Golden Bachelor’s Faith Wants ‘Happiness’ for Gerry and Theresa amid Divorce: ‘My Heart Goes Out to Them’

In a PEOPLE exclusive interview, Gerry Turner’s ex wondered if the couple “just did not have enough time” to “ask those right questions” ahead of their reality TV proposal

Gerry Turner’s ex Faith Martin is offering well wishes as he divorces Theresa Nist.

The Golden Bachelor alum tells PEOPLE, “My heart goes out to both of them,” after Nist, 70, and Turner, 72, announced their plan to divorce just three months after getting married.

In further reflecting on the broken marriage, Martin cites the high-intensity experience of The Golden Bachelor and the unique atmosphere for finding love as challenges.

“It’s a very difficult situation, and I think it is important to realize that on a show like this, it’s so important to be so transparent and so much yourself filled with honesty and truth and ask those right questions,” she says. “That’s why it’s such a serious thing. You got to ask the right questions to see if things could really, really work, and perhaps they just did not have enough time for that.”

Despite not receiving Turner’s final rose on the inaugural season of the ABC show, Martin did attend the Golden Wedding, which aired live on the network in January.

“I wish them both all the happiness in the world, and I’m sure this was a traumatic thing to go through for both of them, so my heart goes out to them,” she says. “I’m sure everything will really be okay in the long run, and someday they’ll look back and just smile, hopefully.”

On April 12, Turner and Nist sat down with Good Morning America for a joint interview and confirmed their plan to “dissolve” the marriage. They explained that Turner still resides at his Indiana lake house, while Nist lives in New Jersey. The pair’s plan to move to Charleston, South Carolina never came to fruition.

“We looked at home after home, but we never got to the point where we made that decision,” Nist said.

Turner added, “The thing that strikes me the most in our conversations, it’s been how dedicated both of us are to our families. So we look at these conversations and we both think it’s best for the happiness of each of us to live apart.”

After the success of The Golden Bachelor, ABC plans to continue the franchise with The Golden Bachelorette. Details for the female-led spinoff have not yet been revealed.