At the end of April, Theresa Nist revealed that she was not going to be one of the Golden franchise cast members on Season 10 of Bachelor in Paradise. Now, she’s sharing more insight into the reason we won’t be seeing her on the dating show.
While appearing on the Almost Famous podcast, Nist, who was married to Gerry Turner for three months before their April 2024 split, revealed that she was actually rejected amid the BIP casting process. The news came as quite a shock, because cast members who make it far on The Bachelor or The Bachelorette are usually shoo-in producer picks for Paradise.
However, Nist said she thinks she knows why producers ultimately chose not to cast her. “The chronology of events was, I went through all the testing, I was already there [in Costa Rica],” Nist explained. “They asked me to check [out] the guys, and I was like, ‘I really can’t do it.’ But then I went back and said, ‘Oh, maybe I should give it a shot,’ and then I didn’t get it.”
Earlier in the conversation, Nist explained that she was “so enthusiastic” about the possibility of going on BIP when news first broke that Golden contestants would be on the cast. But things changed when she started thinking about which men from The Golden Bachelorette might be on the beach.
“I realized that I really was just excited about seeing the women and having a reunion and having a vacation with them,” Nist shared. “So I thought it wasn’t fair to make it about that, and I really didn’t want to go on and pretend or just make up something, or make an alliance [with someone]. … It just didn’t feel right.”
She clarified that she initially “wanted to go on the show,” but told producers she “changed [her] mind” before going “back and [saying], ‘You know what, maybe I’m being foolish.’”
“Ultimately, they didn’t choose me,” Nist added. “Because I said I didn’t want to do it, they said, ‘This girl is not committed.’ So I think that’s the reason I’m not on the show.” Host Ashley Iaconetti agreed that the producers don’t like “wishy-washy” contestants.
Ben Higgins questioned whether Nist is even looking for love right now, and she replied, “I absolutely do want to be in a relationship, and whether or not I’m in one right now, I’m not prepared to discuss…”
The cohosts probed a bit further and learned that Nist has been on “several” dates with a mystery man, whom she met on a dating app. However, she said they’re not at the point of calling each other “boyfriend/girlfriend” just yet.
