The ASKN ladies from 'The Golden Bachelor' talk love, loss and going topless in St. Maarten

[This story contains spoilers from Episode 7 of ABC's "The Golden Bachelor."]

With his abundant hair and smooth-talking demeanor, Gerry Turner, the 72-year-old widower searching for love on "The Golden Bachelor," is the undisputed breakout star of the fall TV season.

But many of the viewers who've flocked to the show — boosting ratings for the long-running reality franchise — have been equally charmed by the vivacious women vying for his heart. They've dispensed with the usual reality TV catfights and formed palpable connections in between the pickleball matches and group dates.

Producers have wisely played up this aspect of this series, cutting to the women singing "Hava Nagila" while dancing the hora in the pool or debating the source of their virulent farts — was it Edith's guacamole or Susan's meatballs? — while doing each other's hair.

Four of the women bonded so intensely they even gave their friend circle a catchy acroynym: ASKN, as in "you're askin', we're tellin." The group consists of April Kirkwood, 65, a therapist from Port St. Lucie, Florida, who pretended to hurt her ankle during a pickleball tournament in order to get more attention from Turner; Susan Noles, 66, a wedding officiant from Aston, Pennsylvania, who revealed she once made out with a woman during a round of "Never Have I Ever"; Kathy Swarts, 70, a retired educational consultant from Austin, Texas, who famously told co-star (and finalist) Theresa Nist to "zip