Gerry Turner was in “uncharted waters” on this week’s episode of The Golden Bachelor.
The 72-year-old retired restaurateur admitted that he was “really excited” to meet the families of Faith, Leslie, and Theresa during hometowns.
“It’s gonna look a lot different from someone who’s in their 20s and 30s doing hometowns because I will be meeting the children instead of meeting the parents, but that’s part of the excitement,” he shared.
He added: “The last time I met a family of someone I was about to fall in love with was in 1968 when I met [late wife] Toni ‘s family so this is a critical week.”
After all three women admitted to falling in love with Gerry on last week’s episode, he realized he had some big decision ahead, saying, “My feelings with each one of these women are strong. I only want to say ‘I love you’ to one more person in my lifetime. So, I hope I’m able to sort my feelings out and do the right thing.”
Theresa’s Hometown
Gerry made his way to Shrewsbury, New Jersey to see Theresa and her family.
“It means the world to me that you’re here and you’re going to meet my family,” she told Gerry upon his arrival. “I didn’t expect to feel the way I feel for you and it was from the first minute I met you.”
The 70-year-old financial services professional also revealed that he would be the first man to meet her family since her husband died, adding, “If there weren’t real feelings here, I would not be bringing Gerry home to meet my family.”
Gerry then met Theresa’s daughter Jen, her husband Matt and their children, as well as her sisters Charlotte and Mary. Theresa’s sisters said she and Gerry were a “perfect fit” while she admitted to being worried that he had strong feelings for both Faith and Leslie, adding, “I’m 70 and I’m competing with 60-year-olds.”
Teresa’s grandsons also showed Gerry their impressions of Theresa making a “weird face” while taking selfies.
Things turned serious when Jen asked if Gerry was falling in love with her mother, and he replied, “That’s such a hard question. I’m not even sure I know what it feels like to fall in love again. The last time I felt the depth of feeling and warmth was in 1968 when I first met Toni and as I’m moving closer and closer to your mom and feeling that connection, it’s like is that strong connection exactly what’s supposed to feel like? And I don’t know right now.”
After a mother-daughter chat about Theresa’s feelings for Gerry, Jen broke down in tears about her mother finding love again, telling cameras, “Here they are with a chance to do this again, like in a whole different way. It’s not replacing the spouses that they had, for sure, because you can’t. And it doesn’t really feel that weird for some reason, like it doesn’t change how much love I had for my dad.”
After the family time, Theresa and Gerry went on a ride on a ferris wheel, where she confessed, “I had such an amazing time today, having you met my family and seeing how much they loved you just made me be able to say this right now. You know, I said I was falling in love with you, I am in love with you. I can’t picture my life without you now.”
Despite not telling her how he felt, Gerry told cameras, “When I entered this journey, I wanted to find love and for the first time since 1968, I know that I’ve fallen in love again. This is the love I’m looking for. I’m in love with Theresa.”
Faith’s Hometown
Gerry’s next stop was Benton City, Washington, to see Faith. She quickly introduced him to country living — including her horse Liberty — but she worried that he would realize it was not for him.
Despite her reservations, Gerry wasted no time trying his hand at horseback riding and reassuring her that he was comfortable with the lifestyle. However, he wasn’t sure how they would “reconcile” her desire to stay in Washington, close to her sons and the farm, while he lived in Indiana.
Gerry then had the opportunity to meet Faith’s sons, Brenden and Nick, as well as her sister Beth and grandsons.
The high school teacher, 60, confided to her sister that she was falling for Gerry while her sons told Gerry that their mother falls “hard and fast” but they worried what happened if he didn’t pick their mother.
Gerry responded by saying that the show is “not easy” but he looks it as a “huge responsibility,” adding, “There’s only one woman I want to be with for the rest of my life and I want to make sure I make the right choice.”
When asked if he was falling in love, Gerry replied, “Yeah, I kinda think I am.”
After Gerry reassured her that Faith’s heart was safe with him, Beth shared she hoped they have “an amazing life together” and the family told Gerry there was no need to leave for another hometown visit.
Gerry and Faith then exchanged “I love yous” and a kiss in front of her family. He told cameras, “I love Faith and when she looked me in the eye, I had to say the words. I couldn’t not. The feeling of love is a lot of confusion for me and I don’t know how I can reconcile expressing feelings that I have for Faith right now with how I feel about Theresa. I don’t know where I’m going to go with that but I love her.”
When Gerry departed, Faith broke down in tears and worried about their future together, sharing, “In this moment, everything can feel so perfect and so right but as I know about life, it doesn’t always turn out that way.”
Leslie’s Hometown
Gerry finally arrived in Minneapolis, Minnesota to see Leslie. She gave him the rundown on who he would be meeting during the hometown date, including her three children, grandchildren and her brother Stuart.
The 64-year-old fitness instructor then revealed that Stuart stepped in when her father died when she was 16 years old. She recalled her brother breaking the news to her and saying, “I’m your dad now” when he picked her up from school.
Leslie’s daughter Chloë was concerned that two other women remained and told her mother that she didn’t want to see her heartbroken. After Leslie revealed to Gerry that she was falling in love, her daughter said they were “perfect” together.
On the other hand, Stuart told Gerry that he thought it was “strange” that he was dating his sister along with two other women. Gerry responded, “I’ve tried very hard in my life to do positive things for people and then all of the sudden, I’m in a situation where I have to severely hurt [others’] feelings.”
When Stuart said he didn’t want to see his sister hurt again, Gerry confided in him, saying, “I have a connection with her that really feels good. She could be the one person that completes the years I have left on this Earth.”
He then asked Stuart for his blessing to marry and he replied, “If Leslie and you came to be and said, ‘We want to get married,’ I would be happy about that and I would definitely give you my blessing.”
After the family gathering, Leslie shared with Gerry, “I told you I was falling in love with you but after today — seeing you with my family — I’m not falling, I am in love with you. And I’m crazy about you… I can’t imagine, right now, my life without you.”
In a confessional, Gerry admitted he felt that he could see Leslie being his “future wife.” He then told her, “A wise man told me, ‘Don’t walk by an opportunity to tell someone that you love them when you love them,’ and Leslie, I love you.”
After realizing his feelings for all three women, Gerry realized he was at a crossroads, saying, “I came here on this journey, hoping to find love and I have but I did not expect to find it in more than one person and those are hard words to say.”
He continued, “And now, I’m just realizing I don’t know how I can reconcile the strong feelings for each of these three women. I’m very confused. I’m terrified.”
The Rose Ceremony
Gerry realized he was in an “impossible situation” as he grappled with his feelings for Faith, Theresa and Leslie. He added, “Honestly, I have no idea how I’m going to decide.”
When he arrived at the rose ceremony, he shared, “Tonight, I recognize that I’ve developed a bond and a connection with all three of you and these hometowns mean more than just three of you and more than just me. Now, families are involved and that makes it all that much harder, but I remind myself that this is my journey and this is one more step that I have to make before I’m to the point where I can find my true love, the person I want to spend the rest of my life with.”
Gerry gave the first rose to Leslie. But, when it came to handing out the second rose, Gerry became overcome with emotion and left the rose ceremony in tears.
He stepped outside the mansion and admitted, “I feel like I’m gonna throw up,” as he bent over his hands on his knees.
“I’m looking at two women who either one could be my partner for the rest of my life,” he added. “Having to send someone home is gut-wrenching. I’m dying inside a little bit right at this moment.”
The episode concluded without Gerry handing out the second rose but in a teaser for next week’s show, he tells Host Jesse Palmer, “I know what I want to do. I just don’t want to do it.”
The Golden Bachelor airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
