Shrewsbury 'Golden Bachelor' Finalist Deepens Relationship

SHREWSBURY, NJ — "The Golden Bachelor" program on ABC landed in Costa Rica for Thursday's episode, putting an even more intense focus on the remaining two women competing for a lifetime commitment from widower Gerry Turner.

Leslie, from Minneapolis, and Theresa, our local Shrewsbury resident, have both survived rounds of elimination during the past several weeks of the show.

No decision was revealed Thursday, but will be when the finale airs on Nov. 30.

Turner, 72, of Indiana, is a retired restaurateur. Leslie, in her 60s, is a dancer. Theresa, 70, is in the finance industry.

It was Theresa's career that got Turner's attention in the latest episode. Theresa (last names of the contestants are not officially released by producers) was married young to her high school sweetheart who passed away several years ago.

But she told Turner how she had been a homemaker, and then began day trading, buying one stock at a time and finding she was good at the field. She then, later in life, found a full-time job in the industry.

Turner, who has repeatedly observed how secure and even "safe" he feels with Theresa, said his discussion about her work helped him round out his image of her.

"I had no idea how responsible you are," he told her in the Thursday episode.

They both share a deep bond: Turner's wife also passed away unexpectedly, so they have both experienced that kind of loss.

Theresa, he said, "has a hole in her heart like I do."

Theresa told him when they adjourned their date to the "fantasy suite" in the episode that she has casually dated, but had never found someone she was serious about. She was about to stop altogether when her daughter encouraged her to audition for the program.

"I was meant to find you," she told him. As for an even more intimate connection to Turner, that is a commitment she is ready to make - but one "I don't take lightly," she told him.

While all this bodes well for Theresa, Turner has expressed both his love for her and for Leslie.

He said he has gradually learned more about Leslie and feels deeply for her - and enjoys her adventurousness.

Leslie has been hurt in love, she told Turner, so she comes from a different place than he and Theresa who loved their spouses "'til death do you part," she observed.

But she told Turner how she is ready for that same lifetime commitment - and with him.

For Turner, he said he will soon make this difficult choice, but only feeling "1,000 percent" at peace with his decision.