It did not go well for Minnesota's Leslie Fhima Thursday night. Fhima and another woman were the two finalists vying for love on the hit ABC show "The Golden Bachelor".
But when the live series finale was all over, the 64-year old fitness instructor from of Minneapolis was left behind. Bachelor Gerry Turner instead chosing 70-year old Theresa Nist, who he announced he'll marry next month.
WCCO's Susie Jones got reaction at a watch party Thursday where several people gathered hoping Fhima would indeed find her later-in-life love.
Dee Long says she wished Fhima would have done a better job of protecting herself emotionally.
"If you're going to go into this kind of a situation, you have to protect your heart," says Long. "Like, to make yourself that vulnerable knowing you're essentially competing with another person, I'm responsible for my emotional well-being."
Wendy Williams-Blackshaw says she enjoyed the series overall.
"I think it gives a platform to older women who sometimes feel invisible, and watching that and seeing these women and the relationships they form, that's why I love the show," says Williams-Blackshaw.
In her loss and heartbreak, though, Fhima may star in an upcoming version of the "Golden Bachelorette", which is expected from ABC soon.