When April Kirkwood stepped out of the limo clucking and carrying a basket of eggs, a nod to her upbringing on a chicken farm in Ohio, a Golden Bachelor fan favorite was born. Or… hatched? Kirkwood, a 66-year-old therapist who resides in Port St. Lucie, Florida, proudly self-identifies as “a character.”
She was eliminated from the more grown-up entry in the Bachelor franchise in week four, and though she didn’t win star Gerry Turner’s final rose (that went to New Jersey financial services professional Theresa Nist), the quirky, confident single nevertheless made a big impression on Bachelor Nation.
Few have played the game with such creative flair: cunningly staging an injury as a plea for attention during a pickleball game, redecorating the mansion’s sleeping quarters under cover of darkness, and modeling for her very own calendar of themed self-portraits, in which every month is “April.”
Eagle-eyed fans may have even spotted her giving relationship advice to the next Bachelor, Joey Graziadei, in a promo for the new season, alongside fellow Golden contestants and newly minted BFFs Susan, Kathy, and Nancy. Following her reality-TV debut, April is embracing being single (she lost her partner of two decades, Ralph, in 2021) and “standing in her own power.” For now, at least. “If love knocks me over, that’s that,” she said. “I’m going for it.”
