I’m Desperate for More Details About Sandra Choosing Pickleball Over Her Daughter’s Wedding

One can assume that anyone putting their entire life on hold for weeks on end to bunk up with 20 strangers in Agoura Hills, California is going to make a couple of sacrifices. Your privacy? Certainly. Your dignity? Probably. And as we learned last night: The chance to see your daughter walk down the aisle? Seems like it!

In the fourth episode of the inaugural season of Golden Bachelor, my favorite contestant Sandra, who is fond of cursing and is a self-described “NFL-aholic,” revealed she’s missing her daughter’s wedding for her own shot at love. Well, the actual way that information was disclosed was that host Jesse Palmer lauded Sandra’s dedication to the pickleball tournament by saying, “I want to point out that Sandra is playing with two artificial knees and she’s also missing her daughter’s wedding.”

Before that, the group pickleball date had been high energy and filled with your typical Bachelor-style drama. April pretended to sprain her ankle so that Gerry would comfort her. And the women were divided into teams of twos, with self-chosen names like “The Purple Picklettes,” “The Pinky Dinkies,” “The Picklelicious Paddles,” and Sandra’s (and Nancy’s) team “Bitchin’ Kitchen,” because remember, she loves to curse!

The Pinky Dinkies ended up taking the glory, but I barely paid attention as I kept begging aloud to no one that I needed more details on Sandra’s daughter’s wedding happening the very same day as this pickleball group date. Gerry Turner, too, gave a look of utter perplexity and, I imagine, would have joined the rallying cries for clarity if he weren’t on camera and in the middle of watching eight women play pickleball for his love and devotion (and a chance to grace the cover of INPickleball Magazine).

After the game, he takes Sandra aside and asks about her decision to skip out on her daughter’s nuptials. She explained that “this is something my daughter and I discussed early on” and that “she said, ‘Mom, I’ve got my guy. I want you to go get yours.’” That seems sweet and considerate, though admittedly, I was still wary. Pickleball doesn’t even offer the “love” puns that tennis does.

Gerry then offered to FaceTime Sandra’s daughter on her wedding day (something I hope she would have done regardless?!) and after a cringeworthy back and forth about how to do a video call—which I imagine was for comedic effect—they got Sandra’s daughter on the line. In a very brief exchange, Sandra wished her daughter well and introduced her to Gerry. Meeting mom’s boyfriend on your wedding morning probably isn’t ideal, but neither is having her miss it for a pickleball tournament that she didn’t even win. Do not expect to see Sandra on the cover of INPickleball Magazine. (I checked this morning and sure enough, Ellen and Kathy are the cover stars.)

But some good did come out of it because Gerry gave Sandra a rose for making such a big sacrifice…and I have to take her word for it that things are good between her and her daughter.

I do suspect Sandra was stressed out about the whole situation, though. A bit later on in the episode, while Gerry and Leslie sat in a hot tub heated by a portable generator in the middle of the California foothills, the remainder of the gals played a round of Never Have I Ever, choosing to eat spoonfuls of ice cream from personal pints should they have “ever’d” any of the scenarios. Between learning about some contestants’ experiences with infidelity and bisexuality, we learned that Sandra and her ex-husband had sex every imaginable way in a car, including on the steering wheel. (Wonder if that led to needing artificial knees?) Anyways, Sandra then mentions—after she downed half a pint of ice cream—that she’s lactose intolerant, and spends the rest of the evening in bed, missing both the cocktails and the rose ceremony.

Sandra, why are you self-sabotaging like this!? Is it because you’re feeling overwhelmed? Or maybe somewhat regretful that instead of celebrating your daughter’s wedding you’re 3,000 miles from her, and hearing about how prude Kathy is or how April’s bi-curiousity journey is going? It’s OK! You’re on the cover of INPickleball Magazine in my heart.

And look, one of the winners of the tournament, Kathy, went home regardless of leaving it all on the court, as did April and her puzzling choice of braided hair crown. There might be rules in pickleball but in love? All is fair! Even missing your daughter’s wedding.