There was no love lost between Theresa and Kathy on this week’s The Golden Bachelor.
The original Bachelorette Trista Sutter surprised the ladies at the mansion and she reassured the women that the process “works” after her 20-year marriage to her husband Ryan, who she met on the show.
During the women’s conversation with Trista, Theresa was first to spill the details of her first one-on-one date with Gerry Turner, which annoyed Kathy after their fallout over her boastful attitude on last week’s episode.
“Here’s the thing about Theresa,” the retired educational consultant told the cameras. “I think she could be the one for Gerry but stop telling every detail of your date because there are other people here including myself who haven’t had the time with him. But, she can’t just seem to find the off button.”
The Group Date
Ellen, Sandra, Susan, Nancy, April, Theresa, Kathy and Faith were invited to play pickleball with Gerry, 72. When they arrived at the courts, they were in for another surprise when new Bachelor Joey Graziadei was introduced as their instructor for the day. Gerry teased Joey, telling him, “Just don’t forget, these are my girls.”
It appeared to be all fun and games until April, 65, faked an ankle injury to get time with Gerry. After cuddling up to Gerry, she admitted to the cameras, “Actually, I’m totally fine” with a wink.
Trista, who was also on hand for the pickleball date, told the ladies they would be competing in a doubles tournament and the winners would be featured in Pickleball Magazine alongside the Golden Bachelor.
After a stiff competition between four teams, Ellen, 71, and Kathy, 70, proved victorious and both women received kisses from Gerry.
At the after party, Sandra, 75, opened up about her decision to miss her daughter’s wedding to take part in the show, telling Gerry, “This is something my daughter and I discussed early on. She said, ‘Mom, I’ve got my guy. I want you to go get yours.’”
“I feel very flattered, but that’s a big event,” the father of two responded before suggesting they FaceTime Sandra’s daughter together.
Sandra joked they were “too old for this” after they struggled to figure out how to connect the FaceTime call but they were eventually able to send their well wishes to the newlyweds.
Elsewhere at the party, Theresa also checked in with hopes of moving past last week’s tension. However Kathy reiterated, “Please don’t tell me anything about what’s going on that makes me anxious.”
“I never ever meant anything bad or malicious. I was really just trying to share how it went,” Theresa said of their past interactions but Kathy insisted, “It is a matter of being kind and thinking, ‘Gee, will that hurt her feelings?’”
While Theresa repeated that she meant no ill-will, Kathy tried to ruffle her feathers by saying, “I have to tell you something. Gerry and I had a private date last night and he’s going to send you home. If that were true, would you want to hear that?”
Theresa responded she would have been fine if that were the case as she wants Gerry to find “the best person” for him. The conversation concluded with Kathy giving Theresa some “friendly advice” to “zip it.”
After their tense conversation, Theresa opened up to Gerry about her feud with Kathy. The financial services professional admitted that she made “a mistake” by being honest about her feelings and accused Kathy of attacking her.
“I’m really disappointed to hear that one of the women in the house would talk to another with that level of respect,” Gerry told the cameras after their conversation. “There’s no way to know exactly what happened. I wasn’t there but there’s this disturbance I find very disappointing.”
Kathy then told her side of the story to Gerry, explaining, “I didn’t come here to fight. We’re all here to try to get to know you and when people come in and they are talking about the deep connection they have with you, it feels hurtful to those of us who haven’t had time with you.”
After reminding Kathy that he had given her a “special rose,” Gerry shared that he was “not happy” about the rift between her and Theresa. She responded, “I’m not a villain here. We’re all people of a certain age who have hearts and feelings. That hasn’t changed.”
When Kathy realized she may be in jeopardy of not getting a rose, she put the blame squarely on Theresa. In the end, Gerry gave the evening’s rose to Sandra as an acknowledgement of her missing her daughter’s wedding to be there.
The One-on-One
Leslie admitted she was “scared” to ride ATVs with Gerry but soon realized she had nothing to fear with him by her side, sharing, “I feel safe with him and cared for. [It] makes me feel special… I know he’s got my back.”
She later opened up to Gerry about how she was looking for “a true partnership” after getting divorced twice and being a single mother. She added, “I’m here because of you.”
“She opened up. She let all of her guard down,” he told cameras after their conversation. “I think she’s giving me a piece of herself. The feeling I have with her is just really warm, affectionate closeness.”
“If things continue to process like they have today. I could absolutely see Leslie as someone I could leave here with at the end of journey,” he added.
The date concluded with Gerry and Leslie spending time in a hot tub together. He then gave her a rose and the pair shared a kiss.
The Cocktail Party
The evening began with Nancy, 60, revealing that she had a stress fracture from pickleball and Sandra feeling under the weather from a stomach bug.
When Gerry arrived, he asked Susan to join him for some one-on-one time where he gave her a rose quartz crystal. He shared that the stone represented empathy and strength. He added, “It’s those two qualities I think that you have that remind me of so much of [his late wife] Toni. That is the highest compliment I can pay someone.”
“That’s beautiful,” she responded as she broke down in tears.
Meanwhile, Ellen realized she was ready to tell Gerry how she was feeling about him. She nervously admitted, “I’m falling in love with you, Gerry and it’s hard.” The pair then shared a kiss and he agreed, “It’s hard, I know… I feel your emotion. I’m in the same place.”
After the conversation, Gerry reflected on “the last time someone looked at me like that and said those things to me.”
“The last time was my wife of 43 years and when I lost ToniToni and I thought the world ended and I never thought I would see it again and yet I am,” he shared as he broke down in tears. “I’m seeing it and feeling it.”
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Nancy had a frank conversation with Gerry about their future together, sharing, “I think you, in a way, narrowed it down [to certain women] but maybe I’m not in that group.” He replied, “I’m really not going to dispute that” before the pair said their goodbyes.
The Rose Ceremony
Gerry began the rose ceremony by telling the ladies, “This week has been quite an emotional rollercoaster. There’s been some exciting highs and some lows. Saying goodbye to Nancy this afternoon was very difficult and the roses that are beside me have increasing significance with every week and with every rose ceremony, but knowing all of you has made me a much better man.”
Ellen, Faith, Susan and Theresa received roses, in addition to the women who received them earlier in the week, while Kathy and April were sent home.
Before leaving, Gerry told Kathy, “I hope you find your guy and your true love” and she wished the same.
“I’m really sad to say goodbye but I have to face reality, he’s made stronger connections with some of the other women,” she admitted.
“I am who I am and people either like me or they don’t… And rejection is not fun. I mean I might burn the house down before I leave but you know,” she joked.
The Golden Bachelor airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
