‘Golden Bachelor’ Star Theresa Nist Reveals What Led to the End of Her Short-Lived Marriage to Gerry Turner
Just after her ex-husband, Gerry Turner, revealed details about his new relationship, Theresa Nist revealed what led to the end of the short-lived marriage with the former Golden Bachelor lead.
During a recent interview with Us Weekly, Nist reflected on her relationship with Turner, calling it “another world.”
“We were caught up in such excitement at that time,” she recalled. “And when it all ended, it was like, ‘OK, I’m back to my regular life, and what is life like?’ I just had to step back and just reexamine who I was. It’s been a lot of introspection.”
Turner was the first-ever senior star in Bachelor Nation and the first lead on The Golden Bachelor. Nist was the first winner on the show, accepting Turner’s proposal during the first season finale in November 2023. The couple married in January 2024 during a televised event.
However, three months into the marriage, Nist and Turner announced on Good Morning America that they were divorcing. They both initially said they couldn’t figure out where to live.
“I don’t like to regret anything,” Nist said about the marriage and wedding. “But it’s not that they were saying to us, ‘OK, we’re offering you this wedding and you can do it for six months, a year, two years, whenever you want to.’ It was now or never. The decision had to be made quickly.”
Nist continued, noted, “And we said, ‘OK, if we’re really going to go through with this and we’re gonna get married, if we do it this way, we can get the wedding of our dreams. It’ll be spectacular.’ It was a quick decision.”
Theresa Nist Admits She and Gerry Turner ‘Probably Should Have Waited’ To Get Married
Looking back, Theresa Nist pointed out that she and Gerry Turner “probably should have waited.”
“That would’ve been the right thing to do,” the Golden Bachelor alum explained. “It was just so exciting, and this is it, here’s your deadline.”
Nist did say that her feelings and desire to get married were real at the time, noting her and Turner’s children’s involvement in the wedding preparations.
“They were so excited, so supportive, and we all believed it was going to work,” she said. “We wouldn’t have done it [otherwise]. I mean, listen to our wedding vows and what my daughter said and what his daughter said. We truly, truly believed it.”
Nist Said the Divorce Had Nothing To Do With Where the Couple Would Live or Turner’s Cancer
Nist said the reason for the divorce wasn’t about where the couple should live after all.
“That was not the reason,” Nist confirmed. “But I will give kids to [Golden Bachelorette] Joan [Vassos], who started her season by saying, ‘I’m not moving and I don’t expect that person to move.’ I think they went into the inaugural season treating us just like the young people who are just starting their lives. They together can go and find their way and decide where to live.”
Nist then pointed out, “But when you’re talking about older people who have homes and they’ve got community and they’ve got children, and maybe, grandchildren, that’s a difference. She and [fiancé] Chock [Chapple] have found a way to make it really work.”
She continued, “And maybe that’ could’ve worked [for us]. They have to be open-minded to that. Either that, or have it in the same city or the same state or neighboring states. But that was not the reason.”
Nist did add that Turner’s cancer was not the reason for the divorce as well. “I wanna say this. His illness was the reason.”
Theresa Nist said the fellow Golden Bachelor star hadn’t even experienced symptoms or gone through treatment when they divorced. She went on to add that she’s not sure if she’ll ever reveal her reasoning for the divorce.
