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‘Golden Bachelor’ Gerry Turner ‘Over Denial Phase’ and ‘Wanting to Help Others’ by Sharing Diagnosis
Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner is being incredibly brave as he is speaking out about his shock cancer diagnosis, and everyone from friends and family to his soon-to-be ex-wife, Theresa Nist, is rallying around him and praying for a miracle.
“Obviously, it’s a terrible thing that stopped him in his tracks,” a source exclusively tells Life & Style. “He was considered in excellent health and he was so active in sports like pickleball and golf, but he’s over the denial phase and wanting to help others with this disease by sharing his experience.”
The reality star, 73, gave the grave news just a few weeks after he and Theresa, 71, announced their split after just three months of marriage in April 2024. The very first cycle of the new ABC show had their bachelor propose during the last episode of the season and tie the knot with lucky contestant Theresa in January 2024. When they announced their divorce, many fans became irate thinking it was all for show, but Gerry ultimately dropped the real, much heavier reason they called it quits.
‘I think it’s time,” Gerry told People in a story published on Wednesday, December 11, “also because it probably will clear up a lot of mystery around what happened back in February, March and April.”
“As Theresa and I were trying very hard to find our lifestyle and where we were going to live and how we were going to make our life work, I was unfortunately diagnosed with cancer,” the septuagenarian said.
Widely publicized comments from the couple about the difficulty of Gerry living in Indiana and Theresa living in New Jersey had long been thought to be the reason for the divorce – which was derided by fans as most likely an excuse to get out of a set up by the producers.
However, with the cancer being terminal, the Bachelor was facing tough choices and ultimately made the one he thought would be best for everyone – calling the marriage off early and dealing with the illness with his family and with Theresa as a friend.
“Unfortunately, there’s no cure for it,” he said. “So that weighs heavily in every decision I make. It was like 10 tons of concrete were just dropped on me. And I was a bit in denial for a while, I didn’t want to admit to it.”
The first Golden Bachelor was diagnosed with a slow-growing bone marrow cancer, Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia, for which there is no cure. However, while the diagnosis did factor into the decision to divorce Theresa, who he said was, “visibly awestruck,” at the news, that doesn’t mean Gerry’s ready to pack it all in just yet.
“The good news is he’s not going soon,” the source continues, “he’s got a 60 percent chance of 10 years or more.”
“His kids and relatives in Indiana are being super supportive, anything he needs they’re there. Theresa’s heart goes out to him, too, and she’s letting him know that he’s in her thoughts and prayers. Everyone is pulling for him.”
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