The Golden Bachelor leading man Gerry Turner has become a bad guy in the eyes of many fans, but I believe that it's really the producers who are the villains in this story. During The Golden Bachelor, Gerry, a 72-year-old retired restaurateur from Hudson, Indiana, got engaged to Theresa Nist, a 70-year-old financial services professional from Shrewsbury, New Jersey. They got married on January 4, 2024, in a live, televised event called the Golden Wedding. However, just three months after their wedding, Gerry and Theresa announced that they were getting a divorce because they couldn't decide where to live because neither one of them wanted to leave their families.
During The Golden Bachelor season 1, Gerry was portrayed as a widower who hadn't dated since the tragic death of his wife, Toni, who'd passed away six years before. They'd been together for 43 years. However, it was later revealed that Gerry had dated a woman before the show, which tarnished his innocent image. In addition, fans blamed him for the divorce. Although Gerry might appear to have many strikes against him, he's not the villain of The Golden Bachelor. Instead, I think the antagonists are the producers, who set all of this in motion and manipulated the situation for their own gain.
Gerry Turner Had The Strongest Connection With Theresa Nist From The Start
Kathy Swarts Revealed That She Knew Theresa Was The One On The First Night
Although some fans alleged that Gerry only chose Theresa when she revealed that she earned a lot of money with her job, nothing could be further from the truth. The way that the producers portrayed his connection with runner-up Leslie Fhima led viewers to believe that she was the one, and that Gerry only changed his mind for Theresa's money. They felt that Gerry took advantage of Leslie and had misled her.
However, I've watched the Bachelor franchise shows since they began over two decades ago, and I know that the producers have a tendency to manipulate situations in order to fit their narrative. You never know what will happen at the end of the show because the producers can spin whatever story they want. Viewers only saw small fractions of Gerry's overnight Fantasy Suite dates, and I wonder what was left out of the show.
On SiriusXM's The Jess Cagle Show, shared via the SirusXM YouTube channel, Kathy Swarts shared that she knew that Gerry was going to choose Theresa after the first night, and even more so after their first one-on-one date. I think that this was probably why she told Theresa to "Zip it!" about her relationship with him. Kathy could sense that no one else had a chance. This is further proof that Gerry didn't choose Theresa for her money, but that he planned on proposing to her all along. However, the producers made the fans believe otherwise.
While Gerry probably shouldn't have told Leslie and Faith Martin that he loved them, I've seen many other Bachelors and Bachelorettes do the same thing without being vilified like Gerry. Gerry didn't do anything worse than many of the other leads. However, the producers wanted to create drama and buzz, so they made him look much worse than he really was.
The Golden Bachelor Producers Hid Gerry’s Past
The Producers Created The Character Of Gerry Turner
With his sweet smile and a twinkle in his eye, Gerry seemed too-good-too-be-true from the start of The Golden Bachelor. He seemed too perfect, which turned out to be true when The Hollywood Reporter published an exposé, which accused him of lying about his dating history before the show. Gerry allegedly had a years-long relationship with a woman after Toni passed away. He was accused of breaking up with her because she'd gained weight before his reunion.
In addition, Gerry's career was listed as a retired restaurateur, but the article revealed that Gerry had still been working as a handyman before the show. Gerry disputed these allegations, but the damage was done. Bachelor Nation turned on him, and the divorce only made things worse. However, during Gerry and Theresa's divorce announcement interview on Good Morning America, Theresa shared that none of these allegations had anything to do with their divorce. Gerry and Theresa even said that they still loved each other.
I find it very hard to believe that The Hollywood Reporter allegations came as a surprise to the Golden Bachelor producers. I think that they knew everything about Gerry's past, but they wanted to create a character for the first Golden Bachelor. It was unfair to Gerry that they did that because he could never live up to the expectations of that persona.
The Golden Bachelorette Joan Vassos' Massive Age Gap With Gerry Turner Recreates What Ruined The Original Bachelor Shows
The Golden Bachelorette star Joan Vassos is 11 years young than Golden Bachelor lead Gerry Turner, which raises a red flag for the "Golden" series.
Theresa Doesn’t Blame Gerry For Golden Bachelor Divorce
Susan Noles & Kathy Swarts Have Also Defended Gerry
If Theresa isn't blaming Gerry for the divorce, then why is Bachelor Nation still doing it? I find it insulting to Theresa that people think that she was too naive and was manipulated by Gerry. She's a strong, capable woman, who's just trying to make the right decisions. If Theresa even admitted that she still loved Gerry with a smile, then there are no hard feelings there. The actions of the Golden Bachelor producers have not only made Gerry into a villain, but they've also caused people to believe that Theresa is a weak victim, which couldn't be further from the truth.
I also think that, if Gerry were such a bad guy, then Susan Noles and Kathy Swarts wouldn't be defending him. During The Jess Cagle Show interview, co-hosts Jess Cagle and Julia Cunningham shared that they weren't surprised by Gerry and Theresa's divorce because they'd "turned on" Gerry before anyone else did. However, Susan replied, "I gotta support this man a little bit...Theresa decided not to move and not to quit her job. He got frustrated." She added, "I would’ve never said I would move to that place, wherever that is, in the middle of nowhere."
Kathy added, "Gerry’s a nice guy. Theresa’s a lovely lady. You know, s*** happens. Sorry. It does and we like them both." She also pointed out that Gerry and Theresa only knew each other for a short while before they got married. This puts the blame on the both of them.
I don't want to make Theresa the villain of The Golden Bachelor because I truly don't believe that either one of them should solely take the blame for their divorce. Also, I don't think that she did anything wrong. However, I do believe that there's an implicit understanding that the person whose season it is gets to make the bulk of the decisions. Therefore, since it was Gerry's season, the women should've been willing to move for him.
It doesn't make Gerry the bad guy that he had certain expectations about what his life would look like with the woman he chose. The only mistake he made was not discussing it more thoroughly and realistically with Theresa before they got married. However, as Kathy said, things happen, and people have to move on from them without making anyone the bad guy.
I find it very interesting that strong women such as Susan and Kathy would defend Gerry if he were really as bad as everyone makes him out to be. It's also puzzling that Gerry and Theresa both seem as though they're to blame for their divorce, but Gerry is the one taking the most flack from fans for it. However, I think that this is obviously because of the mistakes made by the Golden Bachelor producers. Their lack of transparency about Gerry's past made him look untrustworthy. Therefore, he became the bad guy in a story that really doesn't even have a villain outside of the producers.
The Golden Bachelor Producers Rushed The Golden Wedding
Gerry & Theresa Shouldn't Have Gotten Married So Quickly
Although Gerry and Theresa wanted to get married right away, I believe that The Golden Bachelor producers rushed them into their wedding. They cared more about ratings and riding the wave of the success of the show than the well-being of Gerry and Theresa. The couple was obviously still caught up in the fantasy world of The Golden Bachelor, and I think that their divorce proves that they didn't know how to translate that euphoria into the real world. The producers took advantage of that by giving them their lavish television wedding.
However, Gerry and Theresa are both to blame for being caught up in the moment, not just Gerry. On the other hand, I don't think that "blame" is even the right word for what happened here. Gerry and Theresa made a hasty decision to get married because they were so hopeful and in love. It simply didn't work out. I don't think that anyone has to take the fall for it. Neither one of them has to be the bad guy. It also doesn't take away from the fact that The Golden Bachelor was a beautiful journey that gave hope to so many people that anyone can find love at any age.
If there is a villain in The Golden Bachelor, I think that it's the producers. They weren't forthcoming about Gerry's past, and they took advantage of Gerry and Theresa by pushing them into the Golden Wedding. As usual, I saw them creating characters and a story based on real-life events, and manipulating everyone, including the fans, in the process. I hope that people see the bigger picture in the future, and that they realize that Gerry is not the villain of The Golden Bachelor.
