that the fall was much harder for me.
Next, Leslie met with Gerry again and told him she had had “time to process” and was “much better” than during their breakup. She told him that she fell in love with him “for so many reasons,” adding, “I wanted to give this to you so badly until death do us part.”
Leslie continued to praise Gerry’s integrity and said that’s why she takes his words at face value. Those words he said during their overnight date made her feel “100 percent” sure she was his girlfriend, Leslie said.
“I don’t know where it went wrong,” she said. “I feel like you painted me a picture of what our lives could be… You had a choice not to tell me those things… The other things we talked about, the plans we made , I was devastated.”
Gerry apologized and said his “heart was not ready” for the trial, which had become “increasingly difficult” as the weeks went on. He explained that he gave each person his “undivided attention,” thereby immersing himself in moments with each woman.
“You were the person I thought was my person until I knew you weren’t,” he said, adding that his relationship “was better with someone else.”
Although Leslie didn’t accept Gerry’s apology, she said she understood it. “I wish I could have done better,” Gerry added.
Despite it all, Leslie said she was “so glad” Gerry told her “I love you” because it “opened my heart” to the possibility of love in the future.
“I deserve this,” she said. “I’ll find that.”
Look back at Gerry Turner’s journey to love with ET’s coverage of The Golden Bachelor.
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