Theresa Nist married The Golden Bachelor season 1 Gerry Turner despite his questionable behavior, and she missed many red flags along the way. In the beginning, it was easy for 70-year-old Theresa to fall for 72-year-old Gerry. The tall, gregarious Gerry was a great communicator and easy to get along with. The empathetic Gerry always seemed interested in people, so he was good at making them feel comfortable. When the retired restaurateur was confirmed as the first lead of The Bachelor spin-off, a collective swoon came across the land as women from all over the country flooded the ABC casting offices with applications. Even Jimmy Kimmel’s aunt, Concetta “Aunt Chippy” Potenza, got her nephew to use his network connections to get her on the show.
Like many charming people, Gerry’s sociable nature hid some of his worst qualities from Theresa because, after The Golden Bachelor season 1, the couple got married. The lavish wedding was attended by many of the women Gerry had rejected and was nationally televised in January. Gerry and Theresa’s happily ever after moment wasn’t very happy, nor did it last for anywhere near ever after. The couple announced their divorce in April, just three short months after tying the knot. Gerry and Theresa rushed into the marriage, and it was a big mistake that was likely driven by high ratings and even higher expectations. The hasty courtship is the main reason why Theresa was able to miss all of Gerry’s red flags.
10. Gerry Lied About His Relationship Status
He Had A Secret Life
Long before joining the cast of The Golden Bachelor season 1, Gerry was married to Toni Turner until she passed away in 2017 after 43 years of marriage. Though Gerry claimed that he had been a single, lonely widower since his late wife’s untimely death in November 2023, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Gerry lied about his relationship status. According to the report, Gerry had started dating again one month after his late wife’s death and had been in a 3-year-long relationship with a much younger woman who had lived with him. To make matters worse, according to the woman, the relationship ended badly, with Gerry unceremoniously throwing her out of the house.
The explosive report broke while the season was airing, but Theresa forgave Gerry and married him just a few months later.
9. Gerry Lied About His Career
Is His Name Really Even Gerry?
The story Gerry told during The Golden Bachelor season 1 was certainly exciting. According to Gerry, he retired at 55 years old after selling his successful Indiana diner. In retirement, the philanthropic Gerry dedicated himself passionately to fund-raising for charities he supports. According to the same report by The Hollywood Reporter,Gerry hadn’t been completely honest with Theresa and with the world about his career. They claimed that Gerry had worked a series of odd jobs since selling his small family business, including doing a stint as a hot tub salesman and maintenance man.
8. Gerry Misled Leslie
He Blindsided Her On National Television
Theresa wasn’t the only woman who Gerry hurt. He broke the hearts of many women on The Golden Bachelor season 1, but none so painfully as that of 65-year-old dance instructor Leslie Fhima. The soft-spoken and twice-divorced single mother and grandmother didn’t hit it off with Gerry immediately because she was too quiet to stand out in a crowd. Over time, Gerry finally notices Leslie and the two develop a powerful connection. Gerry gave his final two roses to Theresa and Leslie, and during their overnight date, Gerry told Leslie that she was “the one.” When Gerry turned around the next day and chose Theresa instead, Leslie was blindsided and devastated.
Gerry ripped Leslie’s still-beating heart out of her chest on national television, and she’s still not over it.
7. Gerry Flaunted His Fame
“Male Star Of The Year”
One of Gerry’s biggest fans has always been, and will always be, Gerry. When The Golden Bachelor aired in the summer of 2023, it was instantly a massive hit, and Gerry became a household name virtually overnight. To say that Gerry enjoyed the attention and accolades would be an understatement. In May, before announcing his divorce from Theresa, Gerry posted on Instagram about his Critics’ Choice “Male Star of the Year” nomination. He posted a screenshot of the nominees, with his name circled, among familiar names such as Alan Cumming, Eugene Levy, and RuPaul Charles.
6. Gerry Sees Himself As A Historic Figure
“History-Making”
In February, which was just a few weeks after his ill-advised wedding to Theresa, Gerry posted a photo of an Emmy consideration magazine ad that featured a photo of Gerry under the words “HISTORY-MAKING.” The ad also mentions some of the other awards won by The Golden Bachelor season 1, including a DGA nomination for best reality program premiere and an AARP Movies For Grownups award for best reality series.
The post has 3.6K likes and Gerry’s post reads, “Is this a hint of things to come? We are open to possibilities.”
Gerry’s dream of winning an Emmy didn’t come true, as the inaugural season of The Golden Bachelor didn’t win any Emmy Awards in 2024, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the series was a huge ratings coup for ABC, which helped make Gerry very famous.
5. Gerry Hit On Kris Jenner
He Was Keeping Up With The Kardashians
Being The Golden Bachelor was a dream come true for Gerry, and the retired widower enjoyed the life-changing opportunity to the fullest. In addition to the nominations and other accolades, Gerry’s newfound fame meant he got to rub elbows with celebrities. While the season was airing, Gerry was invited to Kris Jenner’s house to watch an episode with the Kardashians clan because Kendall Jenner was Gerry’s biggest fan. Though Gerry loved his newfound celebrity at first, it wasn’t long before his dream turned into a nightmare. According to Kendall, The Golden Bachelor flirted with Kris throughout the night. During an outtake from a June episode of The Kardashians, 28-year-old Kendall confirmed to producers that Gerry was flirting with her 68-year-old mother.
” Yes, he was commenting on her smile and her eyes and her energy ,”Kendall told producers. ” I’m like, I think we should leave, like, I don’t know! “
When producers asked Kris about it later, she didn’t confirm or deny the accusation. She laughed it off and made a joke about how she already had a boyfriend. It’s possible Gerry was just being nice, and Kendall misread it as flirting. If he was flirting with Kris during this dinner, that would be problematic because he was engaged to Theresa at the time.
4. Gerry Refused To Move
But Theresa Did Too
Like Gerry, Theresa was also a widower, and she buried her beloved husband, William Nist, in 2014 after 42 years of marriage. Before appearing on The Golden Bachelor season 1, the mother of two and grandmother of six lived in New Jersey, where she also worked. After Gerry and Theresa got married, they couldn’t decide where to live. They briefly considered moving to North Carolina, where they have family, but the plan never materialized. The bottom line is that neither Gerry nor Theresa loved each other enough to make the sacrifice.
Theresa didn’t want to leave New Jersey, because her daughter’s family lived there, while Gerry was reluctant to leave his family in Indiana.
3. Gerry Is A Ladies’ Man
He Flaunted His Alleged Desirability
Since announcing his divorce from Theresa, there has been enormous speculation about Gerry’s love life. In June, Gerry told TMZ he wasn’t ready to date again but was receiving numerous romantic offers. According to Gerry, women have been “flooding” him with messages on social media and even approached him in person, giving him their phone numbers. Gerry said he hadn’t contacted any of the women yet, but he clearly wanted everyone to know that he had plenty of options. This was very upsetting to those who felt Gerry was being arrogant, but that’s probably an overstatement.
What’s more likely is that Gerry was responding to the fact that most fans took Theresa’s side in the divorce, unfairly blaming Gerry for the split.
2. Gerry Cried A Lot
He Was An Emotional Wreck All Season Long
One of the most memorable things about Gerry’s stint as The Golden Bachelor is how emotional he was, often crying throughout the inaugural season of The Golden Bachelor. The waterworks started early in the season when Gerry got emotional about having to eliminate four of the women who had been vying for his heart. “A few days ago, we all met. We were strangers. We didn’t know anything about each other,” Gerry told the women at the beginning of the rose ceremony. At the end of the speech, Gerry burst into tears. Once the waterworks had started, they never stopped, and Gerry cried his way through the rest of the season and even cried at his wedding.
“And today, I look at this group of women and you’re all my friends. That really makes a night like this very difficult for me, but I know this process is working, and I so appreciate every one of you, and I hope you know that I have high, strong feelings for all of you.”
1. Gerry’s Terrible Proposal
He Nearly Gave Theresa A Heart Attack
Theresa should have second-guessed the relationship after Gerry’s terrible marriage proposal. During The Golden Bachelor’s final rose ceremony, Gerry told Theresa he didn’t want to live with her. As Theresa’s heart stopped, he clarified that he didn’t want to live without her. In an effort to be too clever, he was reckless with his wording and nearly gave his fiancé a heart attack. Gerry was trying too hard to be poignant and funny and ended up falling flat instead. Theresa was so relieved she hadn’t just been dumped on national television that she quickly accepted his proposal, but she should have turned and run away from The Golden Bachelor instead.
