As Hostin suggested, part of what made “The Golden Bachelor” love story so convincing was the maturity and hard-earned wisdom of its stars: Unlike so many 20-something contestants who go on dating shows to find social media followers, not life partners, Turner and the 22 women vying for his heart seemed to be there for the proverbial right seasons.

Although it was full of the usual “Bachelor” trappings — the endless rose ceremonies, the ludicrous group dates — the show also felt like it broke new ground by depicting people over 60 as multidimensional human beings, and by tackling heavy subjects, like grief, aging and divorce, in an authentic way.

The women of “The Golden Bachelor” were impossibly well-preserved, yes, but also warm, hilarious and salty — and watching them bond while singing “Hava Nagila” in the pool was a major part of the show’s appeal.

Then there was Turner: a telegenic pickleball enthusiast and “retired restaurateur” with a full head of hair, a lake house and what seemed like an endless reserve of compassion. He didn’t just talk; he listened with his entire being and wasn’t afraid to cry, especially when sharing memories of his late wife, Toni.

The entire country, it seemed, fell for Turner: “The Golden Bachelor” became one of the biggest new hits on network TV, and the most-watched “Bachelor” show in years, with 6.1 million viewers tuning in to the season finale in November.

It was little wonder that producers soon were teasing plans for a “Golden Bachelorette” spinoff (which they officially announced in February) or that they capitalized on the show’s popularity with a wedding special, broadcast live from La Quinta Resort — and featuring guests from across Bachelor Nation. The popularity of “The Golden Bachelor” even seems to have boosted ratings for the most recent season of the original series, featuring Joey Graziadei.

But ABC’s golden balloon began to burst even before the season wrapped. According to an expose in the Hollywood Reporter published in late November, Turner was not exactly the geriatric unicorn producers made him out to be. They had inflated aspects of his resume, including the claim he was a “retired restaurateur,” and made it seem as if Turner hadn’t seriously dated anyone since his wife’s death in 2017 — even though he’d allegedly lived with one girlfriend for nearly two years.

The brutal finale, in which Turner made it seem as if he was going to choose Leslie Fhima, a 65-year-old fitness instructor, only to change his mind after an overnight date with Nist, further punctured the fairy tale.

After their wedding on Jan. 4 — which was stuffed with product placement for Amazon’s wedding registry and generally seemed as cynical as “The Golden Bachelor” had been sincere — Nist and Turner spent a few weeks together, sharing the highlights on social media. (In one cringeworthy Instagram post, Turner bragged about how they’d made out in a Lululemon dressing room.) But once February rolled around, the couple was rarely spotted together. Gossip websites reported that they were living separate lives, and fans began to ask questions on social media.

They eventually reemerged to make a number of appearances tied to “The Bachelor,” including the season finale on March 25, and other ABC shows. In April, Nist and Turner taped a special episode of “Celebrity Family Feud” with several of their “Golden Bachelor” co-stars and family members. On Instagram, Turner cheerfully posted about appearing on the game show with his “blended family.” A week later, he and Nist announced their divorce.

Even the rollout of the announcement felt cynically designed to maximize viewership and milk the Golden Divorce for all it was worth. The “GMA” sitdown was followed by an extended interview on “Nightline” where the couple shared a few additional details about their split — including the fact that they sought counseling — and said that they ruled out a long-distance relationship because, as Nist put it, “We wanted immediately to be together.”

On social media, various “Bachelor” personalities, including host Jesse Palmer, did damage control, posting earnest tributes to the short-lived couple and urging the public to be kind. Perhaps they sensed that viewers felt massively duped and weren’t really buying that the breakup was as amicable as it was being portrayed.

There was at least one instructive moment in the Golden Divorce press tour of 2024. During the interview last week, Chang asked Turner and Nist to give advice to the star of “The Golden Bachelorette,” who is expected to be named at Disney’s upfront presentation in a few weeks.

“Slow things down. Pull in every bit of information possible. Ask hard questions. Get to know someone well,” Turner said, “but go slow.” It’s good advice for whoever stars in the spinoff. And maybe even better advice for those of us watching: Don’t fall in love too fast.

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(Meredith Blake is an entertainment reporter for the Los Angeles Times based out of New York City, where she primarily covers television.)

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