The Golden Bachelor’s Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist Divorce: All the Split Theories Explained
Bachelor Nation has continued to look for answers since Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist announced their split during an emotional interview on Good Morning America.
The twosome, who tied the knot during a televised wedding in January, explained on GMA that they planned to move in together but couldn’t agree on a location. (Us Weekly confirmed prior to their interview that Gerry had been living at his lake house in Indiana while Theresa had been residing at her home in New Jersey.)
“We looked at homes in South Carolina, we considered New Jersey, and we just looked at homes after home,” Theresa said during the April broadcast, “but we never got to the point where we made that decision.”
Hours after The Golden Bachelor couple announced they called it quits, Us broke the news that Gerry had filed to dissolve their marriage in his hometown of Petersburg, Indiana.
Scroll down to read the speculation as to why Gerry and Theresa separated:
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Gerry’s Past
Gerry made headlines days before The Golden Bachelor finale aired in November 2023 when The Hollywood Reporter published a bombshell report that he dated multiple women following the death of his first wife, Toni, who died in 2017. One of the women accused Gerry of fat-shaming her, which he subsequently denied in an interview with The Los Angeles Times.
After Gerry and Theresa announced their plans to divorce, some Bachelor Nation fans speculated that the reasoning was due to his past. Theresa, however, denied that rumor during the GMA broadcast.
“Gerry had already discussed that with me,” Theresa shared. “He had explained it to me before the report was ever released, so we were good with that. That didn’t play into it.”
Gerry and Theresa Can’t ‘Leave’ Their Families
The Golden Bachelor season 1 contestant Susan Noles, who also officiated Gerry and Theresa’s wedding, suggested their families may have contributed to their split. (Gerry and Theresa have separate kids and grandchildren from their previous relationships.)
Noles and fellow The Golden Bachelor costar Kathy Swarts openly discussed the separation during an episode of their “Golden Hour” podcast, which they posted via Instagram. When a user commented on the clip, “Why did they break up so quick?” Noles replied, “Neither one of them can leave their families.”
‘Golden Bachelor’ Couple Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist’s Relationship Timeline
Gerry and Theresa Argued About Her Job
Weeks before announcing their split, Gerry and Theresa shared that her job had caused a strain in their relationship. “I still work, so that’s the hurdle,” Theresa said on a March episode of the “Dear Shandy” podcast.
Before filming The Golden Bachelor, Theresa noted that she informed her work that she would only be gone for two weeks because she didn’t expect to stay awhile on the show.
“I honestly thought, ‘Oh, let me just get through the first night,’” she said. “And I stayed and I stayed and I stayed, and my employer was so good to me. And before I left, I kind of said, ‘Don’t worry, I’m not going to leave you.’”
Theresa added that her career contributed to the reason why the twosome were long-distance after exchanging vows. Gerry, for his part, said he would “go through phases” regarding how he felt about Theresa’s work.
“I guess the difficult part is I went on to the show to find my partner, and I’ve been retired for a long time. I wanted fun [and] adventure. I wanted to go do [things],” he said. “So that is the crux of it, right now, is when does that start? I think the living arrangement is really secondary to the freedom of being able to go and enjoy life and do. That hurdle is still there, and right now, we’re dealing with it. It’s just something we’re gonna have to find a way around.”
Lifestyle Differences
Another potential reason for The Golden Bachelor couple’s split could have stemmed from their lifestyle differences. Podcast host Kate Casey claimed she had details from a source whose son’s girlfriend is friends with Gerry’s youngest granddaughter.
“He’s saying he wanted the divorce because she was too ‘uppity’ for him and used the example of she wouldn’t pump her own gas and hated where he lived,” Casey said in a clip of her “Reality Life With Kate Casey” podcast posted via Instagram. “Everyone from the state of New Jersey knows you legally can’t pump your own gas, you can’t, someone pumps your own gas for you.”
On the other side of things, a source told Us that Theresa’s inner circle wasn’t surprised by the split as they didn’t see eye to eye on several lifestyle decisions. People magazine previously reported that the pair had “been fighting since after the wedding.”
Us Weekly reached out to ABC for comment on Gerry and Theresa’s divorce.
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Theresa’s Alleged Indiana Comment
During a May 2024 episode of the “Almost Famous” podcast, Ben Higgins shared a “rumor” about how an alleged comment Theresa made while visiting Gerry in Indiana may have played a part in their breakup.
“‘Wow, look at all this beautiful untouched land. Think about what could be done if they developed it. Condos, office buildings, apartments. Think about the towns that could congregate in these open fields and think about the people that would be interested in moving here,’” Ben claims Theresa remarked while driving through cornfields. “And look at that lake. There's a lake with only corn fields around it. Think about if they build up a resort where people could vacation to.’ And Gerry’s comment back to her, again, a rumor, was, ‘You don't take land from a farmer.’ And that was the start of them realizing that they did not see the world the same way.”
According to Ben, who is from Indiana, “This was a big start to them disagreeing on how they saw the world and what they imagined for the world and how they wanted to invest into the world.”
Despite his podcast cohost, Ashley Iaconetti, accusing Ben of creating the rumor, he maintained that the story was allegedly true. “I cannot talk about my sources,” he stated. “I have sources that stay in touch and involved and they’re everywhere.”
