Courtesy of Gerry Turner/Instagram
Gerry Turner’s Divorce From Theresa Nist: What Women Have Said About the Golden Bachelor’s Past
Fans were shocked when The Golden Bachelor couple Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist announced they were getting divorced just three months after tying the knot on a televised special.
“Theresa and I have had a number of heart-to-heart conversations, and we’ve looked closely at our situation — our living situation,” Gerry said during an April 12 appearance on Good Morning America. “And we’ve come to the conclusion mutually that it’s probably time for us to dissolve our marriage.”
Back in March, the duo revealed on the “Dear Shandy” podcast that they were having trouble figuring out where to settle down (Turner, 72, lives near his family in Indiana, Nist, 70, lives near hers in New Jersey). But there’s more to the story than simple geography.
Now Nist and women from Turner’s past are offering some insight into the truth about the retired widower, and what really went wrong. “Theresa thought she’d found her happily ever after,” a source exclusively tells Life & Style. “She believed she was beginning a new chapter. If she had any misgivings, she pushed them aside.”
In fact, trouble between the couple began weeks before they said “I do” in front of family, friends and 5.2 million viewers on January 4. On November 29, the day before The Golden Bachelor‘s November 30 finale, The Hollywood Reporter had published a shocking expose that revealed Turner had stretched the truth about his career.
He’d claimed to be a retired restaurateur; in reality, he sold a hamburger franchise in 1985 but had failed to mention later, less glamorous gigs installing hot tubs and working in maintenance. His dating history was also called into question.
The grieving Turner won hearts with his admission that prior to the show, he “hadn’t dated in 45 years” since wooing his late wife, Toni. Yet an anonymous woman told the publication she began dating Turner just a month after Toni died. Not only that, they lived together for nearly two years. Plus, a female friend of his told another outlet he’d dated “a couple of women for a decent amount of time” prior to going on the show.
Despite those shockers, Nist denied that Turner’s past had anything to do with their divorce. “Gerry had already discussed that with me,” she said on GMA. “He had explained it before the report was ever released, so we were good with that. It didn’t play into it.”
Yet she appeared rueful in an April 15 Instagram message thanking fans for their support. “I truly thought it was going to last forever,” she said of her marriage to Turner. “It turns out, even at the age of 70, you don’t know everything.”
But she had been warned. In the comments, April Kirkwood — who was sent home from The Golden Bachelor during Week 4 — threw shade at Turner, cryptically writing that she had attempted to steer Nist away from him. “I truly tried to tell you but this was your lesson to experience,” the therapist wrote.
The source says Theresa was so caught up in the whirlwind romance, she tuned any negativity out. “Making plans with Gerry was so exciting,” says the source. “ABC wanted to televise the wedding, and they figured, ‘Why not?’ By the time Theresa found out Gerry had misrepresented his career and romantic past, she was already too far in.”
In the end, the pair played the split off as wanting different things. For one, Turner was expecting a playmate. At the same time, Nist, who works in the financial sector, wanted to maintain her financial independence. During their “Dear Shandy” interview, she admitted her decision to keep working had become “a hurdle.”
Countered Turner: “I went on to the show to find my partner, and I’ve been retired for a long time. I wanted fun [and] adventure. When does that start?”
