Gerry Turner was extremely popular when he was announced as The Golden Bachelor, but his reputation has since taken a big hit. It would be difficult to overstate the excitement caused by ABC’s announcement that the 72-year-old retired restaurateur would be the first romantic lead of the Bachelor spinoff. The tall and attractive widower was, on paper, a great catch, and, eligible single women applied for the show in droves. On the first night of the show, Gerry was introduced to 22 women in their 60s and 70s, and he hit it off with several of them right away.
After an exciting season of solo dates, group excursions, first kisses, rose ceremonies, and broken hearts, Gerry gave his final rose to Theresa Nist, a 70-year-old day-trader from New Jersey. The two hit it off right away, and they were married in a nationally televised Golden Bachelor wedding just a few short weeks after going public with their relationship. Though hopes were high for the septuagenarian couple, they announced their divorce in April, after just three months of marriage. Gerry’s reputation took a big hit in public opinion, and may never recover.
Gerry’s Treatment Of Leslie Should’ve Been The First Sign He Wasn’t A Great Guy
Red Flag Behavior
Gerry broke a lot of hearts during the inaugural season of The Golden Bachelor, and one of those hearts belonged to 65-year-old fitness trainer, Leslie Fhima. The twice-divorced single mother and grandmother fell hard for Gerry, and though it took a while for their relationship to heat up, he eventually gave her one of his final two roses. After meeting Leslie’s family during hometown dates, and during their overnight, Gerry told Leslie that she was “the one”, so it seemed like he would choose her.
When Gerry chose Theresa instead of Leslie, that should have been seen as a huge red flag.
Gerry Has Let Fans Down With His Off-Screen Behavior
He Flaunted His Love Life
Since his divorce from Theresa, there has been a great deal of speculation about Gerry’s love life. In an interview with TMZ, Gerry said that though he’s not ready to start dating again, but he had been receiving plenty of romantic offers from interested women. According to Gerry, his social media had been flooded with private messages and some women had even approached him in person, giving him their phone numbers.
Gerry claims that he hasn’t yet contacted any of the women, but the star of The Golden Bachelor wants everyone to know that he’s got romantic options.
Fans Truly Believed In Gerry & Theresa’s Relationship
They Inspired So Many People
The Golden Bachelor was a huge hit, in large part because it held symbolic significance for a rapidly aging television audience. Gerry and Theresa both had great stories to tell about their lives before they were cast in The Golden Bachelor season 1. Gerry had been married to the love of his life, Toni Turner, for 43 years, before she died in 2017.
They had finally built their dream home together, on the shore of a lake in Indiana, before Toni took ill and passed away, leaving Gery and their two daughters behind.
Like Gerry, Theresa was also a widower who had married very young. She met her late husband, William Nist, when they were both teenagers and were married when Theresa was only 18 years old, and WIlliam was 20. After 42 happy years of marriage, William passed away in 2014, leaving Theresa behind. William and Theresa had two children together, and their daughter was pregnant with their seventh grandchild.
The Golden Bachelor captured the collective imagination of a world that’s hungry for love stories. Everyone wants to believe in second chances, so a story about two widowers finding love later in life proved to be irresistible. Sadly, Gerry and Theresa couldn’t make the marriage work, and let fans down with swift divorce announcement. Though their story didn’t work out, hopes are high for the first season of The Golden Bachelorette.
