Susan Noles of ‘The Golden Bachelor’ dishes on her experience on the show and repping Delco
Susan Noles of “The Golden Bachelor” chats about her time on the series, her ideal Philly hometown date, and what we didn’t see on the show.
The Golden Bachelor didn’t fall in love with this Delco lady, but America sure did.
Aston’s Susan Noles said goodbye to Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner last week. Every week since the show’s September premiere, Turner, 72, winnowed down his batch of contestants (age 60 and up) in search of the woman he’ll spend the rest of his life with.
The premiere season of the senior dating The Bachelor spin-off has set record ratings, earning millions of viewers for how it approaches dating later in life. The show has been lauded for how it celebrates aging and touches on grief.
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And while Turner — America’s first Golden Bachelor — plays a big part in the show’s success, his crop of female contestants are carving out their own loyal fan bases.
Noles is no exception.
From her debut, Noles established herself as the life of the party, tossing around sassy innuendo and sharing moments of support and comfort with the other women. She quickly became a fan favorite for her resemblance to Kardashian mom-ager Kris Jenner and her friendships with her housemates, doing everyone’s hair and makeup.
Now that Noles has left the show, fans are rallying for her to become America’s first Golden Bachelorette — a show that hasn’t yet been confirmed by ABC.
Following her exit, The Inquirer caught up with Noles about her time in Bachelor Mansion. This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
How did you initially approach applying for the show? Did anyone put you up to it?
It was three-and-a-half years ago and my girlfriend Laden called me and said, “Oh my goodness, Susan, you have to do this. They’re having an old people Bachelor. You have to apply.” So I did — and then the pandemic hit. So I didn’t hear anything. I thought they didn’t like me. I didn’t know. And then this past March, I got a phone call. Long story short, they liked my application and wanted to know if I was still interested. From that day in March till now, I’ve been living my best life.
What was your dating life like pre-”Golden Bachelor”?
I was on the dating sites. I’ve never been stood up in my life, but I believe they call it “ghosting” now. I’ve found people that weren’t really who they were. I mean, I love being in love and I really tried. But I believe after this show, it cured me. I always thought I was a woman that needed a man and I now realize I’m a woman that a man needs.
We’ve seen you tell the other women in the house about the Mummers strut — were there other Philadelphia nuggets that you taught everyone about?
I wanted to make a cheesesteak for Gerry so bad and my producers were trying to get the stuff in. But I knew rolls wouldn’t be good. And I’m like, “You gotta come to Philly.” I used to wish that I had a hometown date so I could take him to South Philly and have a real cheesesteak.
What would a hometown date with Susan look like?
It would have been Geno’s, maybe the Art Museum, the Rocky statue, of course, Penn’s Landing, and then my backyard.
Sounds like a perfect day. The Kris Jenner comparisons have been nonstop. If you had the opportunity to get together, what would your ideal day with her look like?
We would definitely have lunch and I would just pick her brain. I think she’s a very intelligent woman. Honestly, for the last 30-plus years I’ve been getting “Oh my gosh, you remind me of Kris” or “Did anyone ever tell you …” and I get that. It’s the short dark hair you know. I admire her as a businesswoman. And I love her whole family.
We saw you bond with all the women in the house, even doing their glam. Is there one person you’d say you’re closest with?
There are three people that I’m close with, April, Kathy, and Nancy. We are like sisters. I mean, it’s like we grew up together and we just met. We actually have a vacation coming in January. Besides that, I love Leslie, and I love Edith, and Sandra. I mean I love everybody. It was such a great experience meeting all these wonderful, unique women. … And I keep in touch with everybody. We’re all chatting and we’re going to try and do a couple of meetups.
We didn’t see a lot of your final group date interactions with Gerry on air. Can you share any details the audience didn’t get to witness?
I consoled Ellen for quite some time because she was a little upset. All the rides [at the Santa Monica Pier] were amazing. I had to have my cotton candy, and I beat Gerry at games 100 times and kept winning the stuffed animals and sharing them. When we sat down alone — let me just say we were good friends. He confided in me. I was always there for him at every rose ceremony when he would cry, and I’d go “It’s OK.” He’d come back to me later to thank me. Well, that night, he was freaking out. “What do you think about me actually proposing to somebody and marrying them?”
How did you respond?
I told him, “Take it easy. What I believe is you’re going to propose to start a relationship with someone and then you see where it goes. There’s nobody holding a gun to your head, right? Just relax and you might fall head over heels in love and end up getting married. And if you do, I’m officiating the wedding, of course.”
We saw you cooking for the women in the house and talking to Gerry about food. What was your most popular recipe at Bachelor Mansion?
Everybody liked the chicken picante, and they liked the chicken cutlets. They loved the meatballs too. All the producers ate them too.
Do you have any guesses on who will end up with Gerry in the end?
I have feelings. I’m looking forward to watching it the same as you. I feel like Gerry is geared toward not-so-large personality people. People that were a little more subdued or quiet. So I would tend to think Leslie or Theresa — not that they’re super quiet, but they’re just not as obnoxious as me. Faith, I know he cared about Faith. I think he was a little concerned about the age difference with Faith. But Thursday night, we’ll see what happens there.
There’s been a growing campaign for you to be the first Golden Bachelorette. Is that something you’d consider doing?
Yes, absolutely. If I were spending time with 20-plus men, I’m sure there would be one or a few that I would get involved with. The whole show for me, I was truly authentically myself. I like people. I’ve never met a stranger, I don’t care who you are. But I like to make people happy. I’ve been in that kind of business my whole life doing hair and makeup, and I think I’m funny sometimes. I’ll embarrass myself to get a laugh out of somebody. And I have a big heart and I really do care about people.