'Golden Bachelor' Gerry Turner says cancer diagnosis factored into Theresa Nist divorce
"Golden Bachelor" star Gerry Turner has cancer.
The inaugural star of ABC's dating show for contestants in their golden years confirmed his diagnosis to People in an interview published Wednesday.
Turner, 72, revealed to the outlet he suffered a shoulder injury three years ago while teaching a pickleball class and did not have time to go to an orthopedic surgeon. When he finally found time to see a doctor after filming his season of the "Golden Bachelor," they noticed abnormalities in his bloodwork.
ABC declined to comment.
"I think it's time, also because it probably will clear up a lot of mystery around what happened back in February, March and April," Turner told the outlet.
"When you are hit with that kind of news and the shock wears off after a few days or a few weeks and you regroup and you realize what's important to you, that's where you start to move forward," he said.
What is Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia?
Shortly after he was diagnosed with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia, a bone marrow cancer. Considered a type of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the condition converts some white blood cells into cancerous ones, according to the Mayo Clinic.
"Unfortunately, there's no cure for it. So that weighs heavily in every decision I make," Turner told People of the disease. "It was like 10 tons of concrete were just dropped on me. And I was a bit in denial for a while, I didn't want to admit to it."
Cancer factored into Gerry Turner, Theresa Nist divorce
Turner is speaking out now in part to shed some light on the decision he and Theresa Nist, the winner of his season, made to divorce in April.
The two went from a whirlwind engagement to a televised marriage to a divorce in the space of months.
Turner now reveals their decision to split was connected in part to his diagnosis and the scrambling of priorities that comes with such heavy news.
"I wanted my life to continue on as normal as possible, and that led me to believing that as normal as possible more meant spending time with my family, my two daughters, my two son-in-laws, my granddaughters," he told the outlet. "And the importance of finding the way with Theresa was still there, but it became less of a priority."
At the time of its announcement, fans of the franchise voiced dismay over Nist and Turner’s decision to divorce noting that it followed in a long line of "Bachelor Nation" couples who couldn’t make it work.
Age, it seemed, was no protection against the show’s faulty formula for lasting romance. But Turner told People he hopes this revelation will prompt fans to reconsider.
"Hopefully they'll look at things a little bit differently,” he told the magazine, "that maybe it wasn't quite a rash, fast decision that people thought. That there was something else going on," he said.
Turner said he wishes Nist well and calls their time together a "cherished memory." For now, he'll be focused on pumping life full of adventure and meaning.
"I'm going to pack as much fun as I possibly can into my life and enjoy every moment. And when I'm gone, I'm gone, but I'm not going to have regrets," he told People.
Theresa Nist recalls Gerry Turner delivering his 'devastating news' before their breakup
Nist revealed in an interview with People that Turner told her about his diagnosis in March while she was visiting him in Indiana.
"That's devastating news, really. I was extremely upset," she said. "He told me, though, that it was the type of cancer that he would most likely outlive."
Nist said she doesn't believe Turner's diagnosis was "a factor in the ending of the relationship, at least not for me."
She shared her positive outlook on Turner's life with bone marrow cancer, saying, "He's a very positive person and I am too, and I know that he will do the best that he can to make this a positive experience."
Nist added, "And I have every faith that is going to work out that way, that it's going to be the type of cancer that will not affect his life and that he'll live to be a very healthy old age."
As for her message for her ex-partner, Nist said: "I wish him the best and that I know that he was in a very difficult situation and that good things will come to him. And I wish for him a long and healthy, prosperous life, and I hope that he finds his person. I want him to be so happy, and I just wish him all the best of everything in the world."
Theresa Nist says she and Gerry Turner considered moving to South Carolina together
The financial services professional also revealed they'd looked into moving together to Charleston, South Carolina, and making a home together: "That was the plan. I was selling my home. He was selling his home."
Per Nist, Turner was "sick" of his lake house in Indiana but after they spent time looking at homes virtually, he'd realized he wanted to split his time between South Carolina and Indiana. But "I didn't want to do that. I really wanted a home together. I wanted the joy of being in a home together and designing a home together," Nist said.
Now, she feels "more settled and relaxed and not so anxious or upset about anything. Not that I was upset before, but I do really appreciate where I am in life."
Gerry Turner helped ABC pioneer new 'Bachelor' format
Turner helped ABC venture into uncharted territory in 2023 with a show that wagered network television’s aging audience might want to see a love story that better reflected them.
The bet paid off as the "Golden Bachelor" raked in viewers and fans delighted in seeing more mature contestants pursue love without any of the whipped cream-wielding, bikini-clad antics of the original show.
"The Golden Bachelorette," a sister program, premiered this fall to the tune of some 2.8 billion viewers. Lead Joan Vassos got engaged to contestant Chock Chapple in the finale and the two are planning a wedding.
"There will be a Chapter 2. We want to get married," Vassos told Paste BN after the finale aired. "But we're still in the relationship part where everything is new, like holding hands in public, going to dinner."
(This story was updated to add new information.)