Golden Bachelor’s Gerry Turner Officially Files for Divorce from Theresa Nist 3 Months After Wedding

Turner and Nist fell in love and got engaged on season 1 of the ABC reality television show, which aired in Fall 2023

Gerry Turner has officially filed for divorce from Theresa Nist.

The Golden Bachelor star, 72, submitted a petition to Pike Circuit Court in Indiana on Friday, April 12, to dissolve the marriage with his wife, 70, according to public records viewed by PEOPLE.

Turner listed the reason for their split as an “irretrievable breakdown” of their marriage, according to US Weekly.

Turner and Nist were together for just three months after tying the knot on national television on Jan. 4. The two fell in love on season 1 of the Golden Bachelor, which aired in Fall 2023, and got engaged at the end of the show.

The couple announced the end of their marriage in a joint interview on Good Morning America. They said the decision was agreed upon mutually.
“Theresa and I have had a number of heart-to-heart conversations, and we’ve looked closely at our situation, our living situation and so forth, and we’ve kind of come to the conclusion mutually that it’s probably time for us to dissolve our marriage,” Turner explained.

An attorney for Turner did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Despite their previous claims that they were “100% committed” to making their marriage work, Turner and Nist said distance ultimately became an issue. Turner lives in Indiana, and Nist in New Jersey.

The couple said they looked for homes in South Carolina, but simply never found a place to land together.

Turner and Nist suggested they did not fall out of love, telling ABC News’ Juju Chang they are “best friends” and plan on remaining in each other’s lives.

“I still love this person. There’s no doubt in my mind, I still am in love with her. I root for her every day,” Turner said. Nist replied, “I still love him.”

But a source tells PEOPLE that “it was never going to work” between Turner and Nist. “Things have been tough for months,” the source adds. “They’ve been fighting since right after the wedding.”

They also did not make it to their Italian honeymoon, which was planned for May 2024. Nist previously said on Instagram that the couple intended to fly into Rome and spend a few days in Tuscany before “heading down to Sorrento and the Amalfi coast” to wrap up the trip.

The couple went on to thank everyone who has shown support for their relationship, as well as those they inspired.

“We have received so much love and support from so many people who watch the Golden Bachelor and I don’t think we can tell you how many people told us it gave them so much hope,” Nist said. “We want none of that to change for anybody.”

“Don’t give up,” she added. “Stay in it. Stay hopeful. ‘Cause we are.”

Now, both Turner and Nist are looking for love once again. “And we tell everybody else to continue to look for love,” Nist explained.
Though Nist plans to give back the ring, which she was still wearing, Turner told her, “We don’t have to give back the memories.”