“It’s best for the happiness of each of us to live apart.”
They say nothing lasts forever — and in the case of the marriage from The Golden Bachelor, that proved to be true rather quickly.
Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist, who tied the knot in January 2024 after meeting on the latest iteration of ABC’s hit dating franchise, told Good Morning America in an exclusive interview on Friday that they’re calling it quits after only three months of matrimony.
“Theresa and I have had a number of heart-to-heart conversations, and 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 added that — as the couple told the press following their engagement — they did plan to buy a home together, and looked at options in both South Carolina and New Jersey, but “never got to the point” when they were ready to pull the trigger. Though the couple wasn’t particularly direct about what exactly went wrong in the relationship, Turner suggested a split was best for not only the couple but their loved ones, too.
“The thing that strikes me the most in our conversations has 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 live apart,” he said.
Interviewer Juju Chang asked the couple about the controversial claims made in an article from The Hollywood Reporter, which raised skepticism about Turner’s dating history and his career. (Our very own Katie Couric also quizzed the couple about these issues in her interview with them after the Golden Bachelor finale in December 2023.) When Chang wondered if that article had a hand in their decision to dissolve the marriage, Nist said that wasn’t the case: “Gerry had already discussed that with me. He had explained it to me before the report was every released, so we were good with that. That didn’t play into it.”
The couple is holding hands throughout their ABC interview, and said that while they’ll no longer be husband and wife, they still consider themselves “best friends.” “I still love this person — there’s no doubt in my mind. I still am in love with her. I root for her every day,” Turner said. (They also confirmed to ABC that they did have a prenuptial agreement — and recommend other couples do the same.)
The news of the couple’s divorce comes as ABC is prepping an upcoming season of The Golden Bachelorette — and we can only hope the next couple to find love in this strange pressure-cooker environment will be in it for a longer haul. To tide you over until we meet the new crop of hopefuls, here’s a look at our guesses about who The Golden Bachelorette might be, along with a brand-new chat with Susan and Kathy from The Golden Bachelor about what they’ve been up to since the show aired.
And, lastly, if you’re not yet ready to totally say goodbye to the dream of happiness that Gerry and Theresa once had, you can revisit their conversation with Katie below for a walk down memory lane. (Don’t worry, that walk won’t take you very long — it only happened months ago, after all.)
