Gerry Turner is single again. Golden Bachelor, Theresa Nist announce they're divorcing

Three months after tying the knot on national television, "The Golden Bachelor" stars Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist are divorcing.

The couple announced their breakup in an interview aired Friday on “Good Morning America.”

Turner, 72, was the first bachelor on ABC’s senior reality dating series. He’s lived in Hudson, Indiana, since moving there with his first wife in 2017. She died shortly after.

America in November 2023 saw Turner propose to Nist, a New Jersey financial services professional, after about three weeks of filming for the elimination-style show.

“Theresa and I have had a number of heart-to-heart conversations, and we’ve looked closely at our situation, our living situation, so forth and — and we’ve kind of come to the conclusion mutually that it’s probably time for us to — dissolve our marriage,” Turner told journalist Juju Chang during the interview.

Nist was one of 22 women, ages 60 and older, to appear on the first season of the show. More than six million viewers tuned in for the finale, in which Turner chose between Nist and Minnesota fitness instructor Leslie Fhima.

“We have received so much love and support from so many people who watched ‘The Golden Bachelor,’ and I don’t think we can tell you how many people told us that it gave them so much hope,” Nist said during the interview. “We want none of that to change for anybody.”

Turner and Nist married Jan. 4 in a ceremony broadcast live on ABC with lots of participation from “The Golden Bachelor” cast. Cast member Susan Noles officiated.

The Golden spoils

Turner got Hollywood representation and the couple partnered with Amazon, creating an wedding registry of household goods that caught their eye on the site, including his and her electric toothbrushes, a Hamilton Beach retro-style milkshakemaker, a pickleball set, a $300 birdhouse and coffeemakers — both a retro-style Smeg and a Keurig.

But they never moved in together.

“The thing that strikes me the most in our conversations, it’s been how dedicated both of us are to our families,” Turner said. “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.”

Turner has an adult daughter who lives in the Indianapolis area and another one who lives in Yorkville, Illinois.

Nist, who was married for 42 years to her high school sweetheart, William “Bill” Nist before his 2014 death, remains in Shrewsbury, New Jersey.

“We looked at homes in South Carolina, we considered New Jersey, and we just looked at homes after home, but we never got to the point where we made that decision,” Nist said.

Golden Bachelor on the perfect date: Gerry Turner says he 'picked the greatest woman in the world' on 'Golden Bachelor'

Before he revealed who he chose on “The Golden Bachelor,” Turner told IndyStar that he and his love were working out their residency situation.

“I think I've resolved it with my person. We've had good conversation about it; and there are a number of options and we haven't come to a final conclusion on that," he said during a visit to the newsroom last fall. “I really like where I live. She really likes where she lives. But we also are financially able to have a third home if we want to. So there's just a lot of ways we could go about it."

There's still love

The couple said they will return the Neil Lane rings they got for the wedding, but they still have love for each other.

“There’s no doubt in my mind, I still am in love with her. I root for her every day,” Turner said.

“Yeah, I still love him,” Nist said.

'The Golden Bachelor' Season One: Gerry Turner has made his final choice. Here's our coverage from the first season

Gerry Turner's dating history

The week of the finale, The Hollywood Reporter  published a story anonymously quoting a woman who said she was in a long-term relationship with Turner; the show had presented him as having limited dating experience since the death of his wife.

The woman told the publication she and Turner began dating within weeks of his wife’s death; and, at his behest, she quit her job and moved to his home in Indiana, where she said he insisted they split expenses, derided her for gaining weight and forced her out of the home on short notice after the resulting 2019 breakup.

Nist said that had no bearing on the outcome of the marriage and that Turner had told her of the report before it was released.

Was there a prenup?

Chang said on GMA the couple told her they have a prenuptial agreement, and that they recommend it for other couples.

"The Golden Bachelorette" in the works

The new addition to ABC’s “The Bachelor” franchise was so successful that the network is doing a female-led series “The Golden Bachelorette “ premiering this fall. A second season of "The Golden Bachelor" also is on the way.

Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist have more to say

Chang's full interview with the former couple airs during tonight's episode of "Nightline." The show is at 12:37 a.m.

Contact IndyStar reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at cheryl.jackson@indystar.com or 317-444-6264. Follow her on X: @cherylvjackson.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Golden Bachelor divorce: Gerry Turner, Theresa Nist announce split