The Golden Bachelor pulled off another nearly perfect episode, with scores of viewers turning in for the incredibly popular spinoff.
We knew the show would be good, as Bachelor Nation has been waiting for a senior version of The Bachelor since the pandemic started.
We didn’t know how popular it would be — pulling in more than 4 million viewers for the premiere episode, and the show isn’t losing steam yet.
It did lose a cast member, though, and not because she didn’t get a rose.
While tuning in for Week 2 of The Golden Bachelor, viewers wanted to know what happened to Marina.
The 60-year-old educator from Los Angeles received a rose on premiere night, and then she was gone with nothing but a video message for Gerry.
Where did Marina go?
It seems that The Golden Bachelor is following everything the original Bachelor series does, down to the bunk beds and standing for rose ceremonies, despite the age of the cast.
We even had one cast member leave unexpectedly, and that was Marina.
In a somber moment, host Jesse Palmer sat down with Gerry Turner to explain Marina’s departure. He told Gerry, “Marina’s had a situation with her family back home. She’s no longer here now.”
Jesse explained that Marina wanted to speak to Gerry about leaving, and she did that via a video chat she shared on Instagram as the episode aired.
Marina didn’t share exactly what the issue was with her family, but she told Gerry that she had to “get my priorities straight,” which meant she had to stop trying to win another rose and instead head home to be there for her family.
It’s something Gerry told her that he understood, telling her, “Commitment to family overrides just about anything else, and I really respect you for doing what you’ve done.”
The Golden Bachelor viewers point out changes that need to be made
The Golden Bachelor is quickly becoming a Bachelor Nation favorite. However, there are some things viewers want to see changed for future seasons, as this spinoff has followed the format of the original show just a little bit too much.
For example, the women who got a rose last week were shown where they would be staying, and just like the OG show, it was a room full of bunk beds.
Now we’re talking about women in their 60s and 70s who are not only set in their ways but also who may have to get up and use the restroom more than once a night.
Another issue was the rose ceremony, which has traditionally been done standing up. Even those from The Bachelor and The Bachelorette have complained about having to stand around, sometimes for hours, while the ceremony is filmed, and it can get very uncomfortable.
As she exited the show last night without a rose, Natascha even called out the fact that they need to do rose ceremonies with chairs because these women don’t need to be standing for such a long time.
The Golden Bachelor airs on Thursdays at 8/7c on ABC.