The Golden Bachelor star Gerry Turner and his wife Theresa Nist have revealed they’re getting a divorce just three months after they tied the knot in a ‘dream’ ceremony that was broadcast across the nation.
Gerry, 72, and Theresa, 70, announced the news of their split during an interview on Good Morning America this morning, when they opened up about the reasons for their shock separation.
‘Theresa and I have had a number of heart-to-heart conversations, and we’ve looked closely at our situation, our living situation, so forth and – and we’ve kind of come to the conclusion mutually that it’s probably time for us to – dissolve our marriage,’ Gerry told host Juju Chang.
He admitted that their decision to separate was motivated in large part by their ‘dedication’ to their respective families – hinting that this has made it incredibly difficult for them to decide on a place to settle down together.
It’s over! The Golden Bachelor star Gerry Turner and his wife Theresa Nist have announced they are divorcing after just three months of marriage
Gerry, 72, and Theresa, 70, tied the knot in a televised ceremony back in January – but just three months later, they have confirmed they are ‘dissolving’ their marriage
‘We’ve kind of come to the conclusion mutually that it’s probably time for us to – dissolve our marriage,’ Gerry said during an interview with GMA today
It seems as though the couple struggled to decide on a place to settle down together, as they were still living in separate homes three months after their nuptials. Gerry’s home is seen
Gerry was living at his lake house in Northern Indiana, while Theresa remained in her house in New Jersey (seen), where she’d been living with her family
Both Gerry, a retired restauranteur from Indiana, and Theresa, a securities professional from New Jersey, have kids from past relationships; he has two daughters and two granddaughters, while she has a son, daughter, and six grandsons.
‘The thing that strikes me the most in our conversations, it’s been how dedicated both of us are to our families,’ Gerry explained.
‘So we look at these situations and I think we just feel like it’s best for the happiness of each of us to live apart.’
However, Theresa insisted that the former couple tried their utmost to reach a compromise that would work for both of their families, revealing that they had looked at different locations across the country in the hopes of finding a ideal home to start their new lives together.
‘We looked at homes in South Carolina, we considered New Jersey, and we just looked at home after home, but we never got to the point where we made that decision,’ she said.
‘We have received so much love and support from so many people who watched The Golden Bachelor, and I don’t think we can tell you how many people told us that it gave them so much hope,’ Theresa added. ‘We want none of that to change for anybody.’
When asked if they ‘fell out of love,’ Gerry insisted, ‘No. I still love this person. There’s no doubt in my mind, I am still in love with her and still root for her every day.’
They added that they were going to have to ‘give their rings back,’ but that they were happy they could keep ‘the memories’ that they shared.
On Good Morning America, Gerry admitted that their decision to separate was motivated in large part by their ‘dedication’ to their respective families
‘The thing that strikes me the most in our conversations, it’s been how dedicated both of us are to our families,’ he explained
Gerry has two daughters and two granddaughters, while Theresa has a son, daughter, and six grandsons. They’re seen with some of their adult kids
The couple met on the first season of the Golden Bachelor, which premiered late last year, and Gerry proposed during the show’s finale.
They then tied the knot in January during a televised wedding, with Theresa gushing in her vows, ‘I promise to be your calm in a storm, to comfort you when you’re sad, to laugh with you when you’re happy, and just stick with you throughout it all.’
In an interview with GMA after the wedding, they insisted that they had ‘found their person.’
Gerry and Theresa’s shock announcement comes just days after it was revealed the pair were still living in separate homes three months after their nuptials.
Furthermore, TMZ reported that the married couple were actually residing in separate states – with Gerry living at his $637,000 lake house in Northern Indiana, while Theresa remained in her house in her $568,000 New Jersey home, where she’d been living with her family.
Theresa insisted that the former couple tried their utmost to reach a compromise that would work for both of their families, revealing that they had looked at different locations across the country in the hopes of finding a ideal home to start their new lives together
‘The problem is, Theresa can’t just pick up and leave her job, and she has family in New Jersey,’ a source told Life & Style recently. ‘Initially, they thought Gerry could move in with her but that didn’t happen.’
Back in December 2023, Gerry admitted that finding a place to live was ‘a big problem’ for them.
At the time, he told People that they were planning to buy a house in Charleston, South Carolina, together – but it seems that never happened.
‘All of a sudden it’s like, there’s a big problem that is gone,’ he said at the time. ‘The issue of compromising on where to live and how to reconcile families and all of that is, it’s no longer an issue.’
Gerry pulled on the hearts of millions when he appeared on the show, as he was presented as a loving retired restaurateur who had not had a single date since his wife of 45 years, Toni, suddenly passed away from an infection in 2017.
But an investigation by The Hollywood Reporter released after the finale quickly shattered that reputation.
The publication reported that he had a professional and personal history that did not match with the persona of a grieving man who hadn’t gone on a first date in decades.
Instead, it claimed that he had a secret past that included a three-year relationship after the death of his wife and various blue-collar jobs.
He reportedly dated a woman named Carolyn, who is 14 years his junior and claimed he dumped her because she gained 10 pounds.
In addition, his LinkedIn profile showed that he had not owned a restaurant since 1985, when he sold his Mr Quick hamburger franchise in Iowa, where had worked his way up since high school.
Gerry was presented as a loving retired restaurateur on the show, who had not had a single date since his wife of 45 years, Toni, suddenly passed away from an infection in 2017
But an investigation released after the finale quickly shattered that reputation, claiming he dated a woman for three years after his wife died. He’s seen with his late wife
In addition, his LinkedIn profile showed that he had not owned a restaurant since 1985, when he sold his Mr Quick hamburger franchise in Iowa (seen)
Since then, he worked various sales and management jobs in the meat industry, per his resume on the website. He’s seen in front of his lake house
Since then, he worked various sales and management jobs in the meat industry, per his resume on the website – despite the show claiming he had been retired for decades. He also worked installing hot tubs and as a maintenance man in Iowa.
It was during his time as a maintenance man at the Vera French Mental Health Center in Davenport that he met Carolyn, but the two did not get together until two months after his wife died.
Carolyn told The Hollywood Reporter the two began dating after Gerry called her following his wife’s death to ask for help donating some clothes to charity.
She claimed she quit her job to move in with him in July 2018, but things soon went south, as his demands began to emerge.
For example, she alleged that he he soon informed Carolyn she would have to pay about $1,000 a month for her share of expenses, which she managed to negotiate down to $850.
Gerry was reportedly so concerned with dividing costs that Carolyn would pay for her meals at restaurants beforehand so when the check came, he could pretend he was paying the whole tab.
The reality star was also allegedly obsessed with cleanliness and demanded Carolyn make the bed every morning before they had breakfast.
The romance ended in late 2019, when, according to Carolyn, Gerry said he would not be taking her to his high school reunion because of her weight.
The Golden Bachelor then allegedly told Carolyn she had to be out of the house by January 1, 2020, according to THR, which reviewed emails and texts between the former couple and spoke to people who witnessed the relationship.
Carolyn fell down the stairs while she packed and required emergency surgery – but said Gerry accused her of using the fall as an excuse to extend her stay at his home and claimed she was planning on suing him over it.
He reportedly wouldn’t even let her stay at the home while she finished the two weeks of notice she had to give at her new job in Indiana, forcing her to stay at a hotel, she claimed.
When asked if the scandal ‘played in’ to their split, Theresa insisted, ‘No. Gerry had already discussed that with me and explained it before the report was ever released. So we were good with that.’
People quickly rushed to social media to share their thoughts on the divorce – and many admitted that they were ‘not surprised.’
‘Oh no surprise there,’ one person wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Another agreed, ‘Hate to say it but not really… Told ya so.’
‘Are we surprised?’ someone else asked, while a fourth person simply stated, ‘Called this one.’
Others said they ‘understood’ their situation, with a fifth tweet reading, ‘Most women in her 70s would tell you, “My grandkids and kids are everything.” I wouldn’t move away from my family for anything. Especially a man. Nope.’
A sixth said, ‘At that age, who wants to give up their life and family to go and live with some stranger that just came into your life? You don’t have much time left. Spend it with family.’
