Leslie Fhima Talks Being Blindsided by Gerry Turner, What She Wouldn’t Do as ‘Golden Bachelorette’

The Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner may have handed out his final rose, but the final word on the results of ABC‘s reality series is still being relayed as Turner, Theresa Nist, and Leslie Fhima appeared on the podcast Bachelor Happy Hour with Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt.

The hosts spoke to the cast members in three separate sessions. Leslie opened up about her experience of being on the receiving end of an “I love you” from Gerry. When asked whether or not she’d throw that phrase around should she ever become The Golden Bachelorette, Leslie said, “I for sure would never tell anyone I love them until I’m on that platform with them, and I know it. I just wouldn’t do that.”

“I would never wanna hurt anyone the way I was hurt or blindsided,” she added. “My heart is precious to me… when you say I love you to somebody, it means something, and I just don’t throw that word around. I haven’t said it in a really long time to someone, so it meant something to me to say it to Gerry.”

(Credit: Disney/John Fleenor)

Instead, Leslie noted, “I would just show my affection in a different way.”

Meanwhile, when prodded about the game-changing fantasy suite with Theresa, Gerry said, “There were conversations in the fantasy suite that were very revealing to me. But honestly, because we’re in the fantasy suite and are not in front of cameras and microphones, I feel like it’s appropriate to keep them in the fantasy suite and leave that there… There were some things that we talked about.”

In other words, Gerry’s never spilling the tea on what happened between his bride-to-be and him when they spent the evening together. Still, it was life-changing enough to sway his final decision

As for advice he’d offer any upcoming golden bachelors, Gerry suggested, “Be open-minded. Don’t lock in on one person. Don’t set your heart in one place, because you may miss something that’s critically important with one of the other people that’s there. So, I tried to compartmentalize as much as I possibly could, and I think that helped me so much in learning about everyone.”

Meanwhile, Theresa would tell any potential future contestants, “Try to be yourself as much as possible, something I wasn’t able to do fully the entire time… Be open to the process… don’t hold back. This is a process where it’s not dragged out in a normal timeframe… If you feel something, say something.”

What do you think of their advice post-finale? Let us know in the comments section, below.