Bachelor Nation
‘Golden Bachelor’s Theresa Nist Says Gerry Turner ‘Had Me Fooled’ During Relationship
With information about Gerry Turner‘s upcoming book, Golden Years: What I’ve Learned from Love, Loss, and Reality TV, beginning to come out, his ex-wife, Theresa Nist, is hitting back.
While promoting the memoir, Turner said he felt “trapped” in his The Golden Bachelor marriage, among other claims. Turner and Nist were married for three months before filing for divorce in April 2024, and more than a year later, the drama between them has officially gone public.
“Out of respect for his family, I had decided a long time ago to not say anything, take the high road, and keep what happened between us between us,” Nist told the She’s All Bach podcast. “So I can’t tell you how disappointed I am that Gerry has decided to talk about me in such a disparaging way. Nothing he has said about me or how our conversations went is accurate or happened the the that he described it.”
Nist continued, “I’m not sure if Gerry has a bad memory, or if he just thought it would sound more dramatic the way he revised it. It makes me really sad to know how empty and trapped he felt prior to our wedding. I wish he had just been honest with me. I really thought he loved me, but clearly he had me fooled. His behavior behind closed doors makes a lot more sense now.”
In a previous statement to Us Weekly, Nist made a similar remark, telling the outlet that she wishes her ex-husband “just ended it” before going through with their wedding. “At least now I understand why he was so hurtful to me so many times,” she added. “And I will say this. Those in glass houses should not throw stones. I do wish him all the best.”
Turner wrote in the book that he opened up to another Golden Bachelor contestant, Faith Martin, about the “trapped” feeling, and explained to Us Weekly, “I felt like I was doing the right thing. I just didn’t feel overjoyed about it.”
He also claimed that Nist made him out to be the “villain” after they split. “We were strongly advised not to make any independent statements [after Good Morning America],” Turner shared. “Literally 48 hours later, she was making a statement to social media. And I go, ‘No, that was not what we agreed to do. That was not our plan.'”
Plus, looking back at his time on The Golden Bachelor, Turner said he felt Nist might have been strategizing to make it further on the show. “On the show, I did not have a feeling that that’s what was going on. In retrospect, when I’d start hearing comments or putting pieces together, I’d go, ‘Oh, now that comment makes more sense,'” he revealed. “It’s one of those litmus tests for women on the show — are they there for the right reasons? I gave Theresa full credit that she was… and then, as time went by, I kind of had to change my mind on that.”
