After a trip to Minneapolis, the star of "The Golden Bachelor" gave one of the season's final two roses — and the only rose of the night — to Minnesotan Leslie Fhima.
Thursday night's episode started and ended with Fhima's grandchildren, Sofia and Jackson Chazin, who charmed 72-year-old Gerry Turner and fans of the hit reality TV spinoff with their tough questions and exuberant dance moves.
The hometown date, filmed in August, featured a reunion on the Stone Arch Bridge, sweeping views of the Mississippi River and time with Fhima's family at the social club Brick x Mortar in downtown Minneapolis.
Fhima, 64, told Turner that her oldest brother, Stuart Paster, had played an important role in her life following their father's death when she was 16.
"He is a mensch," Fhima said. "When I met you, I thought, 'You're a mensch.'"
Fhima's brother and three children approved of Turner. "It will be nice to have another mensch in the family," Paster told him. "I think they're perfect together," daughter Chloe said. "I think you would be a very good couple," 6-year-old granddaughter Sofia told him.
The "Bachelor" franchise has featured Minnesota before: When Minnesota's then-teacher Michelle Young starred in "The Bachelorette," in 2021, the season spotlighted the area's stadiums, museums and lakes.
This was a shorter visit. Fhima's was the final date of the episode, and by that point, Turner, who lives in Indiana, had revealed to the cameras that he had fallen in love with the other two finalists, widow Theresa Nist of Shrewsbury, N.J., and teacher Faith Martin of Benton City, Wash.
After time with her family, Turner told Fhima: "You're connected to your family every bit as much as I'm connected to mine. And that was, coming into this visit the thing I really wanted to know about."
"I told you that I'm falling in love with you," Fhima replied. "But after today, seeing you with my family, I'm not falling. I am in love with you. ... I just can't imagine, right now, my life without you."
Turner reciprocated: "A wise man told me, don't walk by an opportunity to tell someone you love them when you love them. And Leslie, I love you. I love you."
The two kissed.
In the dark car afterward, Turner explained how he had put himself in an "impossible situation," he said. "I honestly have no idea how I'm going to decide."
At the rose ceremony the next day, Turner gave Fhima the first rose. The episode ended with a cliffhanger, before he handed out the second and final rose. That rose will be revealed next week. The show's finale will air Nov. 30.
But then Sofia and Jackson appeared again, asking the tough questions. Among them: "Gerry, how old are you?" "How much girls have you kissed?" "Have you kissed Glama?" "Are you going to ask Glama to marry you?" "What are your intentions?" "What's your five-year plan?"
And then the most important one: "Do you like to dance?"
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