Although The Golden Bachelorette lead has yet to be announced, Golden Bachelor runner-up Leslie Fhima has been the front-runner for the role, but there’s one important reason why she shouldn’t be cast. Leslie, a 65-year-old fitness instructor from Golden Valley, Minnesota, captivated leading man Gerry Turner. She emerged from the limousine dressed as a very old lady with a walker, but quickly tossed the costume aside to reveal her true, fabulous self. She showed Gerry both her sensual and sweet sides, as she danced for him in the talent show, but also revealed that she wears hearing aids like him.

Throughout The Golden Bachelor season 1, Gerry and Leslie fell in love, and he gave her every reason to believe that he was going to choose her in the end. Their hometown date and Fantasy Suite date were beautiful, and he even told her that he thought she was The One. However, he broke up with her in order to get engaged to Theresa Nist, whom he later married and divorced. Leslie has since moved on from the show, and, like other Bachelor franchise runners-up, she seems to be the perfect choice to be the first-ever lead of The Golden Bachelorette. However, there’s one reason why the show should go in a completely different direction.

The Golden Bachelorette Should Cast An Unknown Like The Golden Bachelor

Although Gerry and Theresa ended up getting a divorce just three months after their Golden Wedding, The Golden Bachelor was a tremendous success. One of the reasons that it was such a big hit was because it broke new ground as it introduced unknown leading man Gerry to the world. Unlike The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, and Bachelor in Paradise, which have been recycling contestants for years, The Golden Bachelor was something completely fresh and different.

The Golden Bachelorette shouldn’t revert back to the typical formula of Bachelor franchise shows and cast runner-up Leslie in the lead. The show should start fresh with someone for whom there are no expectations. Leslie is a wonderful person, but her appearance on Joey Graziadei’s Bachelor season made people wonder if she was really over the situation with Gerry. She warned Kelsey Anderson, who eventually became Joey’s fiancée, to guard her heart in case he didn’t choose her. While it was good advice, it indicated that perhaps Leslie isn’t ready to be The Golden Bachelorette.

Bachelor Nation is now aware of this conversation, and, although it’s been months since it was filmed, viewers will being watching The Golden Bachelorette with the preconceived notion that Leslie isn’t ready. She was truly blindsided and heartbroken by Gerry, which will surely be a main part of her storyline on The Golden Bachelorette. However, if the show casts an unknown instead, there will no be expectations for that person. Viewers will learn about the Golden Bachelorette lead’s past relationships through interviews and the show, just like they did with Gerry.

The Golden Bachelorette lead should come into the show with a clean slate. While some people like Leslie, others don’t, and it will be very difficult for her to navigate the complicated relationships of the show, while also dealing with the public’s opinions about her. It would be unfair to put so much pressure on her as the first-ever Golden Bachelorette lead. An unknown lead like Gerry would solve this problem.

The Golden Bachelorette Shouldn’t Be Known To The Contestants

When The Golden Bachelor contestants met Gerry for the first time, it was truly the first time. He was unknown to the world, and no one had been able to watch him on television before. However, if Leslie or any of the other Golden Bachelor contestants are cast as the Golden Bachelorette, the same problem that happens on other franchise shows will occur. Some of the contestants might be there because they’ve fallen in love with the image of Leslie that they saw on television. They might be disappointed if she doesn’t live up to those impossible expectations.

In addition, the contestants will come into The Golden Bachelorette knowing everything about Leslie’s dating history, but she’ll know nothing about them. This is an unfair and unnatural way for anyone to begin a relationship. Knowing that Leslie was recently in love with Gerry and ready to get engaged to him might scare off some of the contestants who could possibly find it hard to believe that she could fall in love again so quickly. However, with an unknown lead, the contestants wouldn’t have the advantage of prior knowledge about her.

When a lead is already known to the contestants, there’s also the chance that their intentions might not be pure. Perhaps they’d just want the thrill of meeting a celebrity, but they wouldn’t be really serious about getting married. They might not sign up for the show for the right reasons. The Golden Bachelor was much purer because everyone, including leading man Gerry, was coming into it without being in the spotlight in any way beforehand.

An Unknown Golden Bachelorette Would Be More Exciting

While there’s a certain level of comfort that comes from seeing familiar faces on television, casting contestants from previous Bachelor and Bachelorette seasons can also become very boring and tedious. Viewers already know the leads’ stories, and rehashing them again and again isn’t very exciting. One of the most intriguing aspects about The Golden Bachelor was that viewers were getting to know Gerry at the same time that the women were. It wasn’t predictable because Gerry had never been seen on television before.

If The Golden Bachelorette casts Leslie, it will be wonderful to see her continue her journey to find love, but certain aspects of the show will be repetitive. Her storyline from Gerry’s season will have to be recapped, and it will surely be used as the frame for her entire journey, much like other rejected contestants’ heartache has been in the past. Viewers have already met Leslie’s family during her hometown date as well. A brand-new Golden Bachelorette will bring excitement to the show for the simple reason that she’d bring a whole new story.

Although Leslie is a beloved Bachelor Nation member, she shouldn’t be cast as the first-ever Golden Bachelorette because the show should cast an unknown person like Gerry instead. This worked very well for The Golden Bachelor, which had no choice but to cast someone new because of the concept of the series. The Golden Bachelorette should create an entirely new show without any of the baggage from the previous season. As The Golden Bachelorettebegins, the series needs a fresh start.