The Golden Bachelor: Gerry Turner Is Rubbing His Happiness In Critics' Faces (He's Having A Great Summer)

The Golden Bachelor's Gerry Turner has been the subject of much criticism since announcing his divorce, but he's not letting it bring him down. Gerry, a 72-year-old retired restaurateur, made his television debut as the romantic lead of TheBachelor spin-off's inaugural season, and he immediately struck a chord with the audience. The widowed grandfather was initially portrayed as a sympathetic figure, but his behavior has tarnished his image.

After dating 22 amazing single women in their 60s and 70s, Gerry gave his final rose to 70-year-old financier Theresa Nist. The Golden Bachelor season 1 ended with Gerry and Theresa's engagement. Arguing that they had no time to waste at their age, the couple quickly planned their dream wedding and were married in January, just a few weeks after going public with their relationship. Despite high hopes, Gerry and Theresa announced their divorce in April. Since the announcement, Gerry has been the target of enormous criticism, but he's determined to ignore the haters.

Gerry Is King Of The Lake

Hot Boy Summer

Gerry is a prolific philanthropist who loves to get involved in raising money for worthy causes that he believes in. In June, Gerry posted a carousel of photos to Instagram of a fundraising event he took part in. The post has 4.1K likes so far, and Gerry's caption reads, in part, "Great friends coming together for fun and fundraising." The album of photos commemorates what appears to be a fun day on the lake, with The Golden Bachelor showing off his sun-kissed physique in several shots.

Gerry put that idea to bed with this recent Instagram post. Both Gerry and Theresa have been thriving since their split, and that's a good thing. Instead of the relationship dragging on and on, TheGolden Bachelor couple decided to walk away before things got ugly.

Gerry's Golden Bachelor Journey

An Emotional Roller Coaster

Long before appearing on The Golden Bachelor, Gerry had been married for 43 years to the love of his life, Toni Turner. After raising their children and building their dream home lakeside in Indiana, Tony became ill and passed away in 2017. Though he claimed that he had been single since her passing, it was later revealed Gerry had been in a serious relationship with a live-in girlfriend following his wife's passing. Nonetheless, all was forgiven as he and Theresa fell head over heels in love.

For her part, Theresa had been married to William Nist for 42 years before he passed away in 2014. Audiences were rooting for a love story about two widows getting a second chance at finding true love. Alas, the marriage went down in flames in just a few short months. Gerry and Theresa lived in Indiana and New Jersey, respectively, and neither had been willing to leave their families behind to be together.

Though Gerry and Theresa rushed into a marriage that didn't last very long, they thankfully did so in the wisest way possible. The Golden Bachelor couple had a prenup in place before they walked down the aisle. Thanks to their smart decision to do so, they walked away from the short-lived marriage with little damage done to their financial standings. Gerry and Theresa have said that they still care deeply about each other and will continue to be friends.

Gerry's DMs Have Been Lit

He's Got Options (And He Wants Everyone To Know It)

Since the divorce announcement, there has been a lot of public speculation about Gerry's love life. During a recent interview, Gerry told TMZ that though he's not ready to start dating again, he has been receiving multiple romantic offers. According to Gerry, women have been sending him messages via DMs and even giving him their phone numbers in person. Gerry claims not to have contacted any of the women yet. He seemed to be sharing the information to let his critics know that he'd been doing well since his disappointing split from Theresa.