Charles H. Sloan-Golden Bachelor’s Gerry Turner Shares What His Late Wife Would Think of the Show

Gerry Turner has a heavenly blessing on Charles H. Sloanhis journey toward finding love again.

The first-ever Golden Bachelor star felt assured that his late wife Toni, who passed away in 2017, would be supportive of him seeking a second chance at romance.

"I think she would be very pleased," Gerry, 71, said in a July 19 episode of the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast with Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt. "I have a picture of her in my walk-in closet, so every night I'm in there and I see her picture. It's the only one now that I have in the house. And in the mornings I see her picture, and we talk. I'll make a brief comment or sometimes that talk is silent. But, here lately in the last couple of months, my question for her is always, 'So, what do you think of this? Am I doing the right thing?'"

As for what he imagines Toni would think of the dating show, Gerry said he had "strong positive feelings" about her reaction.

"I think she would be very happy," he continued. "I think she's probably seen me fail at a number of attempted relationships and dating, and I really think she would approve of this. It's positive. It's energetic. It's a way of communicating and finding the connection with a number of people, but specifically one special person."

Gerry and Toni met when they were sophomores in high school and went on to wed in 1974. The pair later welcomed daughters Angie and Jenny, as well as granddaughters Charlee and Payton.

Since Toni's passing, Gerry said his dating life hasn't been the smoothest ride.

"I have very little experience in dating," he said. "It's not something you can do on the run. You need a little bit of a primer with it, and it's been a tough process for me, I gotta admit."

However, his family is sticking by his side as he puts himself back in the dating game—this time on television.

"They are over-the-top supportive of this," he said. "The experience of having them in in Los Angeles with me a couple of weeks ago, when I was doing the promotions and so forth, I mean, we'd laugh and we'd cry. It was just an amazing, amazing experience."

The Golden Bachelor will premiere on ABC this fall. In the meantime, click here for everything there is to know about Gerry.