The Golden Bachelor’s Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist’s divorce after the Golden Wedding proves that the show cares more about ratings than its couples.
The Golden Bachelor couple Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist were married on January 4, 2024 in a live, televised event, but on April 12, 2024, just three months after the wedding, they announced that they’re getting divorced, proving that the producers of the show only cared about ratings and not the pair themselves. Gerry, a 72-year-old retired restaurateur from Hudson, Indiana, and Theresa, a 70-year-old financial services professional from Shrewsbury, New Jersey, had a whirlwind romance on the show. The season finale ended with Gerry proposing to Theresa, and the couple revealing that they’d be getting married shortly afterward
The Golden Bachelor season 1’s Golden Wedding was a beautiful event, which brought together Gerry and Theresa’s families, including their children and grandchildren. They seemed as though they’d live happily ever after, until rumors started to spread that they weren’t living together at all. In the end, Gerry and Theresa were unable to decide where they’d settle down, and their commitments to their respective families took precedence over their marriage. Although they made their own decisions along the way, their divorce proves that The Golden Bachelor producers cared more about ratings than them.
The Golden Bachelor Producers Rushed The Golden Wedding
Gerry & Theresa Had Only Known Each Other A Few Months Before They Got Married
During The Golden Bachelor “After the Final Rose” episode, Gerry said that, at their age, he and Theresa didn’t want to wait to get married. Although he seemed to be half-joking, the Golden Wedding was immediately announced, and Bachelor Nation was shocked to hear that it would be happening just a few months after the season finale aired. The Golden Bachelor began filming in August 2023, which meant that Gerry and Theresa had only known each other for a total of about five months before they got married.
While Gerry and Theresa didn’t say that this led to their breakup, it had to have played a role in their split. They were caught up in the moment of their love, and so they didn’t consider the logistics of their relationship when they got engaged and married. The Golden Bachelor gave them a lavish wedding, which must’ve been very hard to say no to. However, if the producers really had Gerry and Theresa’s best interests at heart, they wouldn’t have planned the wedding so soon after the finale aired. In hindsight, involving their children and grandchildren in the event was also a bad idea, since it didn’t end well.
The Golden Bachelor producers seemed to care more about keeping the momentum of the show, which was a tremendous hit for ABC, and revitalized the entire Bachelor franchise. It appears that no consideration was given to Gerry and Theresa’s true feelings as the Golden Wedding was planned, and instead the producers rushed them into doing something that perhaps they weren’t ready for. While they’re adults who can make their own decisions, it’s possible that powerful network executives could’ve forced them into a public spectacle of a wedding before they were really ready to get married, leading to their divorce.
While it could be argued that Gerry and Theresa could’ve made their own decision, when the show was throwing an engagement ring, a trip to Italy, and a luxurious wedding at them, it must’ve been very hard for them to say no. Many Bachelor franchise couples have spoken about the pressures that they felt when their seasons ended. In many cases, this led to the ends of their relationships.
Unfortunately, this seems to be the case with Gerry and Theresa as well. During the Good Morning America interview in which they announced their divorce, they said that they still loved each other. This proved that perhaps things were simply moving too quickly for a couple who’d only known each other for a few months. Perhaps more time was all they needed to work out the details of their relationship before getting married. They could’ve either decided where they’d live together after the wedding, or not gotten married at all, and avoided a very public divorce.
The Golden Bachelor Producers Falsely Represented Gerry Turner
Gerry’s Image Was Tarnished By Bombshell Allegations
When Gerry was announced as the first-ever lead of The Golden Bachelor, he was presented as a widower, who’d lost his wife Toni unexpectedly to a bacterial infection six years earlier, and hadn’t dated anyone seriously since. However, a bombshell article from The Hollywood Reporter alleged that he’d had a serious girlfriend before he became the Golden Bachelor, who even lived with him for one year and nine months. The claim also stated that Gerry had broken up with her because she’d gained ten pounds before his high school reunion. Gerry disputed the accusations, but the damage to his reputation was done.
This was the complete opposite of how Gerry had been portrayed on the show. However, when Gerry and Theresa announced their divorce on Good Morning America, Theresa insisted that the report had nothing to do with their break up. She said, “Gerry had already discussed that with me. He had explained it to me before the report was ever released. So we were good with that. That didn’t play into it.” Although this might be true, the report had to have put a strain on their relationship.
The Golden Bachelor producers were more concerned about creating a character for Gerry to play (the innocent widower who hadn’t yet dated since his wife’s death) than allowing viewers to know the truth about his dating life. They made Gerry appear to be a liar, when the truth might’ve been that the show discouraged him from talking about his dating life. Or, perhaps he did speak about it with the women, and the producers chose not to air it.
Whatever the case may be, the way that Gerry was portrayed on the show proved that The Golden Bachelor producers cared more about the story that they were trying to put forth rather than Gerry himself. Gerry and Theresa must’ve devoted a lot of time to dealing with the fallout from the revelations, which could’ve damaged their relationship. Although they said it’s not the reason for their divorce, the stress could’ve been a contributing factor.
Gerry and Theresa seemed to be the perfect couple, but they couldn’t make their living arrangement work for the both of them. The Golden Bachelor producers might not be directly responsible for their decision, but their actions created problems that definitely made it difficult for them. From the fake image that they created for Gerry to the rushed Golden Wedding, it’s clear that all the producers cared about were the ratings of the show, and not the people involved. Despite this, Gerry and Theresa had an inspiring love story, and it’s very sad to see it come to an end.
