The inaugural season of The Golden Bachelor ended with Gerry Turner getting down on one knee and proposing to Theresa Nist, but he should have picked Leslie Fhima instead. Gerry, the 72-year-old widower and retired restaurateur, hit it off with multiple single women during the season but eliminated all but 65-year-old Leslie and 70-year-old Theresa. Though Gerry told both of the final two women that he loved them, he ultimately gave his final rose to fellow widower Theresa and sent a heartbroken Leslie home in tears.
Gerry and Theresa wasted no time planning their Golden Bachelor wedding. Despite the revelation that Gerry had been in a serious relationship before filming, the couple announced they’d be getting married in just a few weeks. The dream wedding aired on January 4 in a highly anticipated television special attended by Bachelor Nation stars, including many of the women Gerry rejected. Hopes were high for the couple after the dream wedding, but they announced their split in April 2024. With the marriage in tatters, it’s easy to see that Gerry should have given his final rose to Leslie instead.
Though Leslie caught Gerry’s eye on night one of The Golden Bachelor, the fitness instructor from Minneapolis, Minnesota, wasn’t one of the front-runners early in the competition. Gerry seemed more interested in Theresa and the 60-year-old motorcycle enthusiast, Faith Martin. It wasn’t until later in the season that Gerry got close to Leslie. The mother of three revealed that she had been married and divorced twice, and had been single for the entire 22 years since her most recent divorce.
While Theresa and Leslie grew close during their time inside the mansion, Gerry broke Leslie’s heart, and there were plenty of intense moments between them during the show’s final moments. Gerry seemed to lead Leslie on until the last moment, even telling her she was “the one.” In her own interview for Bachelor Happy Hour, Leslie struggled to say whether she respects Gerry. She obviously continues to harbor negative feelings towards him and isn’t over what happened between them on the show.
Theresa works in finance and comes off as a type-A personality who knows what she wants and gets things done. In contrast, Leslie presents a more laid-back energy. Even their fashion sense sets them apart. Theresa dresses in a more clean-cut, conservative, tailored manner, while Leslie’s style is more boho chic. Leslie’s quiet charm seems to be a better match for Gerry’s gregarious energy. When Gerry told Leslie that she was the one, it was believable because the two made more sense together than Gerry and Theresa did.
One of the main triggers of Gerry and Theresa’s divorce was distance. The Golden Bachelor couple could not agree on a place to live. Gerry lived in Indiana, in a lake house he had lived in with his late wife, while Theresa lived and worked in New Jersey. Both of them live near family and would find it difficult to relocate. Theresa worked in the financial sector, in a job that would make it hard for her to leave the East Coast for the Midwest. Leslie would have had an easier time moving because she could be a fitness trainer anywhere.
It’s possible that Gerry, who is retired, could have moved to New Jersey to be with Theresa, but he didn’t want to be so far away from his family. This illustrates one of the biggest challenges facing couples who meet later in life. They’ve lived full lives already, and they have children and grandchildren that they are reluctant to leave. Also, life in the Midwest is very different from life in New Jersey. A couple of septuagenarians like Gerry and Theresa would likely find it difficult to change their lifestyle so drastically at this stage in their lives.
Now that Gerry is single again, there has been some speculation about whether Leslie will ever date Gerry again. The Golden Bachelor star was asked about it during an interview on the Playing The Field podcast, which aired on YouTube. She revealed that she knew about Gerry and Theresa’s divorce a couple of days before the news broke. She said that she had spent time with the couple in April when they all appeared on Celebrity Family Feud.
“ We were all hanging out together and had a really good time ,” Leslie said. “ We laughed and had meals together, so I guess I was shocked [by the divorce]. I didn’t see that coming .”
When asked if she would ever consider rekindling the romance with The Golden Bachelor, she was clear about the fact that she would not. She explained that she didn’t hate Gerry, but she simply didn’t want to feel like anyone’s second choice. This seems like the wrong reason to forego dating someone because it seems to be driven more by pride than by romantic feelings. However, it is understandable after Gerry rejected her so publicly for the woman who he is now divorcing.
For his part, Gerry has already been spotted attending a dating event.
