The Golden Bachelor is facing its first breakup. Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist announced their split on April 12, just three months after getting married in a televised ceremony. Hours later, Turner’s second runner-up Faith Martin reacted to their divorce announcement in a new interview with People.
Martin gave her insight into why the relationship may not have worked out, calling it a “very difficult situation” and citing the challenges of falling in love on TV in a short amount of time.
“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 said. “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.”
However, Martin had nothing but well-wishes for the former couple. “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.”
Martin is the latest Golden Bachelor alum to respond to the announcement. Susan Noles, who officiated their wedding, encouraged viewers not to “give up on the idea of meeting somebody on a show,” while her podcast co-host Kathy Swarts asked fans to be “kind” to Turner and Nist. Joan Vassos wrote on her Instagram story that her “heart goes out to my good friends.”
Turner and Nist announced that they planned to “dissolve” their marriage in a joint interview on Good Morning America, citing difficulties with their long-distance relationship. Turner still has his Indiana lake house, while Nist still lives in New Jersey, and they couldn’t follow through on their planned compromise to move to Charleston, South Carolina.
“We looked at home after home, but we never got to the point where we made that decision,” Nist said.
“The thing that strikes me the most in our conversations, it’s been how dedicated both of us are to our families,” Turner added. “So we look at these conversations and we both think it’s best for the happiness of each of us to live apart.”
Despite deciding to go their separate ways, the pair maintains that they’re “still in love” with each other and are just prioritizing being close to their families. “I still love this person,” Turner said. “There’s no doubt in my mind, I still am in love with her. I root for her every day.”
