What Happened To Marina On Golden Bachelor? Why Did She Leave

What happened to Marina on The Golden Bachelor?

THE GOLDEN BACHELOR - ABC’s “The Golden Bachelor” stars Marina. (ABC/Ricky Middlesworth)

Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC.

What happened to Marina on The Golden Bachelor? In a part of the second episode, Jesse explained that Marina left due to family circumstances. “Marina’s had a situation with her family back home. She’s no longer here now, but she did want the opportunity to speak to you, if that’s OK,” he told

On the Facetime, Marina talked with Gerry about why she left. “The thing I wanted to tell you, I’m a single mom, and I had to choose my family and support my family’s needs at this time,” Marina told Gerry. “I am sorry that I had to leave, but at the same time I had to get my priorities straight.”

Gerry responded, “I fully understand commitment to family overrides just about everything else. I really respect you for doing what you’ve done. I agree with you 100 percent that you need to put your family needs before everything else.”

“I think I needed to hear that,” Marina replied. “I wanna wish you well. I think there are some beautiful women with beautiful souls. I want to wish you nothing but my best from my heart.”

Who is The Golden Bachelor?

THE GOLDEN BACHELOR - ABC’s “The Golden Bachelor” stars Gerry Turner. (ABC/Brian Bowen Smith) — Image Credit: Courtesy of BC/Brian Bowen Smith.

Gerry Turner, a 71-year-old restaurant owner from Indiana, was announced as the Season 1 Golden Bachelor on Good Morning America in July 2023. “It’s never too late to fall in love again,” he said. Gerry is a father, grandfather, and widower. He married his wife and high school sweetheart, Toni, in 1974. They share two daughters, Angie and Jenny, and two granddaughters, Charlee and Payton. Gerry and Toni were married for 43 years until her death from an illness in 2017, six weeks after her retirement. “She got robbed,” Gerry told Good Morning America about Toni. “Every day that goes by, that’s the thought I have.”

When asked what Toni would think of him starring on The Golden Bachelor, Gerry told Good Morning America that he believed his late wife would be “rooting” for him. “I have her picture on a dresser in my closet,” he said. “Every morning I give her the nod, ‘So what do you think about this?’ For a while it was like I was having a hard time figuring out if she would be OK. But we always told each other, when one of us goes, we want the other one to be happy.” He continued, “She’s saying, ‘Yeah Gerry, do this.’”

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight Canada in August 2023, Gerry explained how Fantasy Suites—which often happen with leads’ two or three finalists—were different on his season of The Golden Bachelor. “I just think that a Fantasy Suite for someone of my age may look quite different,” he said. “The activities could be quite different than for someone in their 20s and 30s.”

Gerry also told Entertainment Tonight that Fantasy suites “really don’t” make him nervous. “They make my daughters a lot more nervous than me,” he said, revealing that his daughters told him to not be physical with any of his contestants. “That they said absolutely none of that. They said don’t do it,” Gerry said, adding that he’d “been ignoring that part of the advice.”