A Minnesotan has made it to the final round of "The Golden Bachelor" — and will leave it engaged or heartbroken.
Leslie Fhima, a 64-year-old fitness instructor from Minneapolis, has fallen for the show's star Gerry Turner, a 72-year-old retired restaurateur from Indiana. "You could be the one," he told her during the most recent episode of the hit reality TV series.
But as longtime "Bachelor" fans know, a lot can transpire in the show's final hours.
Ahead of the Nov. 30 finale, we spoke with Lizzy Pace, co-host of the podcast "Game of Roses" and co-author of the book "How to Win the Bachelor: The Secret to Finding Love and Fame on America's Favorite Reality Show." As the name suggests, "Game of Roses" argues that "The Bachelor" is a professional sport and analyzes it as such — with MVPs, statistics and its own lexicon.
A "huju," for example, is a "hug-jump," when a player runs, jumps and wraps her legs around the lead. (Fhima performed the first "Golden Bachelor" huju, making history.)
This spinoff, featuring daters in their 60s and 70s, has become a cultural phenomenon, thanks in large part to its strong, soulful and wise women, who have inspired memes, tears and, ultimately, hope.
"I would say that I've probably consumed more 'Bachelor' content than most people," Pace said, "and this season of 'The Golden Bachelor' absolutely blew me away.
"The people feel more genuine, and the stakes seem a little higher than they do for the 20-something influencers."
Here are four facts to know ahead of the Nov. 30 finale.
Fhima has been a star. Since the trailer for the season dropped, Fhima has caught the camera's attention. "Why are you ready to find love now?" a producer asked. "I've been ready for a long time!" she replied with a warm laugh, her dimples deep. During the first episode, she voiced one of the show's themes: "We're all breaking the stereotypical view of what a senior acts like or looks like."
"I think she's been one of the strongest players of the season," said Pace, who admitted to being biased, because her boyfriend is from Minnesota. "She strikes me as a free-spirit character, a la Kaitlyn Bristowe," a former Bachelorette and dancer from Canada, "just in terms of being funny, being confident."
"Game of Roses" tracks the contestants' Instagram followers week-to-week, and Fhima has consistently come out on top. As of Nov. 14, she had 26.6K followers, No. 1 among the women. (Her son, a global tour promoter at Live Nation, manages her Instagram account.)
The pair are Midwestern, through and through. Fhima and Turner are among the few Midwesterners on the show, a fact highlighted by the show's "hometown" episode. Fhima grew up in the Twin Cities, and her Minnesota bona fides include dating Prince. Turner lives in Indiana and grew up in Iowa, graduating from the University of Iowa.
"Instead of bicoastal," Fhima suggested, "we can be bi-Midwestern."
Location is a bigger deal for these contestants, who have decades invested in their communities and grandkids to care for, Pace noted. "How you're going to manage the distance is probably the No. 1 factor in terms of whether the relationship that comes out of this can actually have longevity."
An engagement isn't the only prize. If Fhima doesn't win "the ring," she'll immediately be in the running for what "Game of Roses" calls "the crown" — the next starring role. ABC-TV hasn't confirmed that it'll create "The Golden Bachelorette," but given the spinoff's success, its execs have to be considering it.
Both of the podcast's co-hosts gave Fhima their "play of the game" after the most recent episode for sharing her sadness at being alone on her birthday. Every year, Fhima is hopeful that she'll find someone, she told Turner. "And every year, it's like Groundhog Day," she said, her voice shaking. "I'm alone on my birthday. And I don't want to be alone anymore."
That admission endeared Fhima not only to Turner, but to everyone watching.
Minnesota has made Bachelorettes before. Becca Kufrin of Prior Lake was the first Minnesota star of "The Bachelorette." She was given the crown after auto racer Arie Luyendyk Jr. proposed to her and then — in a brutal scene — dumped her for his runner-up, to whom he's still married. Kufrin recently wed another man she met via the franchise: Thomas Jacobs. They named their son Benson after the Minnesota town where Kufrin's late father was born and raised.
In 2021, Michelle Young filmed much of her "Bachelorette" season in Minnesota, picking apples, cruising Lake Minnetonka and hanging out with Twins mascot T.C. Bear. Young is Fhima's favorite "Bachelorette." Fhima ran into the former teacher while working at the Fillmore last year, before ever applying to be on "The Golden Bachelor." Then, this fall, they met again at a Vikings game.
"She's a doll," Fhima said. "I just adore her."
