By Steve Moran

I think the first person I ever heard talking about making senior living sexy is Lori Alford, the co-founder and COO of Avanti Senior Living. It is a great idea; big challenge is how do we get there?

Way back before COVID, in 2020, the idea was first floated. Then in February 2023, Mike Fleiss, the producer of the original Bachelor and Bachelorette series, announced that it was getting closer.

On July 17, 2023, ABC unveiled the first bachelor, a 71-year-old widower and grandfather by the name of Gerry Turner, who is from Indiana.

Old Is Good

There is this societal notion that old is bad. The hard truth is that as we age, our bodies no longer naturally function as they once did. We don’t see tennis, basketball, football, soccer, or gymnastics stars in their 40s and 50s, because speed and agility naturally decrease.

As someone who is shockingly close to age 70, I have discovered there are a lot of things I like about being older. I am smarter and wiser and have much better judgment. This means more stability and less drama. Ultimately I am happier than I ever have been.

I Am Hopeful

I am hopeful that this show will help make growing older sexy, and that in doing so, it will make senior living look sexy. This is the question that rattles around my head: Could we create a senior living environment that would be attractive to the Golden Bachelor and his matches?

His bio says that he loves hosting barbecues, playing pickleball, cheering on his favorite Chicago sports teams, four-wheeling, and spending time with friends and family. That all seems like something that could be and is possible in senior living.

The Opportunity Is Massive

When we create programming and lifestyle that is so compelling that people’s experiences in senior living is better than home, and when we are able to tell the stories about how this is true, every single senior living community that does these two things will be full.