Katie weighs in, too.
Have you heard? America’s most beloved bachelor is officially off the market. Gerry Turner, the 72-year-old widower at the center of ABC’s inaugural season of The Golden Bachelor, handed his final rose out to Theresa Nist in last week’s roller coaster of a finale. The lovebirds are getting married in January, and the occasion will air live on ABC.
They’ve been making the press rounds since the proposal, and Katie Couric made sure to sit down with the happy couple. Katie covered a lot in her Zoom interview with Gerry and Theresa — including those Hollywood Reporter claims about Gerry’s dating history and career — but they bonded over their shared experiences. Katie’s a widow, too, just like Theresa and Gerry, and got married to Molner 10 years ago. They had a candid conversation about finding love later in life, and it resulted in some pretty uplifting advice that had nothing to do with signing up for a reality show! If you’re single, you might want to take some notes.
Katie Couric: What advice would you give other women? I have so many great single friends. I’m 66 and I got married almost 10 years ago. It’s tough out there, as you know. It’s hard to be vulnerable and put yourself out there. I give advice all the time, but what advice would you give if people can’t or don’t want to go on The Golden Bachelor?
Theresa: I had gotten to the point where dating websites just weren’t going to work. I would say, go out there and live your life, take pickleball lessons, go on a golf course, take an art class, go back to school, go back to college, mingle with people, volunteer. You never know if you’ll meet another woman who has a friend who has a friend. Just get in there. Expose yourself and live your life. The dating websites can have a place in it, it’s very difficult to do it that way. When I first was widowed, I was told, “Hey, why do you need to do anything more with your life? Just garden and watch TV.” And I knew that I had so much more love to give and life to live. So I would just encourage women to get out there. If you’re on line at the grocery store, make eye contact with someone, try to say something and be open to the process.
Katie: I always say act as if it’s like you’re trying to find a job. Put as much effort into it as you would finding a job. And that means asking people and asking them again and again. Yes, people forget about it. What about you, Gerry?
Gerry: Well, it’s very similar to what Theresa said. I think there’s also an element of confidence. People begin to think that they don’t have value as they get older, and maybe they’ve failed at some dating situations and so forth. So find your confidence and be positive. I have a story about a guy my age who lost his wife six months before Toni passed away. He never dated after his wife passed away and after he watched the show, he sent me a message that said, Gerry, with a little luck and because of watching your show, I’m now dating again. And I just got a message from him last night that his relationship is going well. And I think it was a matter of confidence. You just decide you want to be in a relationship and you don’t give up until you get there with someone.
