How is The Golden Bachelor responding to the most upsetting part of that shocking exposé? Let’s put it this way… you know how the crazy part of how little accountability Tom Sandoval was taking was the reminder he’s 40 years old and should have better character by now? Gerry Turner is 72. And he’s showing less.
Last week The Hollywood Reporter shocked everyone with a deep dive into Turner’s dating life — and how it was way, WAY different from what was portrayed on the show. Contrary to the story about him not dating or having been kissed in six years, since the death of his wife of four decades, witnesses said he’d been dating the whole time, multiple women. And one came forward saying she was in a relationship with him for two and a half YEARS! And it started just a month after his wife died!
Related: Chad Michael Murray’s Incoherent Response To Accusation He Cheated With Sophia Bush!
Turner’s big “response” came just hours later as People had an interview with the reality star locked and loaded. In the previously recorded sitdown, the septuagenarian elaborated on his love life for the last six years, admitting he did in fact date other women — despite what the show was saying.
However, he insisted these were all failed attempts. He made it sounds like we were talking about false starts, which only made him realize he wasn’t ready to date yet. He also maintained that didn’t start until a year after his wife’s passing — clearly he or Bachelor producers must have thought that would be more palatable than what was being claimed. He said:
“Somehow I got it in my head that if you grieve for a year, that at the end of the year you should be OK. It absolutely wasn’t the case.”
Again, he allegedly dated this woman, Carolyn, for the better part of three years. They even lived together, in that dream lake house of his! But, she claims, they broke up when he refused to bring her to his high school reunion because she’d put on ten pounds, telling her he wouldn’t take her “looking like that.”
Gross.
But again, the People interview was a puff piece, clearly meant to get out ahead of the revelations about his dating life. How did Gerry react when actually asked about the body shaming?? He brushed the whole thing off, telling The LA Times:
“I don’t have time to reflect on comments like this. My only response is that I have so many positive things in my life right now. I have the wonderful love of Theresa, my partner.”
He also said he’s “happy to look forward” rather than backward.
Gerry also went full DC with The NY Times, doing that thing politicians do where they pretend not to have heard Donald Trump quotes so they couldn’t possibly respond. He said about THR‘s report:
“I guess I haven’t really looked at it as how accurate it is.”
But he did say the negativity “doesn’t fit” with the “positive things” happening in his life right now.
Well, isn’t this all crafted like someone who isn’t capable of flatly denying some accusations? Oof.
[Image via Bachelor Nation/ABC/YouTube.]