Faith Martin Admits She Has ‘Lingering Feelings’ for Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner (Exclusive)

Faith Martin had a hunch her relationship with golden bachelor Gerry Turner might be over after a date in her hometown.

“The last scene where I’m standing there waiting and the car drives away, I remember feeling like, Oh my God. What if this is the last time I see him?” Faith, 60, tells PEOPLE. “I certainly had the very real possibility in my brain that it might not work. I remember feeling it right then. I cried when he drove away.”

The Golden Bachelor: After Gerry eliminated the favourite, he said his love for her was ‘sincere’

In Thursday’s episode The Golden Bachelor, Gerry, 72, decided to move forward with Leslie Fhim and Theresa Nist, sending Faith home. As she expressed on the show, Faith thinks that her and Gerry’s different lifestyles — not to mention the fact that they live in different states — played a role in the breakup.

“He never mentioned it, but I had a feeling it might be,” Faith says. “I remember that night thinking, ‘Oh, should I have done that?’ But I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t say that. He had to know that because I’m just not the type of person to see my kids a few times a year.”

Faith Martin and Gerry Turner on ‘The Golden Bachelor’.

Craig Sjodin/ABC

The high school teacher also says she likes being “outside more than inside.”

“The other part of it is that I love camping and hiking and backpacking and being on my horses,” she continues. “I’ve never played pickleball before. I mean, there’s a million reasons why he could have gone, ‘Ah. This doesn’t really add up, even though we had a strong relationship. As hard as it is for me to take, I feel it was the best decision that he kicked me out when he did.”

Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner was ‘impressed’ by Kris and Kendall Jenner in Impromptu Hang Crashed by Bad Bunny

Faith received Gerry’s First Impression Rose, but “I never felt like I had any advantage,” she tells PEOPLE.

“From day one, I saw something in Gerry that I wanted to explore,” she recalls. “It was a very interesting relationship for me, different from what I experienced before. It was less full of sexual chemistry and more of a sincere, soulful and spiritual connection. There was something really special about him that I wanted to explore. It was a momentary thing.”

However, Faith said she was “trapped, horrified and sinking” after her one-on-one meeting with Gerry.

“It wasn’t because we were on a yacht and it was a fantasy,” she says. “We just really had the most time to share things and spend time together. It was so wonderful to be with him. It was a great feeling.”

Faith Martin and Gerry Turner in ‘The Bachelor’.

John Fleenor/ABC

Final 3 The Golden Bachelor All the contestants tell Gerry they love him before the rose ceremony

Faith was looking forward to her family meeting Gerry during hometowns.

“I knew they were really hoping that I would be able to find love,” says the reality star. “It’s something they’ve always wanted from me since their father died, and since the dating scene wasn’t really what I was looking for in my life. I think they also fell a little bit in love with him. Everyone who meets Gerry falls a little bit in love with him.”

Including myself.

“There are lingering feelings,” Faith admits now. “I really love the guy. It felt so good just to be in his arms. I’d love to have him in my life somehow, but I also think that’s a big ask. I could seriously be friends with whoever he ends up with and feel like I could love him properly in a non-romantic way.”

However, Faith accepts that her breakup with Gerry “was the best decision” for both of them and is looking forward to celebrating “with him when he finds love”.

“I believe in Gerry’s wisdom, to look for specifics in his life that will suit him,” says Faith. “I can respect that. But he really touched a special place in my heart and showed me what I didn’t have. I know one quality that I really, really look for — that’s the kind of quality that Gerry had.”

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The Golden Bachelor airs Thursdays at 8:00 PM ET on ABC.

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Source: HIS Education