Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist, who met and fell in love on the inaugural season of “The Golden Bachelor,” a spin-off of ABC’s hit reality dating series “The Bachelor” that featured a cast of senior citizens, are separating just three months after tying the knot in a televised ceremony aired live on ABC.
“Theresa and I have had a number of heart-to-heart conversations, and we’ve looked closely at our situation, our living situation, and so forth, and we’ve kind of come to the conclusion—mutually—that it’s probably time for us to dissolve, um, our marriage,” Mr. Turner explained.
Parting Ways
Mr. Turner and Ms. Nist share much in common: They’re both parents to two children, grandparents, and widows.The former shared two daughters with his late wife, Toni, who passed away in 2017 after 43 years of marriage, while the latter shared a daughter and son with her late husband, William, to whom she was married to for 42 years before his passing in 2014.
“One of the things that I think fate played a hand in is the possibility of where we might wind up living,” Mr. Turner told the publication.
“For the last couple of years, when my family gets together, I’ve talked about moving to South Carolina, and it’s an idea I’ve toyed with,” he described. “And then in conversation with Theresa, a private moment, she’s saying, ‘Well, yeah, my son lives near Charleston in South Carolina.’”
“And all of a sudden it’s like, there’s a big problem that is gone,” Mr. Turner continued. “The issue of compromising on where to live and how to reconcile families and all of that is, it’s no longer an issue.”
However, as Ms. Nist explained to news anchor Juju Chang on “Good Morning America,” their plans never came to fruition.
‘I Still Am in Love’
During their “Good Morning America” segment, the soon-to-be-divorced couple also addressed the controversies surrounding Mr. Turner’s past dating history.Throughout “The Golden Bachelor,” Mr. Turner implied that he hadn’t dated much following his late wife’s passing, even mentioning that he hadn’t kissed a woman in six years. However, the publication published a report in November alleging Mr. Turner had moved in with an anonymous woman. They reportedly went on to break up in January 2020.
When asked by Ms. Chang if the reports contributed in any way to their decision to part ways, Ms. Nist promptly replied, “No, not for me.”
“Gerry had already discussed that with me, he, he had explained it to me before the report was ever released, so we were good with that, that didn’t play into it,” she explained.
Despite their impending divorce, Mr. Turner said the couple—who sat hand in hand during the segment—weren’t separating on bad terms.
“I still love this person, there’s no doubt in my mind,” he shared. “I still am in love with her, I root for her every day.”
Ms. Nist also noted that she hopes their separation doesn’t discourage fans of “The Golden Bachelor” from pursuing romantic relationships later in life.
“We have received so much love and support from so many people who watched [the show], and I don’t think we can tell you how many people told us that it gave them so much hope,” she said. “We want none of that to change for anybody.”
