The Golden Bachelor season 1 divorce did serious damage to Gerry Turner’s reputation, and Theresa Nist may want to distance herself from her ex-husband before it’s too late. Theresa, a widowed day trader from New Jersey, was 70 years old when she was chosen to date 72-year-old Gerry, a retired restaurateur from Indiana. Gerry was selected as the first lead of The Bachelor spin-off, and Theresa was one of the 22 single older women vying for his heart. After a long and entertaining season of dates, tears, and septuagenarian make-out sessions, Gerry gave his final rose and a Neil Lane diamond ring to Theresa, and the two rode off into the sunset hand-in-hand.
Though Gerry and Theresa were supposed to live happily ever after, The Golden Bachelor season 1 couple fell apart as quickly as they came together. They were married in January in a lavish Golden Bachelor wedding, but they were divorced just three months after tying the knot. Their breakup has been as public as the rest of their relationship, and Gerry’s reputation has taken a hit. When Gerry and Theresa announced their split, fans immediately sided with Theresa, even though both parties were equally responsible for the failure of the relationship. Though Gerry has continued to try to reclaim his good name, it has only sunk him deeper into the quicksand of infamy, and, at this point, Theresa’s safest bet may be to distance herself from her ex-husband as quickly as possible.
8. Theresa Should Continue To Spend More Time With The Golden Bachelorette Women
Girl Power
Since her divorce from Gerry, Theresa has been spotted spending time with fellow The Golden Bachelor season 1 cast members, especially Leslie Fhima, a 65-year-old fitness trainer. Leslie and Theresa got close while they were both dating Gerry on the show and were the final two women. During the overnight dates, Gerry told Leslie that she was “the one,” so it was a big shock when he gave his final rose to Theresa instead and sent Leslie home heartbroken.
Theresa and Leslie maintained their friendship, despite the Golden marriage.
In June, just a couple of months after the divorce announcement, Theresa posted Instagram photos of her recent trip to visit Leslie in Minnesota. The post has 20.9K likes, and Theresa’s post reads, “Made my way all the way to Minnesota to visit my dear friend, the lovely Leslie!” Both Golden Bachelor season 1 contestants have claimed to be on good terms with their shared ex, but spending time with Leslie is a great way for Theresa to separate herself from Gerry.
7. Theresa Should Continue To Spend More Time With Family
Family First
Another excellent way for Theresa to distance herself from Gerry was to continue to spend more time with her family. Since announcing her separation from Gerry, The Golden Bachelor season 1 star has leaned on her family to get her through these difficult times. In July, Theresa posted Instagram photos of her Fourth of July weekend in South Carolina with her son, daughter-in-law, and grandsons. Theresa’s footage and photos depict a happy, active family having a great time on the lake.
Theresa has six grandsons, and she recently announced that her daughter was pregnant with Theresa’s seventh grandchild. Theresa had two children with her late husband, William Nist. Theresa and William were childhood sweethearts who met when they were teenagers and married when she was only 19 years old and he was just 20. They lived together happily for 42 years before he passed away in 2014, leaving her a widowed single mother.
Like Theresa, Gerry is also a widower, who was married to Toni Turner for 43 years before she passed away in 2017.
6. Theresa Can Dissociate From Gerry
She Needs To Put Distance Between Them
Though Theresa can’t erase Gerry from her story entirely, she can put some distance between herself and her ex-husband. Which hasn’t always proven easy for Theresa. Appearing on a Bachelor Nation show requires the contestant to make contractually obligated appearances on behalf of the show, and The Golden Bachelor season 1 contestants are no exception. This is why Theresa recently appeared on an episode of Celebrity Family Feud alongside Gerry and several of the other women who competed in The Golden Bachelor season 1. The episode of the long-running game show was filmed when Gerry and Theresa were still together, so it was awkward to see them together again.
There was some speculation that, because of the divorce, ABC would scrap the Golden Bachelor episode of Celebrity Family Feud , but they ultimately decided to air it after all.
5. Theresa Can Move Away From The Golden Bachelor Fame
She Should Go Back To Being A Private Citizen
While Gerry has relished his newfound reality television fame, Theresa can put more distance between her and her ex-husband by pulling back from the spotlight entirely. The Golden Bachelor season 1 star has grown her social media following since appearing on the show, and Theresa currently has more than 130K followers on Instagram. For his part, Gerry has over 150K Instagram followers. While both Gerry and Theresa posted more often while The Golden Bachelor was airing, and even after they got married, they slowed down a lot after announcing their divorce.
Clearly, both widowers are trying to avoid the limelight these days, and it’s a good instinct that Theresa should run with.
At this point, Theresa should accept that she can’t be famous without being associated with Gerry, and that would mean her reputation would be as damaged as his. To avoid being associated with Gerry for the rest of her life, Theresa should give up any dreams of being a public figure.
4. Theresa Is Rebranding Herself
Since her divorce from Gerry, Theresa launched a personal rebranding on social media and has been mostly posting photos of her family. Since the divorce announcement, Theresa has branded herself as a kindly grandmother, implying she is innocent in the split from Gerry. The truth is that it takes two, and Theresa is just as responsible for the divorce as Gerry is.
When they got married, they both knew they had geographic challenges, with Theresa living in New Jersey and Gerry living in Indiana.
The Golden Bachelor couple broke up because neither wanted to move away from their children and grandchildren. Since fans already took her side in the divorce, they likely already see Theresa as the good one, while they see Gerry as the villain. Theresa should lean into branding herself as a widowed mother and grandmother and continue to sell that story until the whole world believes it to be the truth.
3. Theresa Should Start Dating
There Are Signs She Could Be Ready To Love Again
Since her split from Gerry, Theresa has kept her head down and focused on her family and work. The world had come to see Theresa as Gerry’s wife, and The Golden Bachelor season 1 cast member was determined to rebrand herself as her own woman. Theresa recently posted an incredible photo of herself looking fantastic on her 71st birthday. The post has 12K likes, and Theresa’s caption reads, “Today is my birthday.”
“I probably would not have mentioned it except for the fact that this is also the anniversary of the date that the show began filming last year.”
Theresa went on to express gratitude for her time on the show, which proves she’s over the divorce, but that doesn’t mean everyone has stopped seeing her and Gerry as a unit. If Theresa wants to distance herself from Gerry quickly, she should try to meet a new man to replace him soon.
2. Theresa Can Talk More About Her Job
She’s A Girl Boss
Before appearing on The Golden Bachelor season 1, Theresa had an impressive career as a day trader. While Gerry was retired, the career-driven Theresa still worked as a financial services professional. She is passionate about trading stocks and likely has a high net worth. Theresa works for a company called TFS Financial Services as a senior complication and operations liaison, according to the wealth management company’s website. Theresa wasn’t always a day trader, however. She taught herself to invest in the stock market and used this knowledge to make money in the market before landing her high-paying job at TFS.
It’s impressive that Theresa achieved so much success in the financial sector without ever earning a college degree, which should serve as an inspiration.
When Gerry and Theresa settled their divorce, it was revealed that they had both signed airtight prenups so they could both walk away from the marriage without incurring any financial damage.
1. Theresa Could Be The Next Golden Bachelorette
Or Appear On Bachelor In Paradise
The best way for Theresa to put distance between herself and Gerry is to appear on another Bachelor Nation show. While 61-year-old Joan Vassos was chosen to lead the inaugural season of The Golden Bachelorette, Theresa would be a great choice to lead a future iteration of the series.
Not only is Theresa telegenic, she’s warm and outgoing, which are perfect character traits for a Bachelor lead .
The Golden Bachelorette isn’t the only option for Theresa to appear on another Bachelor Nation show, as there has been some speculation that producers will eventually announce Golden Bachelor In Paradise. The cast of The Golden Bachelor featured multiple break-out stars, including Theresa, Leslie, Kathy Swarts, and Susan Noles. But there were plenty of other older single women who would be great additions to a potential Golden Bachelor In Paradise. Currently, The Golden Bachelorette is in production, but once the show airs, there will be many older men to choose from as well. Finding new love on national television would certainly separate Theresa and Gerry for good.
