And who went home, for good.
Warning: Spoilers ahead.
It’s time to go home on The Golden Bachelor — we’re referring to hometown dates, of course, and Gerry is about to meet a lot of grandkids. He points out that this is going to look very different than previous seasons of The Bachelor and Bachelorette, where the stars are in their 20s and 30s. This time, we’re meeting children instead of parents — and the last time Gerry met a family in this way was in 1968 when he met Toni’s parents. Times have changed, that’s for sure. Let’s see how it all shakes out.
Theresa’s hometown date on The Golden Bachelor
First up, we see B-roll shots of New Jersey. Theresa and Gery meet in a park and she runs into his arms. Then, they reminisce about their one-on-one date and how she rested her hand on his shoulder to comfort him when he was nervous driving. It might not have been the type of skin-to-skin contact we’re used to from The Bachelor, but I’m glad it impressed Gerry so much. Another detail that comforts Gerry? Neither of them has met a love interest’s family since that of their late spouses.
If Gerry thought he was going to have a chill meeting with a child or two, he was sorely mistaken, because Theresa has brought her entire extended family to this meeting. Kind of like how I brought my boyfriend to our family seder two months into dating.
Theresa’s sisters take her aside to gush about Gerry. They all love him (how could you not?) and insist they have good body language. Theresa expresses that she’s worried because she’s 70 competing against 60-year-olds — in case you ever wondered when women stop worrying about their age, the answer is never!
During all of this, Gerry’s alone with her daughter and grandkids. One of the grandkids tells Gerry that Theresa goes to visit them a lot “because she’s always lonely.” They also tell him that she makes a duck face when she takes selfies. (Somebody’s probably getting a stern talking-to and some media training after this.)
That means it’s up to Theresa’s daughter to have the “What are your intentions with my mom?” conversation. Gerry says one of the things he likes about Theresa is how she’s always listening to him. She asks Gerry if he’s falling in love with Theresa, and he says, “That’s such a hard question, I’m not even sure what it feels like to fall in love again.” I wonder if Gerry is trying to avoid the Ben Higgins effect of telling multiple women he’s in love with them — a major no-no in The Bachelor world.
Then Theresa’s sisters tell Gerry how much they love him and how she’s found her guy. After the date, they go to a carnival in Seaside Heights — two carnival dates in one season? Clearly, this season is being funded by Big Carnival.
On the Ferris wheel, Theresa tells Gerry that she’s falling in love with him, and his response is, “That makes me feel so special.” Reality TV is definitely not reality, because if a guy said that to me, I would be climbing off the Ferris wheel, not grabbing and kissing him, which is what she did.
In a confessional, Gerry reveals, “This is the love I’m looking for” and says he’s falling in love with Theresa. OK, this is certainly a promising sign. I can’t tell if he didn’t say it back to her in the moment because he was being careful, wasn’t sure, or it was cut out, but either way, a happy ending could be in the cards for Theresa.
Faith’s hometown date with Gerry
Next up is Benton City, Washington, for Faith’s hometown date. This is a different world than New Jersey because we pull up to a farm, and Faith says that she rides the horse to the grocery store. This slightly worries me for Faith. Gerry does live in Indiana, but it’s definitely a lifestyle change to go from playing pickleball to, basically, Yellowstone. This could be a big incompatibility. But after a little horseback riding lesson from Faith, Gerry’s a natural. And luckily, he says he’s completely comfortable with the lifestyle.
Faith says she doesn’t want to leave her farm, and Gerry admits that he’s not sure how they would reconcile that. They do have a strong connection, and Faith says she’s falling in love with him. But will love conquer all?
Faith will be introducing Gerry to her friend, sister, two sons, and grandkids. Faith’s sister is almost immediately crying, and when they’re alone, she remarks how the wall that Faith usually has up is gone.
Meanwhile, Faith’s sons talk to Gerry. They ask, “Are you in love?” He says, “Yeah, I kinda think I am.” My follow-up question would be: “But with my mom, right?”
But wait…there’s more: Gerry and Faith say “I love you” to each other in front of her entire family and kiss! This is certainly a much more enthusiastic reaction than Theresa got. The question is, will he say this to any of the other women before handing out his final rose? That’s when he’d be entering dangerous Ben Higgins territory.
Then, Gerry’s off in the black car to the final hometown.
Leslie’s hometown date
Helloooo, Minneapolis! That’s where Leslie’s from, and thus, the location of our final hometown date. Leslie will be introducing Gerry to her three grandkids, her children, and her brother Stuart. She tells Gerry about how one day her dad dropped her off at school and never picked her up, so Stuart became her stand-in dad. She calls Stuart and Gerry mensches. I love to see the Jewish representation.
True to the Jewish tradition, Leslie’s family is more skeptical than the others and doesn’t want Leslie to get hurt. They immediately ask Leslie if it bothers her that he’s dating other people — which, of course, it does. I appreciate that they’re actually asking the tough questions.
Gerry gets alone time with the grandkids, who ask if he’s going to be their new grandpa and say how much Leslie likes him. Nicely done, kids — that’s the right approach.
But Stuart isn’t going to let Gerry off that easy since he’s protective of Leslie. “To be honest with ya, I hate to see her hurt again,” he says. To which I reply, I would hope not.
Gerry says he doesn’t see why he couldn’t have a long-term life with Leslie. My prediction might very much come true! After Leslie’s family leaves, she tells him she’s falling in love with him and she can’t imagine her life without him. After taking Leslie’s hand and whisking her off to the side of a brick wall (?) Gerry says, “A wise man told me, don’t walk by an opportunity to tell someone you love them. And Leslie, I love you.” He starts breaking down in tears as he says “I love you,” and they share a very impassioned kiss.
While he’s breaking a cardinal rule, this seals the deal for me. This was without a doubt the most enthusiastic “I love you” of the bunch. It’s a very promising sign for Leslie.
Who goes home after hometown dates on The Golden Bachelor last week?
After that whirlwind, we’re back at Bachelor mansion for the rose ceremony. Gerry’s a wreck because he’s in love with three women.
Jesse Palmer greets the women as they pull up to the house. It’s funny because the conversation goes the exact same way for each contestant:
Jesse: How are you feeling?
Contestant: I’m nervous. I told Gerry I loved him and he said it back.
Jesse: Wow, he did that?
Gerry starts the rose ceremony by telling the women he realizes he’s developed a connection with the three of them.
The first rose goes to…Leslie. Honestly, to get the first rose at Hometowns is a pretty big deal.
Jesse walks in to give his obligatory “This is the final rose tonight.” Gerry can barely keep it together at this point. It’s between Theresa and Faith, if you’re keeping track, and Gerry picks up the rose and…puts it down and walks off-camera.
Me:
He’s bent over outside crying, with his voiceover narrating how he’s dying inside at this moment. And unfortunately, the episode ends there — on a cliffhanger — and we’ll just have to see what happens next week, during the Women Tell All. I’m honestly surprised they’re doing one of these, considering the only drama that happened all season was the Zip It/Snip It situation, but I’m sure ABC will find some way to film an entire hour of television. Until next time, vote for who you think will win and who you’d want to see as The Golden Bachelorette.
