After getting married during a live TV ceremony in January 2024, the ‘Golden Bachelor’ couple announced their divorce three months later
The Golden Bachelor couple Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist are going their separate ways.
After three months of marriage, the couple announced their decision to divorce during a joint interview on Good Morning America, which aired on April 12, 2024 — the same day Turner officially filed.
“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 conclusion mutually that it’s probably time for us to dissolve our marriage,” the reality star said on the show.
The couple first met on season 1 of The Golden Bachelor in August 2023 and ended their Bachelor journey by getting engaged during the finale episode, which aired that November.
A few months later, the two made their love official as they tied the knot during a live TV wedding special at the La Quinta Resort and Club in La Quinta, Calif., in January.
Following their nuptials, the duo gave a handful of sweet glimpses of their love story, including ringing in holidays alongside each other and tuning into The Bachelor together.
From the beginnings of their romance to their recent divorce, here’s a timeline of their relationship.
August 2023: Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist first meet on The Golden Bachelor
After Turner was named the first-ever Golden Bachelor in July 2023, filming for the show officially commenced in August, where Turner and Nist first met. Throughout filming, the couple shared many milestones together, including meeting each other’s families and telling each other “I love you” for the first time.
November 2, 2023: Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist’s hometown date airs
Turner and Nist took a big step in their relationship during the hometown dates episode, when Turner met Nist’s family in Shrewsbury, New Jersey. During the episode, the financial services professional revealed that Turner would be the first man to meet her family since her husband died, adding, “If there weren’t real feelings here, I would not be bringing Gerry home to meet my family.”
He then met Nist’s daughter Jen, her husband Matt and their children, as well as her sisters Charlotte and Mary. Nist’s sisters were impressed by Turner, and said he was a “perfect fit” for her.
November 30, 2023: Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist get engaged
A few short weeks later, Turner and Nist finally went public with their relationship as they got engaged during the season finale on Nov. 30. Turner popped the question with a gorgeous Neil Lane ring, which was a princess cut diamond accented with two baguette cut diamonds, and further set with 128 small, round brilliant cut diamonds for a total weight of 3.15 carats.
Speaking with PEOPLE exclusively, Turner and Nist opened up about their engagement and their upcoming wedding, which Nist said her daughters were “so involved” in planning. They also revealed that Turner asked his son-in-laws to be his best men and Nist’s daughter would be her maid of honor.
December 2023: Gerry Turner talks about moving to Charleston to be with Theresa Nist
After getting engaged on the Golden Bachelor, the couple revealed to PEOPLE that they planned on moving to Charleston, S.C., with Turner noting how “fate played a hand” in the decision.
“For the last couple of years, when my family gets together, I’ve talked about moving to South Carolina, and it’s an idea I’ve toyed with,” Turner said. “And then in conversation with Theresa, a private moment, she’s saying, ‘Well, yeah, my son lives near Charleston in South Carolina.’ ”
“And all of a sudden it’s like, there’s a big problem that is gone,” Turner added. “The issue of compromising on where to live and how to reconcile families and all of that is, it’s no longer an issue.”
December 11, 2023: Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist make their red carpet debut
In December 2023, a month after the Golden Bachelor aired, the couple made their red carpet debut as they attended an event for the series. While walking the red carpet, Nist showed off her ring as she rested her hand on Turner’s chest for photos.
December 31, 2023: Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist ring in New Year’s Eve together
Later that month, Turner and Nist spent New Year’s Eve together as they rang in 2024. Nist posted a cute selfie of them cuddled up, captioning it, “Relaxing in a New York State of mind waiting for the ball to drop and wishing everyone a happy, healthy and joyful New Year 🥂”
January 4, 2024: Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist get married
During a live, televised ceremony, officiated by Golden Bachelor contestant Susan Noles, Turner and Nist said “I do” at the La Quinta Resort and Club in La Quinta, Calif. Before exchanging vows, Noles addressed the couple, saying that she believed that “fate” brought them together, adding, “30,000 people and you were both chosen to be on the Golden Bachelor.”
“You have both given us all so much hope that it is never, ever too late to find love,” she shared.
Before their big day, Turner and Nist opened up to PEOPLE about finally getting their dream wedding in the 70s. “See, you’ve got to remember, Theresa didn’t get — her first time around, she didn’t have much time to plan and really, I didn’t either,” Turner said, referring to Nist’s first marriage to her childhood sweetheart Billy.
“We didn’t have a whole lot of time and [we were] pretty broke, both of us,” he says of his and Nist’s previous weddings. “So this is kind of big. We want to make it so we don’t miss any of the moments.”
January 14, 2024: Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist recreate their first date
After officially becoming husband and wife, Turner and Nist adorably recreated their first date together as Nist took Turner to a New Jersey diner.
“A diner date is part of our story… so, I had to bring Gerry to a New Jersey diner. (we are kinda famous for them here!),” wrote Nist. “Eggs, bacon and pancakes (for him), a spinach, feta cheese omelet and a fruit cup for me..so much fun meeting new and old friends!”
January 28, 2024: Theresa Nist reveals she’s planning their honeymoon
In an Instagram post shared in late January 2024, Nist revealed that she was busy planning her honeymoon with Turner. Alongside picturesque photos of Italy, she wrote, “Having so much fun planning and dreaming about our honeymoon in May to Italy…flying into Rome, spending a few days in Tuscany and then heading down to Sorrento and the Amalfi coast. I’ve been to Italy twice, once when I was 18, and again to visit my daughter when she studied abroad there. I can’t wait to experience it with Gerry!”
Turner previously told PEOPLE that he was letting Nist take the reins when it came to planning their special trip as a married couple. “Theresa’s a really good planner,” he gushed. “So when it comes to vacations, this is one thing I’m looking forward to is, we’ll agree on a budget, she can plan and I just show up the first day.”
February 14, 2024: Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist celebrate Valentine’s Day
As Turner and Nist celebrated their first Valentine’s Day as a married couple, Nist posted a heartfelt video which featured throwback footage from their wedding day. “Wishing everyone a lovely valentine’s day 💕💕💕💕,” she wrote, tagging Turner in the post.
March 25, 2024: Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist attend the Bachelor finale together
After cheering on Joey Graziadei at home during his season of The Bachelor, the couple publicly showed their support as they attended the live taping of the season finale in March.
The pair was all smiles at the event, which occurred just a few weeks before their divorce announcement. “It was so much fun getting to see everyone last night! I really loved watching Joey’s season,” Nist captioned the carousel of photos, which featured selfies with season 28’s Maria Georgas and Rachel Nance. “What an impressive cast, all classy, smart, amazing people and such an overall great production. What a show it was!”
April 12, 2024: Gerry Turner files for divorce from Theresa Nist
During a joint interview with Good Morning America, Turner and Nist publicly announced that they were divorcing after three months of marriage.
“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 conclusion mutually that it’s probably time for us to dissolve our marriage,” Turner said during the interview.
Meanwhile, Nist added, “We have received so much love and support from so many people who watch the Golden Bachelor and I don’t think we can tell you how many people told us it gave them so much hope.”
When asked what caused their split, they both pointed to long distance. He lives at his lake house in Indiana while she is based out of New Jersey. Though they had previously expressed plans to move to South Carolina, Nist noted that never panned out. “We looked at home after home, but we never got to the point where we made that decision,” she said.
Despite their split, they noted that they are “best friends” and plan on staying in one another’s lives. “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, pointing to Nist who gushed, “I still love him.”
The reality star officially filed for divorce from Nist just hours after the big announcement.