The Big Picture 6o4c27

• Susan Soles and Kathy Swarts from
  The Golden Bachelor
  started a podcast together post-show where they spilled the tea.
• Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist are still going strong in a long-distance relationship, but reunited recently.
• The Golden Bachelor
  franchise will expand with
  The Golden Bachelorette
  .

Susan Soles and Kathy Swarts from The Golden Bachelor are doing well but it hasn’t stopped them from spilling the beans about being rejected by the reality show’s leading man, Gerry Turner. TheBachelor spin-off first premiered on September 28, 2023, and the finale was aired on November 30, 2023, with Turner proposing to Theresa Nist by the end of it all! But contestants Soles and Swarts ended up becoming really good friends, and even started a podcast together titled Bachelor Happy Hour: Golden Hour, which is where they talked about the aftermath of the show and how it all came together for the two!

According to Soles and Swarts, their hearts have healed from the crushing rejection. They went on to jokingly reflect that they are both currently in the friend-zone with Gerry Turner. Swarts went a step ahead and said that she was in the “leave him in the cornfields” zone. However, the podcast hosts were also quick to confirm that they were on good with both Gerry and Theresa and were even part of their Golden Wedding. Soles took on the role of the wedding officiant and Swarts was a Gold Carpet correspondent, greeting the guests as they arrived.

On the other hand, Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist are finding the balance between their lives as a married couple and spending time with their family. It was recently revealed that the couple hasn’t moved in together just yet, and they’re both in more of a long-distance relationship. Turner is still living at his Northern Indiana lake house, while his wife still resides in New Jersey. But the fans don’t have anything to worry about since the couple just reunited in March 2024 in Indiana for Nist’s granddaughter’s volleyball game. According to The Daily Mail, “the couple is still going strong as they make long-distance work while deciding on a new locale.”

As the dust settles after The Golden Bachelor finale, another installment in the franchise titled The Golden Bachelorette is all set to premiere in fall 2024. The format will be identical to The Golden Bachelor except this time around, a leading lady will look for love with twenty hopeful bachelors. Just as its male counterpart — The Golden Bachelorette will also feature a cast of senior citizens on their quest to find the one.

While the cast of the show hasn’t been revealed yet, historically, some of the new leads in The Bachelor franchise are often fan favorites from the previous seasons. If The Golden Bachelorette follows the same format, Susan Noles and Kathy Swarts might be in line to become the leading lady! What we do know so far, however, is that The Golden Bachelor host Jesse Palmer will again be ing The Golden Bachelorette and helming things on stage!

‘The Bachelor’ Franchise Continues to Thrive After Two Decades of Spin-Offs 721p43

The Bachelor franchise began with the reality show The Bachelor back in 2002. Following the show’s instant success, creator Mike Fleiss decided to produce The Bachelorette in 2003, where the format of the original show was gender-reversed, and it proved to be a huge success! That’s when the franchise started experimenting with other spin-offs, like Bachelor Pad in 2010, Bachelor in Paradise in 2014, and more!

The Golden Bachelor is the latest addition to Bachelor Nation’s arsenal, the official community name for the reality franchise. The senior-focused spin-off has helped the franchise attract a brand-new demographic of viewers. Over 9 Million people were recorded to have tuned in for the finale of The Golden Bachelor, with an all-time viewership hitting 43.4 million viewers as of yet, hitting the franchise’s highest audience score in almost four years. The success of The Golden Bachelor is only expected to continue when the franchise expands with The Golden Bachelorette. But that’s not all because as reported by Deadline, Warner Bros. Unscripted TV’s Co-Head of Programming and Development Bridgette Theriault has expressed that she’d “absolutely love” to see more The Golden Bachelor spin-offs moving forward and that active discussions with ABC about them have already begun!

The Golden Bachelor is available to stream on Hulu. The exact release date for The Golden Bachelorette, however, is not yet unveiled. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

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