'Golden Bachelor' couple Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist announce they are divorcing
"The Golden Bachelor" couple Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist are getting divorced.
The couple, who fell in love on the first season of "The Golden Bachelor" last fall before tying the knot in a televised wedding earlier this year, announced the news Friday exclusively on "Good Morning America."
“Theresa and I have had a number of heart-to-heart conversations, and we’ve looked closely at our situation, our living situation, so forth and -- and we’ve kind of come to the conclusion mutually that it’s probably time for us to -- dissolve our marriage,” Turner told Juju Chang in an interview for “Good Morning America.”
“Get a divorce?” Chang clarified. “Yes,” Turner said.
“We have received so much love and support from so many people who watched ‘The Golden Bachelor,’ and I don’t think we can tell you how many people told us that it gave them so much hope,” Nist said. “We want none of that to change for anybody.”
Turner proposed to Nist on the season 1 finale of "The Golden Bachelor," which aired on Nov. 30.
During an interview that aired the morning after the finale, each told "GMA" they had found their "person."
In the new interview, Turner said, “The thing that strikes me the most in our conversations, it’s been how dedicated both of us are to our families … So we look at these situations and I think we just feel like it’s best for the happiness of each of us to, to live apart.”
When asked how this fell apart after both said they were 100% committed to making this work, Nist said “that was the plan.”
“We looked at homes in South Carolina, we considered New Jersey, and we just looked at homes after home, but we never got to the point where we made that decision.”
Turner and Nist got married during a televised wedding that aired Jan. 4, with their children and grandchildren in attendance.
The pair, holding hands during the interview, reiterated that they did not fall out of love.
“I still love this person,” Turner said. “There’s no doubt in my mind, I still am in love with her. I root for her every day.”
Nist added, “Yeah, I still love him.”
The couple who brought hope to many looking for love later in life told “GMA” their message for others is to “‘Stay in it, stay hopeful,’” Nist said, “because we are.”
Both Turner and Nist were previously wed to their high school sweethearts, each of whom passed away after more than 40 years of marriage.
The couple was challenged with the realities of being in the public eye after their televised experience.
Both told “GMA” that reports of their dating history and past did not play into this decision.
“Gerry had already discussed that with me,” Nist said. He had explained it to me before the report was ever released, so we were good with that.”
Although this announcement seems abrupt, Nist said “We didn't want to pretend to anybody.”
The pair will give their rings back, “I think that’s the rule,” Nist said with a laugh. “But you know what? We don't have to give back the memories,” Turner added.
The couple had a prenuptial agreement and said they highly recommend it to others.
Nist also shared advice for the new, yet to be announced, Golden Bachelorette, "be authentic, be yourself."
The pair both said separately that they will continue to look for love.
