ABC
‘Golden Bachelor’ Star Gerry Turner’s Contestants Feel ‘Lied To’ Amid His Ex-Girlfriend’s Claims
The Golden Bachelor contestants feel that Gerry Turner hasn’t been honest with them after his ex-girlfriend opened up about their nearly three-year romance following his wife Toni’s death, a Bachelor insider exclusively tells Life & Style.
“The perfect guy fantasy has been shattered and a lot of the women who fell in love with him feel lied to,” the source exclusively tells Life & Style. “It’s put a dark cloud over the whole show that was finally getting raves for finding a genuine, caring guy who stole America’s heart.”
One day before viewers will watch Gerry, 72, hand out his final rose to either Theresa Nist or Leslie Fhima during the season finale on Thursday, November 30, the leading man’s ex spoke about their relationship during a bombshell interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
Gerry and the woman, who used the name Carolyn in the interview to maintain her privacy, met while they were both working at Vera French Mental Health Center in Davenport, Iowa. Just one month after Toni suddenly died from a bacterial infection in 2017, the former coworkers reconnected and went on to date for several years.
Shortly after their first date, Gerry began sending Carolyn text messages that implied he saw a future with her. “You are the right woman for me. No need to look further,” he wrote at the time.
The relationship moved fast, and Carolyn moved into the home Gerry and Toni bought in Hudson, Indiana, after 10 months of dating. While Carolyn revealed she learned about some of Gerry’s controlling tendencies while living together, she said their relationship hit a breaking point when he uninvited her to his high school reunion after she gained 10 lbs.
Once they officially called it quits after living together for one year and nine months, Gerry allegedly told Carolyn she had to be out of the house by January 1, 2020.
Carolyn fell down the stairs while packing up the house, and suffered injuries that required foot surgery. Gerry allegedly accused her of intentionally falling so that she had an excuse to stay at his house longer, while he also speculated that she planned to sue him for causing the injury.
Despite the fall, Carolyn eventually moved out. As they said goodbye, she recalled Gerry saying, “I really wish this would’ve worked out.”
Viewers and the contestants were shocked to learn about Gerry and Carolyn’s romance, as the father of two has implied on the show that he hasn’t dated since Toni’s death.
Gerry previously told Entertainment Tonight that he “hasn’t dated in 45 years,” while he often discussed how hard Toni’s death was for him on the show.
“We had a real typical but full life. Full of love, full of love, full of activity,” Gerry told viewers during the premiere episode on September 28. “We went to the emergency room, and she had a bacterial infection that infected her kidneys and infested her liver. And so, I took my wife to the emergency room on July 7, and she passed away on July 15. Now every time I look at [the lake outside my house] I go, ‘This is her dream. This is what she deserves. Why am I standing here alone?’”
