One of Gerry Turner’s “exes” on “The Golden Bachelor” believes it would be difficult for the show's producers if she were to star in the female-led version of the dating show.
Speaking with People magazine in May 2024, former contestant Kathy Swarts said that she wouldn’t rule out being ABC’s first senior leading lady, but she thinks casting agents would have their work cut out for them as they try to cast two dozen suitors for her.
“I would be the ‘Golden Bachelorette,’ but I am an incredibly active, adventurous person. And I think they would have a hard time finding 20-some odd guys that could keep up with me,” the 70-year-old grandmother of two told the outlet.
Swarts was sent home in week four of Turner’s season of “The Golden Bachelor.” The 72-year-old Indiana native’s season ended with an engagement to Theresa Nist, 70, and a divorce soon after.
Kathy Swarts Isn’t the First Bachelor Nation Alum to Question How the Casting Would Go
It’s no wonder that Swarts is concerned about the men who will eventually be cast for “The Golden Bachelorette.” At 70 years young, her official ABC bio touted her energetic lifestyle. “From walking five miles a day to reading 50 books a year, nothing is out of reach for her,” the bio read. Swarts also enjoys pickleball, kayaking, hiking, and skiing.
In a teaser video for “The Golden Bachelor,” Swarts said, “I don’t date ‘usta’ to guys. Used to kayak, used to play tennis, and now he sits on the couch.”
Swarts elaborated to People as she talked about not acting “old.” She said she wanted to “break those traditional barriers of you have to wear your hair a certain way or dress a certain way, or you can’t do that activity [because] you’re over 50.”
Past “Bachelor” winner Catherine Guidici Lowe previously admitted she doesn’t know how producers will cast men who are of the “same caliber” as Turner’s women on “The Golden Bachelor.”
“I’m jealous of some of those women. They’re stunning,” Lowe told E! News of Turner’s contestants. “What about casting for men? Are there a lot of older men that are the same caliber? Because those women are good looking.”
Kathy Swarts Revealed Another Type of Guy She Won’t Date
In addition to “usta” guys, Swarts spoke out about another type of guy she won’t date in a May 1 episode of the “Bachelor Happy Hour: Golden Hour.”
“I’ve dated a few men that have never been married and honestly, I won’t do that again,” she said on the podcast. “[They’re] incredibly selfish, because it’s always been about them. But not having children, you never know, there might be a reason they didn’t have children if they were married. So that doesn’t bother me as much. But I won’t [date someone who hasn’t been married].”
Swarts told People in May that once she does find Mr. Right, she would want to be “engaged longer” than Turner and his final pick Theresa Nist were. The senior couple married on January 4, 2024 after a quickie engagement and announced they were divorcing during an appearance on “Good Morning America” on April 12, 2024.
Swarts also joked that whoever ‘The Golden Bachelorette” ends up being, she will be happy to check out their “rejects.” “I’m willing to take sloppy seconds,” she cracked.
Christie Brinkley takes confident photos in a swimsuit at 70 years old
