Gerry Turner recalls rigorous process for becoming 'Golden Bachelor' — including STD test

Gerry Turner had to adjust to an entirely new dating scene to become the star of "The Golden Bachelor," and that included taking his first STD test.

The 72-year-old reality star appeared on the Nov. 21 episode of Justin Long’s “Life Is Short” podcast, where he revealed that producers of the "Bachelor" spinoff reached out to him ahead of time to say he'd need to undergo an STD test as part of his background check.

"I was in Florida in February of this year. I was actually traveling with an old girlfriend. We were just friends. I got a call from ABC, wanting me to go to initiate the process to go get an STD test. And it’s like, that’s a little bit of a tender moment," Turner recalled, laughing.

The retired restaurateur, who was married to his late wife, Toni, for 43 years before she died in 2017, reported to a nearby clinic, where he was clueless about how the test would be performed.

“As I recall, that may have been my very first ever STD test,” said Turner. “I had no idea what was going to happen. I didn’t know if they were going to look in the iris of my eye, take a urine sample, a blood sample. I had no idea.”

Turner apparently passed the test while also sailing through the rest of the stringent vetting process.

“I had to send my fingerprints to the FBI. There were numerous background checks. There was a psychological evaluation that was like 360 questions and then another hour for an interview,” he said. “The vetting process is ridiculously thorough.”

When “The Golden Bachelor” premiered in September, Turner met the show’s contestants, 22 women ranging in age from 60 to 75.

Over the season, he gradually focused on three of the women: Leslie, a fitness instructor from Minneapolis; Theresa, a financial services professional from Shrewsbury, New Jersey; and Faith, a high school teacher from Benton City, Washington.

After sending Faith home on the Nov. 9 “Women Tell All” episode, Turner headed to Costa Rica with Leslie and Theresa for the Nov. 16 fantasy suites episode.

Now, viewers will finally see which woman received Turner's golden rose on the show’s two-hour Nov. 30 season finale.

A preview from the episode made clear that Turner, who's told both Leslie and Theresa that he loves them, had an emotional time when making his final choice.

"I took a really good person and I broke their heart," he's seen tearfully telling host Jesse Palmer.

Yet it appears it was a choice that Turner stands by today.

When he appeared on the red carpet at the 57th annual CMA Awards earlier this month, Turner said, “I wear a smile perpetually now. I’m very happy about where things finished.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com