It was the golden swab.
“The Golden Bachelor” lead Gerry Turner revealed that he had no idea how an STD test worked before ABC told him he was going to star in the “Bachelor” spin-off.
“I was actually traveling with an old girlfriend — we were just friends — and I got a call from ABC wanting me to initiate the process to go get an STD test,” Turner, 72, told actor Justin Long while appearing on his podcast “Life Is Short.”
“That may have been my very first STD test,” Turner laughed. “I had no idea what was gonna happen. I didn’t know if they were gonna look in the iris of my eye, take a urine sample [or] a blood sample.”
“I had no idea. Did not know,” he reiterated.
According to the reality star, that was not the only test he was forced to submit to.
“I had to send my fingerprints to the FBI, there were numerous background tests,” Turner said. “There was a psychological evaluation that was, like, 360 questions and then another hour of [an] interview.”
“The vetting process is ridiculously thorough,” the retiree added.
Turner, who was announced as the first-ever contestant on the spin-off series, previously married his high school sweetheart Toni in 1972. They were together for 43 years until her death in 2017.
According to the Indiana native, his daughters pushed him to sign up for the show.
Earlier this month, the former restaurateur revealed to Gayle King that he finally found The One.
“I’ve found the person,” Turner told the TV personality, adding: “It was a very difficult choice.”
“The three women at the end are all unique. I love them all, but there was a clear choice. It’s clarified in the fantasy suites,” he said.
Turner did not tell King, 68, who the lucky lady was, but admitted he “hated the rose ceremonies.”
Talking with The Post, he also revealed that he and his children don’t talk about what went on during the fantasy suites portion of the show.
“Oddly, it was almost an area where I think we kind of avoided conversation,” Turner said. “They were kind of holding off, waiting to see what Dad did with it.”
“And, you know, when fantasy-suite nights rolled around, it seemed very normal and natural and actually was a watershed moment for my journey,” he continued. “So it was very good.”
He did, however, accidentally break the promise he made to not to kiss anyone on the first night.
“I promised my daughters and granddaughters that I would not kiss anyone on night one. And I failed,” Turner told The Post ahead of the show’s premiere. “As I recall, I think I only failed once.”
He mused: “No regrets on that at all.”
“In the beginning, shortly after the season ended and everything was put to bed, I felt like I had a few regrets,” he went on. “But now that there’s been a little time for me to sort through the facts and my feelings and so forth, quite honestly, I don’t think I would go back and change a thing.”
“I’m really happy about how things have went,” he added.
The end of Turner’s journey is near, as audiences will have to wait to see who he chooses between Leslie and Theresa.
“The Golden Bachelor” season finale airs on ABC on Thursday, Nov. 30.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
