‘The Golden Bachelor’: April Speaks Out After Faking a Pickleball Injury (Exclusive)

April Kirkwood was prepared to do anything for love. ET’s Denny Directo spoke to the 65-year-old therapist after her elimination from Gerry Turner‘s season of The Golden Bachelor, and she talked about faking an injury during the pickleball group date.

“A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do,” April quipped. “… I mean, if you put me in drastic times, I’m gonna bring it.”

Bring it she did, collapsing to the ground on the pickleball court and earning some extra time with Gerry. According to April, the other women were none the wiser. Her plan may have backfired, though, as she did end up hurting her ankle for real after leaving the show.

“The truth is I did hurt my ankle when I got home, so now I go to the chiropractor and he yanks it back in,” she said.

In the end, going after a man who was openly dating other women was too hard for April to wrap her head around.

“I know men have dated behind my back. I know men have cheated. I’m not naive. But they didn’t do it in front of me,” she said. “This was weird and when I heard all of these stories going on, I did pull back. I regret that with Gerry. I did pull back because I thought, ‘I don’t want to chase someone who doesn’t want me.’ It wasn’t comfortable for me. It wasn’t a behavior I was used to.”

Given that, April places herself firmly on Team Kathy amid the retired educational consultant’s spat with Theresa, who wasn’t shy about sharing personal details about her time with Gerry.

“I know Kathy’s background, and I’m good friends and she’s part of my group, and I roomed with her, so I saw her at some very vulnerable moments,” April said, “so I have to say I’m leaning towards Kathy.”

Even so, April predicted that Theresa may be Gerry’s final choice, though she also listed Leslie and Ellen as contenders.

Though she didn’t find love on The Golden Bachelor, April is grateful for her experience on the show, which she joined after several friends encouraged her to take the leap.

“The truth is, I had lost Ralph, the love of my life. He was the man I hated to love and loved to hate and he passed away. I didn’t know what to do,” April told ET. “My friends from all walks of life, people that I thought didn’t even like me, they were sending me applications. I never watched The Bachelor, didn’t know anything about it. After about the ninth application, I filled one in and destiny took over and here I am. Now I am a Bachelor Nation groupie. I love it! I’m all about it.”

The experience, April said, managed to heal her in several different ways.

“I have gotten such healing from this experience. When you go into things and a door opens, I have that philosophy at my age that I’m gonna go through everything, no more fear,” she said. “I didn’t know what to expect… I got such a healing. I went back to being, like, 19.”

“It’s like going through a really intensive therapy session,” April added, before noting of herself and the other women, “Most of us had forgotten who we were. I was the dancer. I was the cheerleader. I was the model. I was the funny girl. We got to go back and remember, ‘Oh that’s April. I’m not just a caretaker.’ I’m revitalized. I feel like I’ve been reborn.”

Now, April said she’s “ready” for whatever the world brings, telling ET, “I can go out and do anything.”

That would include starring as the first Golden Bachelorette, if such a show were to move forward.

“I am exercising. I am getting my body ready. I am getting the kitchen area ready, OK?” she said. “… I’m gonna flirt with these guys so much! I want to have them at each other’s throat. I’m gonna go, ‘Show me what you’re about, boys.'”

The Golden Bachelor airs Thursdays on ABC. Follow along Gerry Turner‘s journey for love with ET’s coverage of the show.

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