The Golden Bachelor fans just lost a little faith.
Gerry Turner made the heartbreaking decision to send frontrunner Faith Martin in the Nov. 8 episode, choosing Theresa Nist and Leslie Fhima as his final two contestants. Faith's exit was shocking for multiple reasons, including that she received the First Impression Rose and Gerry told her he was in love with her in front of her entire family during their hometown date. In a word: Ouch.
The heartbreaking ousting aired prior to the Women Tell All, which marked the first time Faith saw the 72-year-old retired restauranteur since he chose to send her home. And their reunion was an emotional experience for Faith, with the pair sharing a long hug when they first saw each other.
Asked what was going through her mind at that moment, Faith told E! News in an exclusive interview, "How much I missed him. It was lots of anticipatory feelings going into it not knowing how I would feel and not knowing if it would be awkward or uncomfortable. Then just seeing him just melts my heart."
Reflecting on the moment caused the 60-year-old high school teacher to tear up as she continued, "Being able to hug him and just feel that warmth again was so nice and just beautiful. That felt great."
During her time on the show, Faith opened up about the hardships she's faced in her life and not feeling secure in any of her previous relationships.
"I've always dated guys that are a little ego-driven and a little more insecure, so they're very possessive," Faith shared with E! News of her past romantic partners. "They're not real confident in themselves. It's a lot of work to keep them feeling good about themselves."
But, with Gerry, who had "this wisdom and this peace and confidence," it felt different for Faith.
"Gerry is a very accomplished, put together soul," she explained. "And he's very articulate and sensitive and warm. And he's got his walls down. I think that's apparent. He's so open emotionally and ready to be present. That's appealing."
While it didn't work out between Gerry and Faith, she is "hopeful" that the experience has set her up to find the person she's meant to be with.
"I would hope my walls are down, I would hope that I can stay present in life in general," she said of how she'd approach a new romance, "and look at life and love a little differently than I have in the past."
But Faith admitted she isn't totally over her breakup with Gerry just yet.
"I'm going to still need a minute before I go out there and do that," she explained. I'm just not sure how I would navigate dating. I haven't had a lot of luck in the past. But I feel like I'm hopeful about the future for sure, more so than I ever have been about what I would look for. It's different than what maybe I used to look for."
And she would be willing to search for it as ABC's first Golden Bachelorette, should the network decide to do another season of the spinoff. (Yes, please!)
"I would love to find out more about it," Faith said. "I mean, to have 25 men to choose from? I would have to say yes, I think."
As we wait to see who Gerry gives his golden final rose to, check out the status of all the previous Bachelor and Bachelorette couples:
The Golden Bachelor finale airs Thursday, Nov. 30 at 8 p.m. on ABC.