Next week is the premiere of The Golden Bachelorette.

It's the latest twist to ABC's long-running reality TV dating show.

Wouldn't it be great if this time we get a more realistic version of older adult dating?

Inside the lives of older singles, that's this episode of Dating While Gray, the grown-ups guide to love, sex, and

relationships on Laura Stasi. Remember Joan, the tall, blonde, golden bachelor contestant?

She's the one who wins the talent show by

reciting an original poem. Joan's prize is a one-on-one dinner date with Golden Bachelor Gary.

It sure seems like sparks are flying, but then suddenly, Joan takes herself out of the running

and returns home to deal with a family emergency. It goes without saying tears are shed.

Well, 61-year-old Joan is back, and this time she's doing the picking as the star of the golden

bachelorette. She'll be looking for love among a pool of 24 eligible men, ranging an age from

their late 50s to late 60s.

I don't want to get my hopes up, but I really do hope that this time the reality show is more,

you know, real. I mean, it's great that the spotlight is finally shining on our overlooked

demographic. But is that spotlight flattering? It sure didn't seem that way to me.

As the creator and host of this podcast, I felt I had to speak out.

So I put together a one-hour radio broadcast special with American Public Media.

It was called Beyond Reality TV, inside the lives of older singles.

And it aired on public radio stations across the United States.

Here's a clip from that show.

If you watch the reality TV dating show The Golden Bachelor, you know how it ends.

Only weeks after 72-year-old Gary meets 70-year-old Teresa, he gets down on one knee and asks for her hand in marriage.

...