The Golden Bachelor is opening up about a health scare that affected his priorities as a newlywed. Speaking to People, Gerry Turner has revealed that he was diagnosed with cancer just prior to his split with Theresa Nist. Turner opened up about his life-changing bone marrow cancer diagnosis back in March. Many fans of The Golden Bachelor were shocked when they learned about the breakup between the 72-year-old Turner and the 71-year-old Nist.
In the first season of the series, the hit ABC dating series watched as a bachelor of a certain age dated bachelorettes of a certain age. For Turner and Nist, their fairy tale story ended with an engagement before a live televised wedding special in January 2024. But, following three months of marriage, the newlyweds split via an interview on Good Morning America. Now, Turner explains the reason behind the devastating decision.
Gerry Turner Reveals the Reason Behind the Split
In the exclusive chat with People, Gerry Turner shared that he hadn’t wanted to discuss his diagnosis until now. To help clear up the mystery surrounding his decision, he said, “As Theresa and I were trying very hard to find our lifestyle and where we were going to live and how we were going to make our life work, I was unfortunately diagnosed with cancer.” Having gone to the doctor to discuss a previous shoulder injury, the visit led him to discover unusual blood markers. “And so an orthopedic surgeon went to my family doctor, my family doctor referred me to an oncologist, and now I’m working with a hematology-oncology group in Fort Wayne,” he went on to say.
Known as Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia, this bone marrow cancer starts in the white blood cells that “can build up in the spongy material inside the bones where blood cells are made. The cancer cells crowd healthy blood cells out of the bone marrow.” Sadly, Turner stated, “Unfortunately, there’s no cure for it. So, that weighs heavily in every decision I make. It was like 10 tons of concrete were just dropped on me. And I was a bit in denial for a while, I didn’t want to admit to it.”
Turner shared his diagnosis with Nist before undergoing further testing. After a brief conversation, Turner realized that his priorities had changed. “I wanted my life to continue on as normal as possible, and that led me to believing that as normal as possible more meant spending time with my family, my two daughters, my two son-in-laws, my granddaughters,” he said. “And the importance of finding the way with Theresa was still there, but it became less of a priority.”
With this new information coming to light, Turner felt that the rush to judgment was unfair and hoped people could understand their decision to split. The reality star shared he would now live a life like Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying” philosophy. “I’m going to pack as much fun as I possibly can into my life and enjoy every moment. And when I’m gone, I’m gone, but I’m not going to have regrets.” As far as Thersa Nist, he wished her “good luck in the world.”
