Since The Golden Bachelor season 1 ended with a divorce, there has been some speculation that Gerry Turner didn’t marry Theresa Nist for the right reasons. 72-year-old Gerry and 70-year-old Theresa were a different kind of love story than what television audiences are used to. Unlike most unscripted dating shows, the Bachelor spin-off focused on older participants. This was very attractive to an aging television audience who wanted to believe in finding love later in life. Theresa, a day trader from New Jersey, was one of 22 incredible older women vying for Gerry’s heart.
Though the competition was stiff, Theresa won Gerry’s heart, and the two were married in a lavish Golden Bachelor wedding, which aired on ABC just a few weeks after the couple went public with their relationship. With hindsight being 20/20, it was probably unwise for the septuagenarian couple to rush into the marriage, because after only three months, Gerry and Theresa announced their divorce. With the first Golden marriage firmly in the rear-view mirror, questions are being asked about Gerry’s motivations. Did Gerry marry Theresa for love, or just to become famous?
Gerry Has Flaunted His Fame
Was He Really Looking For Love?
Though the meteoric success of The Golden Bachelor season 1 can be attributed to multiple factors, Gerry’s telegenic qualities played a role in the show’s incredible reception, and Gerry knows it. In May, just a few short weeks before announcing his divorce from Theresa, Gerry added on Instagram post about his Critics’ Choice “Male Star of the Year” nomination. He posted a screenshot of the nominees, with his name circled.
Gerry didn’t win, as the award went to Alan Cumming for hosting The Traitors, but just being nominated was extremely impressive.
Gerry Sees Himself As Culturally Relevant
Eying His Place In History
That wasn’t the only time Gerry reveled in his newfound fame. In February 2024, just 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 lists some of the other nominations earned 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 3.5K likes and Gerry’s post reads, “Is this a hint of things to come? We are open to possibilities.”
Gerry was wrong, as the inaugural season of The Golden Bachelor didn’t win any Emmy Awards in 2024, but, still, the show was a huge ratings coup for ABC and Gerry.
Is Gerry Seeing Anyone New?
He’s Got Options (And He Wants Everyone To Know It)
Since Gerry and Theresa settled their divorce recently, there has been a lot of speculation about their love lives. While Theresa has been lying low and spending time with her six grandchildren, Gerry has been more publicly visible. In May, just a few short weeks after the divorce announcement, IndyStar reported that Gerry was spotted at a local dating event for singles in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Though he appeared to be hosting the event, not participating, the optics were still terrible.
As if that wasn’t unsettling enough, in June, Gerry spoke to TMZ and revealed that, though he wasn’t yet ready to get back out into the dating field, his social media was being “flooded” with women sliding into Gerry’s social media DMs to express their romantic interest in The Golden Bachelor season 1 alum. He went on to claim that women were even approaching him in person to hand over their phone numbers.
Gerry insisted that though he accepted the phone numbers, he hadn’t reached out to any of the women yet.
Gerry maintained that he wasn’t ready to date again just yet, but when he was, he wanted everyone to know that he’d have plenty of romantic options. Though there’s little doubt that many women are interested in the attractive, gregarious Gerry, the fact that he would brag about being wanted is another example of Gerry not being involved in The Golden Bachelor season 1 for the right reasons.
