Leslie Fhima didn’t win The Golden Bachelor, and she didn’t get a proposal from Gerry Turner even though he made her think it was coming ahead of the finale.
Despite coming in second place behind Theresa Nist, some fans of the show think Leslie is the real winner.
Especially after a not-so-great report came out right before finale night where one of Gerry’s ex-girlfriends made him out to be quite the opposite of the lovable senior that we came to know on the Bachelor Nation spinoff.
That didn’t stop Leslie’s heartbreak, though; she even told Gerry that she had purchased a gorgeous $60,000 blue dress that matched his eyes in preparation for the proposal she was expecting.
She also wrote her vows as he had led her to believe she was “the one” — in fact, he said those exact words to her before quickly changing his mind.
Because of all this, Gerry’s popularity isn’t as great as it once was, and The Golden Bachelor fans are flocking to Leslie Fhima to let her know that it’s probably for the best that he did not choose her.
Bachelor Nation stands behind Leslie Fhima after a last-minute change of heart
While some The Golden Bachelor viewers still stand with Gerry, many support Leslie Fhima, who they think “dodged a bullet” when he didn’t choose her.
They flooded the comments section of a birthday post she made for her son and showed tons of support, even suggesting that she should be the first The Golden Bachelorette lead after throwing out a slew of other names all season long.
One commenter wrote, “You are too good for, Gary. We hope you get your own show!!”
Another said, “With all of the allegations coming out about you know who, I’m so glad you dodged a bullet!”
Yet another wrote, “You are so beautiful! Gerry doesn’t deserve you. Hoping you’ll be the Golden Bachelorette.”
Even more comments came in with similar sentiments, calling her “too good and way too cool for Gerry.”
Gerry Turner says a lot of nothing about ex-girlfriend allegations
As The Golden Bachelor viewers continue to support runner-up Leslie Fhima, Gerry has been asked in multiple interviews about accusations from his ex-girlfriend, “Carolyn.”
Gerry’s responses have been very telling of his mediation background and his unwillingness to take accountability for the way he moved on after his wife died.
“Carolyn” claimed that Gerry had started flirting with her just weeks after Toni died and that their romance had started soon after that. It didn’t take long before she moved in with him in his Indiana home.
But their breakup, or at least her retelling of it, made big waves. She claimed that Gerry fat-shamed her, telling her that he wouldn’t take her to his high school reunion because of the way she looked — a move that ultimately led to their split.
The move itself was even more traumatic for her, as Gerry gave her two weeks to get out, and then she injured herself trying to move her things downstairs without his help. She also claimed that he accused her of using that injury, which was significant, to delay her move.
This is far from the empathetic man we all grew to love on The Golden Bachelor.
But when asked about the story that painted him in a much more sinister light, Gerry told Entertainment Tonight, “I don’t give it much thought. I’ve got to be honest, I just don’t give it a life.”
The Indiana native continued, “I have so many positives in my life right now. Right at this very moment, look what I have that is an equal partner to me! To get bogged down in the past, I just can’t go there, nor do I want to.”
The Golden Bachelor wedding will air on Thursday, January 4, at 8/7c on ABC.