“I truly thought it was going to last forever,” she said.
Bachelor Nation was rocked last week by the news that Golden Bachelor couple Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist are getting divorced. Their split came just three months after they tied the knot and exchanged heartfelt vows on national television for the series special episode The Golden Wedding. Now, Theresa is speaking out for the first time since the news broke — and she has a lot to say.
Why did Gerry and Theresa break up?
The Golden Bachelor couple announced on GMA on April 12 that they’d decided to end their marriage — and logistics seem to have played a significant role in their choice. “We’ve looked closely at our situation, our living situation and so forth, and we’ve kind of come to the decision mutually that it’s probably time for us to dissolve our marriage,” Turner said.
Nist echoed that figuring out where to live was a strain on their relationship, further explaining, “We looked at homes in South Carolina, we considered New Jersey and we just looked at home after home, but we never got to the point where we made that decision.”
They both said that they didn’t fall out of love — in fact, they insisted they were still very much in love — but had nonetheless chosen to dissolve their marriage.
Theresa Nist speaks out about her split from Gerry
On April 15, Nist posted her first public statement about her divorce to Gerry Turner, uploading a post to Instagram with the Dr. Seuss quote, “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”
In the caption, she thanked those sending her kind words during this difficult time. “To everyone who has expressed love, support and kindness to me I thank you from the bottom of my heart,” she wrote, adding, “It means the world to me that you took the time to reach out to me, whether in person, on the phone, by text or by direct message.”
She also had some words for all the fans who feel let down by the suddenness of her split (even GMA‘s Juju Chang asked, “I mean, what the heck, guys?” when questioning why Turner and Nist’s marriage lasted a mere three months). “For everyone else who is confused and angry and who does not understand, please try to find it in your heart to understand and to try a little kindness. Not just for me but for the world and for everyone you encounter,” Nist wrote. She added that she truly thought her relationship with Turner would last forever: “It turns out, even at the age of 70, you don’t know everything,” she said.
She added, “Sometimes things don’t go the way you planned and that’s okay.” She said she remains grateful for all the positives from the Golden Bachelor experience.
Nist ended her statement with a message to fans to stay open to new experiences, opportunities, and of course, love. “Keep smiling, keep laughing… I will.”
