Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner will not apologize for his wedding playlist

The 72-year-old reality star took some heat for the playlist — featuring Doja Cat, Dua Lipa, and Pink — which he posted on Instagram.

They fell in love with cameras rolling in the first-ever season of The Golden Bachelor. This week, Gerry Turner, 72, and Theresa Nist, 70, will close the TV-romance circle by getting married live on ABC.

Ahead of Thursday's Golden Wedding special, EW asked the senior sweethearts to share some details about their upcoming TV nuptials, from Theresa's dress to the (very large) bridal party to Gerry's controversial wedding playlist — and the one song that absolutely will not be played at the reception.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What percentage of wedding planning would you say is done right now?

THERESA NIST: [To Gerry] You can't answer that.

GERRY TURNER: No, I have no clue.

THERESA: I would say 85 percent. Decisions had to be made so quickly and thank God for my daughter because she's helped me make every single one of them.

Theresa, what can you tell us about your dress?

THERESA: I will tell you that Gerry's two daughters, my daughter, my daughter-in-law, and two women from the show that I won't discuss, came [dress shopping with me]. There were just gorgeous, gorgeous dresses to choose from. I had them all pick out one of the dresses that they liked the best, and then I picked out three. I went upstairs and came down a flight of stairs [wearing each dress]. When I finally got to the dress, everybody said in unison, “Oh, that's the one!” I hope it looks as good on the wedding day as it did that day.

Gerry, what can you preview about your look for the wedding?

GERRY: I think it'll be traditional. I kind of want to match Theresa’s look. It’s probably going to be the outfit that I would've loved to have worn 55 years ago, the first time I got married, that I absolutely could not have afforded. I’m looking forward to that.

Who can we expect to see on the guest list?

THERESA: We want all of the women from The Golden Bachelor to be there. We don't know who's going to be able to make it. And there will be people there from Bachelor Nation and then our close family and friends.

GERRY: We want it to have the feel of a celebration, a big happy family that gets extended to our very best friends. That's what we're aiming for.

How many people are we talking?

THERESA: I think about 125.

GERRY: You mean counting viewing audience? Millions! [Laughs] We're hoping for 8 or 9 million. But the people that'll actually be consuming the cake, maybe a lot less than that: 100, 150.

Speaking of the cake, Gerry, the last time we talked, you said you were looking forward to having a really good cake. How many cake tastings have you done, and where are you in the cake choosing process?

GERRY: For my little part of the planning, I was really thrilled to sample cakes, find the flavors that I felt like went together. Theresa sampled some too, and she found something that she really liked. So, we'll actually have two flavors of cake. Teresa's found one that she loves, and I found one that I loved.

THERESA: I got the little [cake], he got the big one. But he was in his element. He absolutely reveled in it.

GERRY: I mean, my eyes rolled back a little bit. [Laughs]

Theresa, when we spoke last, you said that you were hoping some of the things that happened on the show might "come to life" during your wedding. Can you preview any special callbacks to your journey that we’ll see at the ceremony?

THERESA: Well, it was a journey, that was an important thing. Maybe there will be a callback to the diner — maybe, maybe.

GERRY: That's one of those things that still is in discussion. You have to watch and see, because that also has the element of surprise, and we don't want to give it away.

Gerry, a wedding playlist that you posted online got a little bit of heat — people were surprised that it was mostly current pop music with no classic hits. What do you have to say in your defense?

GERRY: I'm not sure I need to defend anything. That’s just my personal preferences for music. I was asked for a playlist to provide for the wedding, not the actual pieces that will be used in the wedding. Those things are very important, and Theresa's appreciation of music is huge. It's very important to her. She'll be making those choices. My [list] is for when we go off and get crazy and have the adult beverages.

THERESA: I came up with my list. They said, "Come up with 20," and I came up with 120. Music is really important to me. I mean, sets a mood, makes everybody happy or melancholy or sad or thoughtful. I spent a lot of time on the list. You know what? They probably won't use any of our songs.

Did you have any songs that you absolutely insisted had to be on the list?

THERESA: Well, for me, I have to have Van Morrison. [To Gerry] For you, maybe Pink?

GERRY: Yeah, but that's not a dealbreaker. I’m going to show up and marry the love of my life, and I haven't found a dealbreaker yet that would stop me from doing that.

Do you have any "Do not play" songs that you want banned from the playlist?

GERRY: How about that "I like big butts and I cannot lie" song? That’s a big, fat no.

THERESA: Yeah, that would be a bad one.

What can you tell us about the bridal party?

THERESA: Every single member of our family is involved in the bridal party. There's not anybody that's left out. It’s going to be a big bridal party. I have six grandsons. We have several men in our lives. We have women in our lives. Everybody will be involved.

One of the things that was so sweet to watch on the show was when you would talk about your late spouses, Toni and Billy, and share fun memories of your lives with them.  Are you thinking about incorporating their memory into your wedding ceremony?

GERRY: We will certainly celebrate the memory of Billy and Toni in the wedding. We haven't decided the way that we feel is the most appropriate and the timing that is the most appropriate. But yeah, that’s part of us and part of what has made us who we are, so it'll be there.

Okay, prediction time. Which one of you will cry first?

GERRY: Oh, geez.

THERESA: [Laughs] I was going to say me but wait a minute, what am I thinking?

GERRY: Yeah, I will probably beat you to it. The minute you show up in that white dress and I turn around and see you, I will be a puddle.

THERESA: It's going to be way before that that I start crying — but thank you.

GERRY: That's a tough question. Ask us that afterwards. The winner of this race expects some payoff from you, just so you know.

Fair enough. Finally, let's talk about food at the wedding. Will you be serving meatballs and guacamole?

THERESA: [Laughs] Not unless somebody shows up with them.

GERRY: Yeah, that should have been some of the hors d’oeuvres!

The Golden Wedding airs Thursday, January 4 at 8 p.m. on ABC.

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