The Golden Bachelor's Gerry Turner has been accused of being a heartbreaker, but that hasn't kept him from feeling alone since his marriage to Theresa Nist went down in flames. Their union started as a dream come true. The highly anticipated Bachelor spin-off marked the first time an unscripted dating show had focused on the lives of elderly singles. A rapidly aging television audience was immediately interested in the show, turning it into an overnight success. When 72-year-old Gerry was named the first Golden Bachelor, older single women from all over the country wanted to meet the lonely widower.
Applications from hopeful bachelorettes flooded the ABC casting offices. When 22 impressive older women arrived for The Golden Bachelor season 1 in a fleet of limousines, it seemed as if Gerry's lonely days were behind him. Everything seemed to be going according to plan when he gave his final rose to 70-year-old Theresa Nist, a day trader from New Jersey.
Their whirlwind romance was the stuff of great love stories, a tale about two widowers finding love again later in life. Carried away by the fairytale, the couple were married in a nationally televised wedding just a few weeks after getting engaged. They announced their divorce after only three months of matrimony, and they never even lived in the same state during their long-distance marriage. With his marriage dead and his reputation in tatters, Gerry has never been so alone.
8Gerry Rarely Posts On Social Media
His Silence Speaks Volumes
After filming The Golden Bachelor season 1, Gerry was very active on social media. His Instagram account boasts a whopping 149k followers, but Gerry has been more silent since his divorce from Theresa. His radio silence on social media is one sign that Gerry is feeling more alone than usual because he's probably trying to avoid mean comments from angry fans. With so many social media followers, Gerry could easily parlay his Bachelor fame into a lucrative influencer career, but he'd rather keep his head down and wait for the spotlight to pass him by.
Gerry's last Instagram post was almost two weeks ago when he shared photos of his recent trip to Madison, Wisconsin. In the photos, Gerry attended a college football game, spent quality time with friends, and enjoyed an outdoor concert. Gerry's post has 2.9K likes, and Gerry's post reads, in part, "LOVE college football."
7Gerry Hasn't Been In The Public Eye Recently
Avoiding People
Gerry's relative radio silence has extended beyond his social media account, as The Golden Bachelor hasn't been making any public appearances either. Some of Gerry's recent social media posts have included him taking long trips to spend time with old friends, as he tries to go back to living a normal life. He initially seemed to relish making numerous public appearances.
His most recent appearance was when he appeared alongside Theresa on Celebrity Family Feud, but he hasn't made any public appearances lately.
The Golden Bachelor probably wants to avoid angry comments from fans who blame him for the divorce, so he'd rather be on his own. There's little doubt that Gerry regrets putting himself in a position to have to avoid angry people, and he probably wishes he could take it all back. Sadly, he will never be able to rewrite history, no matter how much he wishes he could.
6Gerry Spoke To Theresa Recently
They Don't Speak Often
In a recent interview with The New York Post, Theresa addressed her time on The Golden Bachelor season 1. Theresa talked about healing and being grateful for the once-in-a-lifetime experience, despite the disappointing divorce. She repeated her insistence that she doesn't harbor any hard feelings towards Gerry and revealed she spoke to him recently. “We don’t speak regularly," Theresa said.
" I would say I wish him all the best, and I can see that he has so many friends, and I’m so happy for him that he does. ”
Since the divorce, Theresa has also pulled herself out of the public eye, preferring to spend time with her friends and family. She has stayed busy with her work, traveling, and working on her incredible garden. Much like Gerry, Theresa has chosen not to parlay her newfound fame into a life as a public figure.
5Gerry's Still Single
He Has Plenty Of Options
Since Gerry divorced Theresa, there has been significant speculation about his love life. In June, Gerry made countless heads explode when he told TMZ that even though he wasn't ready to start dating again yet, women were flooding his social media DMs with private messages to express their romantic interest in The Golden Bachelor.
Gerry also claimed that women were approaching him in person to hand over their phone numbers.
Though he said that he hadn't contacted any of the women yet, that hasn't stopped Gerry from bragging about his love life. The fact that Gerry is still single when he has plenty of options suggests that he's in a very lonely place right now and that it's by choice. Once Gerry does start dating again, he has probably learned enough from his recent experiences to keep his future relationship private.
4Gerry Told Joan To Lower Her Expectations
Bitter Advice
The Golden Bachelorette season 1's trailer premiered recently, and, as usual, the episode ended with scenes from future episodes of the season. Bachelor Nation posted the clips on YouTube, ending with that at some point during Joan's season, Gerry shows up to give her advice. This is something that happens during all Bachelor Nation shows, and it's usually a lovely exchange between franchise leads. Gerry turns the tradition on its head by asking Joan to consider the fact that she won't find her true love on the show.
Gerry's terrible advice illustrates how bitter he still feels after his time as The Golden Bachelor .
There's no doubt that going through a public divorce wasn't easy for Gerry, and, understandably, he harbors hard feelings about the experience. After feeling as if he had been unfairly maligned as the villain of the story, it's not a surprise Gerry would rather keep to himself than risk getting hurt again. The truth is, Gerry was probably contractually required to appear on The Golden Bachelorette season 1, but he may not have been ready.
3Gerry Doesn't Take Anything Seriously
He Started Making Jokes Right Away
Some say that comedy is tragedy plus time, and this is an equation that Gerry may want to keep in mind if he doesn't want to be alone. In June, Gerry, a prolific philanthropist, posted a carousel of photos to Instagram from a recent fundraising event that he organized. In the photos, Gerry has a great time on the lake with friends and family, all for a good cause. In one of the photos, Gerry wears a tee shirt that reads, "Indiana. It's Not That Bad."
This was likely Gerry's message to Theresa, who famously refused to move to Indiana, triggering the end of the Golden marriage.
It's great that Gerry has a sense of humor about the split, but making a joke about a recent divorce was distasteful and didn't sit well with Theresa's supporters. The divorce was still fresh at the time, and Gerry should have let a little more time pass before making jokes about the dissolution of his marriage. Making a joke of his break-up may detract other women from wanting to date Gerry because they'd prefer not to risk being the butt of his jokes someday.
2Gerry Refused To Change
He Loves The Status Quo
Long before joining the cast of The Golden Bachelor season 1, Gerry and his late wife, Toni, worked hard for years to build their dream home on a lakeside in Indiana. The couple finished building their home, then Toni got sick and passed away soon after. It's understandable Gerry was reluctant to leave the home he had worked so hard to build with his late wife, but it complicated his marriage to Theresa, who didn't want to move to Indiana.
Theresa was open to moving, but she didn't want to move to Indiana.
No one could blame Theresa for not wanting to move into a house her new husband had built for his late wife. She was initially willing to move to a third location, and the couple even considered North Carolina, where Gerry had friends and she had family. In the end, The Golden Bachelor season 1 star wasn't willing to make major changes to be with Theresa, so he was left all alone.
1Gerry Doesn't Have Bachelor Nation Friends
He's A Lone Wolf
One of the most interesting things about Bachelor Nation is how the contestants stay friends and become part of a wider network. After 28 seasons of The Bachelor, 21 seasons of The Bachelorette, and various other franchise shows, the Bachelor network is huge. People form strong friendships while competing on franchise shows, and careers are launched. One recent example is the unique friendship struck up between Susan Noles and Kath Schwartz from The Golden Bachelor season 1.
The two met while dating Gerry and now are close friends.
For her part, Theresa has stayed close with several of the women from Gerry's season, and she is especially close to her runner-up, Leslie. Theresa even traveled to Minnesota to hang out with Leslie, posting the photos to Instagram. Unlike Theresa and other contestants from The Golden Bachelor, Gerry hasn't formed deep friendships with anyone from the show. Though Gerry was supposed to find his true love on The Golden Bachelor, he's now more alone than ever.
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Gerry Turner |
73 years old |
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Birthday |
August 7, 1951 |
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Zodiac sign |
Leo |
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First marriage |
Toni Turner, 43 years |
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Second marriage |
Theresa Nist, 3 months |
