The newest spinoff of “The Bachelor” franchise, “The Golden Bachelor”, skyrocketed in popularity. The show’s lead, Gerry Turner, became the most watched Bachelor in recent years. However, some of the contestants on the show weren’t being represented as they should be, insightful and mature women.
Ratings were high because the viewership of the show has expanded. In addition to young and middle aged women, senior women were tuning in because they were excited to see themselves on TV.
Representation matters, whether it be race, age, body type, or any other form. It’s important for older women to be able to see themselves on TV. It’s equally important for younger women to see older women represented since the majority of them are wise and insightful people. Older women usually have their priorities in order and know what’s important in life, love and family.
Most of Turner’s contestants on “The Golden Bachelor” are regular people who have their own families and lives. One contestant in particular, Joan Vassos, had to exit the show early because her daughter needed her mother’s support after experiencing complications from a c-section. In my opinion, that issue and tough decision that Vassos had to make highlighted what real women go through at that stage of life. I wish we could’ve seen more storylines like that highlighted in the show.
While some personal stories have been highlighted that were similar to Vassos, a petty argument between two contestants has been the plot of two episodes. Theresa Nist and Kathy Swarts have argued over Nist unknowingly bragging to her about her relationship with Turner. Swarts was getting upset and was unable to handle her reactions in a mature way. This argument ended up expanding further into the house, where several other people were chiming in.
Based on what the producers chose to focus on, I think “The Golden Bachelor” missed an opportunity. They could’ve focused more on the positivity and silliness these women were showing to each other, instead of highlighting plotlines similar to middle school drama. Some scenes do show the women connecting with one another and having fun experiences together. It would’ve been great to see more of this instead of some of the past episodes which mimic the original “Bachelor” formula of focusing on unnecessary drama.
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