Nancy Left The Golden Bachelor After Gerry Confirmed Her Fears

Nancy Hulkower caught some tough breaks in The Golden Bachelor’s fourth episode. It all began when the pickleball tournament group date ended in a loss and a stress fracture in her leg. “It hurts. ... I’m just hanging in,” she told the other remaining women during a pre-rose ceremony cocktail party.

The retired interior designer’s bad luck didn’t end there. As Nancy listened to her fellow cast members gush about their deep connections with Gerry Turner, she saw the writing on the wall. Wearing a walking boot on her injured leg, she hobbled into a final one-on-one conversation with ABC’s first Golden Bachelor.

“You’re a lot more passionate with other people,” Nancy told him. “I think you’ve, in a way, narrowed it down. But maybe I’m not in that group.” Gerry was straightforward and replied, “Um, I’m really not going to dispute that.”

With that confirmation, Nancy didn’t wait around for the rose ceremony. After explaining that she understood his decision and wished him the best, Nancy left The Golden Bachelor.

Gerry’s Getting Serious

After inaugural Bachelorette Trista Sutter advised Gerry earlier in the episode to find the woman he “can’t live without,” he explained that he felt “a whole new level of responsibility.” It also wasn’t lost on him that there’s just one more rose ceremony left before he meets the finalists’ families during Hometown Dates.

Later, before handing out his remaining roses, Gerry told the women that “saying goodbye to Nancy this afternoon was very difficult.” However, he couldn’t deny that some of his relationships were already much stronger than others, and he had to stay true to his heart.

“Going forward, I need to make the right decision to make good decisions,” he said.

Now, Nancy’s Watching From Home

Since the season premiered, Nancy has been offering some behind-the-scenes insight into her Golden Bachelor journey on Instagram — while watching from the comfort of her home in Alexandria, Virginia, with her goldendoodle, Max.

After the emotional episode in which a wedding-themed group date triggered feelings of grief for Nancy, she thanked everyone — including Gerry and her fellow cast members — who reached out “with kind words” of support. “Grief is odd and unexpected, it comes up when we least expect it, and often lives side-by-side with joy,” the mother of three captioned an Oct. 6 post.

In addition to celebrating her “ASKN crew” — April Kirkwood, Susan Noles, and Kathy Swarts — Nancy, a self-described “hopeless romantic,” still seems to be looking back fondly on her journey, despite the ending.

Hours before her elimination aired, she shared a behind-the-scenes photo with Gerry and the other women from the ill-fated pickleball game, teasing, “This [week’s] episode is a smash hit.”