Heavy/ABC Ellen Goltzer almost dropped out of "Golden Bachelor" before it started.
During the debut season of “The Golden Bachelor,” Ellen Goltzer was one of 22 women who hoped to find lasting love with Gerry Turner. She fell for Turner during her journey, and viewers fell in love with her. It turns out, fans almost didn’t get to see her on-screen at all.
Here’s what you need to know:
Ellen Goltzer Had a Medical Issue Arise Before Filming
Goltzer opened up about her experience with “The Golden Bachelor” in the December 22 episode of “The Ben and Ashley Almost Famous Podcast.” She talked quite a bit about her friend, Roberta Zaktzer, who was the person who nudged her to apply for the show.
“The Golden Bachelor” star also revealed, for the first time, that she faced a medical issue just before filming. In fact, she almost dropped out before her journey began. Luckily, things fell into place and she thinks it all happened just as it was meant to happen.
During her chat with podcast host Ashley Iaconetti, Goltzer explained how close she came to dropping out of the cast.
“I had developed a[n] abscess on my cheek, and it was like three weeks before I was supposed to go” to start filming, she revealed. Goltzer recalled saying, “Oh my God, I can’t go,” explaining the abscess was essentially the size of a golf ball.
As she faced this uncertainty, Goltzer admitted at the time that she did not know what she should do. She was in Florida when the issue arose, but doctors were unable to help her resolve the issue. She decided to head home to New York where she could work with her dermatologist.
When her New York dermatologist learned about “The Golden Bachelor,” she told Goltzer she was determined to make it work. She insisted she would get Goltzer on the plan “if it kills me,” adding there was no way a patient of hers would miss being on the show.
Goltzer Returned Home in Time to Say Goodbye to Roberta
As Goltzer was scrambling to manage her abscess before filming “The Golden Bachelor,” her friend Roberta kept encouraging her. “Roberta kept saying to me, the whole time, that’s where I get this from, ‘never say never.'”
Roberta told her best friend, “So, you’ll meet somebody, he may not be your guy, but whatever, never say never. You’re getting on this plane, you’re gonna get to go, you’re not going to look like a monster, you’ll be fine.”
Even with Roberta’s encouragement, Goltzer wasn’t convinced it would fall into place. “It was really scary… My boys said, ‘Ma, you can’t go with it like that, no, you can’t.'”
Luckily, the abscess was resolved to the point that Goltzer could cover it with makeup, and it’s significantly better now.
“The Golden Bachelor” star believes, “There was a higher power that was way above Roberta or me that really made it really special. I just felt her presence the entire time I was on the show.”
When Goltzer was eliminated and returned home, her friend’s health had significantly declined. Roberta was unable to communicate, but she was able to squeeze her friend’s hand. Goltzer noted, “The next day, I didn’t feel anything.”
“The Golden Bachelor” star’s friend was “still with me,” even though she couldn’t respond. Then, Goltzer told her it was okay to go.
Ultimately, Goltzer doesn’t believe she and Turner were meant to be, although she had nothing but good things to say about him. In the long run, she’s glad she didn’t last longer during filming. If she had, “I wouldn’t have been there for [Roberta] for the last few days.”
Goltzer shared, “Everything happens for a reason. 60 years is a long time. I lost my go-to person. It was a true, honest-to-goodness sister friendship.”