Since my mind can’t juggle writing anything else, I’ll be providing a two-birds-one-stone play-by-play of the season finale of The Golden Bachelor live on TV.
Gary is currently in Costa Rica, a place I’ve been and appreciate. According to him, “I have two great women; Teresa and Leslie.”
At 70, Gary is the first senior on the show. As I type, he is telling his daughters, women in their thirties, about his love for one of the women before inviting her in. “It’s the first time I’ve seen you not cry at seeing us,” one of the daughters says, crediting his happiness to a healthier mental state. Enter Teresa; she’s nervous and has a beautiful bouquet of tropical flowers.
One thing I appreciate is seeing the bonds. With both Gary and Teresa being married for 40 years and widowed, their compatibility is evident. After her talk with his daughters, it’s obvious they are on board. Specifically, they could talk about their mom, keep her memory alive, and Teresa can understand and embrace that.
It’s a commercial break. Although sharing my guilty pleasure is unprecedented on this blog, I’m happy to share my secretive passion with you.
We’re back, and the host, Jesse, lets us know we’re going to be rocked to our core, and stunned! We shall see…
And now Leslie. She also has a large bouquet of flowers, along with two gift bags, probably for his daughters.
One of the granddaughters just told the camera, “I loved Teresa, but Leslie. I think she’s the one.”
Uh oh, I got a little teary. Leslie just told his daughters about her fear of death ‘til us part because of her past relationships. But Gary makes her feel calm. She wants it to be him.
Still, with an hour and a half to go, Gary’s energy has shifted. The weight of his decision is bearing down, “I haven’t had to make a decision like this for fifty-five years; it’s debilitating, and I am so conflicted.
Regarding Gary, I’m a little concerned he’s taking on too much of Leslie’s stuff. Since she’s had a hard time in relationships, he’s promised he’ll be different. The problem is he won’t let himself fall apart in front of her. He had an insecure, slightly detached moment with her, but when she asked, he apologized, “Let’s shake it off and move forward.”
Uh oh again. He’s sitting, face in his hands crying. In another frame, Leslie is doing the same. “I need to go back and talk to her. We have such a rhythm, and she knows that I’m off.” He knocked on her door, and they’re talking again. A cliffhanger, another commercial break.
Another guilty pleasure is pulling a basket from the top shelf of the pantry and getting into Evelyn’s Halloween candy. Tonight’s snacks include a gummy centered dipped in Nerds, a mini-sized Milky Way, and mini Reese’s peanut butter cup.
Gary: “When I left you asked if there was something I had to say to you”
Leslie: Go ahead
Gary: It’s been difficult but I’ve made the decision about how I want to go about this. I have fallen in love with someone else.
Leslie: Everything you told me was a complete and utter lie. I knew it. We weren’t off. And now the whole world knows how broken I am.”
Snap to live. She is sitting in a black elegant dress, watching back the video from the breakup. It’s the time she gets to confront him, to get answers to any lingering questions or concerns. It’s kind of like a debrief but a month or more later.
She’s telling the host, “I envisioned it all. Us walking our dogs, me showing him Minneapolis, us going to restaurants.” And I turn to Dave, “But that’s the whole point. You have to go there fully or what’s the point?”
“I do not regret him telling me that he loves me. It has opened my heart. I am not angry, I’m just hurt. I want him and Teresa to be happy.”
Dave just said, “Golden Bachelorette!” He’s playing Zelda on his handheld Switch but listens with one ear, and he hit the nail on the head. She has to come back as the Bachelorette!
And now, with a half-hour to go, we get to see him tell Teresa she’s the one. A silouette of him standing with an open box with a ring in it. He’s talking to the camera about her, “She makes me calm. I’ve wanted to share the joy and the sadness and she is that for me.” And now he’s talking to her, “How in the world did I, from Nowhere, Indiana end up here with you in Costa Rica.” He replays their dates and moments together, but through all this she doesn’t yet know it’s her.
“I can’t live with you.” He said, and her face drops, “I can’t live without you” he adds, and there. It’s done. He’s down on one knee.
And lastly, they’re giving a message for all of us about love. It has no age, it has no limits, there is always hope.
With that said….Love, Jaclynn
Going On 40 