Gerry revealed he wasn’t privy to Theresa’s true intentions while on the show
GOLDEN Bachelor Gerry Turner has blasted his ex-wife, Theresa Nist, and accused her of only wanting to win the show and not find love.
The show’s original leading man made the shocking claims in his new memoir titled Golden Years: What I’ve Learned from Love, Loss, and Reality TV, released on November 4.
Gerry and Theresa were married for only three months before announcing their split on Good Morning America.
The news surprised fans who had watched their love story unfold onscreen, including a televised wedding in January 2024.
However, it wasn’t the fairytale romance it appeared to be, as Gerry revealed Theresa dragged her feet in signing the prenuptial agreement, waiting until just before their wedding day.
“I began to worry she was going to run out the clock,” the TV star revealed in his book, according to USA Today, which obtained an exclusive copy.
“Then I would be faced with either calling off a very expensive, televised wedding at the last minute or entering into a marriage legally unprotected. I didn’t like either of these options.”
While the prenup was eventually settled before they exchanged “I do’s,” Gerry later discovered that Theresa’s feelings for him weren’t as genuine as she portrayed on the show.
The TV personality admitted he learned of Theresa’s true intentions after speaking with some of the other 22 competitors from his season.
“Several women shared a seemingly small detail that loomed large in my mind,” Gerry wrote. “While at the mansion, Theresa was reading ‘How to Win ‘The Bachelor.””
The 73-year-old grandfather said the thoughts made him “sick to my stomach,” and it suggested that “her goal was never to find the next love of her life; it was to win.”
Theresa’s supposed plotting wasn’t the only thing that turned Gerry off to his new bride.
He wrote that after watching the show and seeing Theresa’s argument with fellow competitor Kathy Swarts, he regretted his decision to give Theresa a rose rather than Kathy.
Kathy had said the spat was due to Theresa’s constant bragging about getting dates with Gerry, which rubbed him the wrong way.
“Later, when I saw the argument for myself, I thought, ‘I damn well could have said ‘Zip it’ myself!” Gerry confessed.
“Frankly, Theresa was rubbing it in.”
Although fans were disappointed to hear about Gerry and Theresa’s divorce so soon after his onscreen proposal and subsequent wedding, it appears the breakup was for the best.
At the time, Gerry said the reason for their split was that they struggled to compromise on where they would live, considering he lived in Indiana and Theresa, 70, lived in New Jersey.
He also said his sudden cancer diagnosis played a factor as well.
Gerry was diagnosed with an incurable bone marrow cancer in March 2024.
The ABC star ended up finding his happy ending after all, as he recently revealed he’s engaged to his girlfriend, Lana Sutton, just a few months after the pair went public with their relationship.
In his engagement announcement, Gerry sweetly said he had found his “perfect match” with the retired schoolteacher.
Gerry was previously married to his high school sweetheart, Toni, for 43 years before her death in 2017.
