'Golden Bachelor' Gerry Turner Remembers His "Beautiful Life" with Late Wife Toni

The first ever Golden Bachelor will make his reality TV debut on Thursday, September 28, on ABC, in hopes of finding that perfect person to spend the rest of his life with. The concept of bringing an older demographic into the classic Bachelor model has been in the works for years, much longer than most Bachelor manufactured relationships. The Bachelor himself, Gerry Turner, is not new to the idea of finding true love. In fact, he had it once before with his wife Toni Turner. Though you may be wondering: if he's already found his soulmate, then what is he doing on the show?

Well, sadly Turner's wife passed away in 2017 after 43 years of marriage. The Turners were high school sweethearts who married in 1972 and lived together in Indiana. They went on to have two children, Jennifer and Angela, and two grandchildren, Charlee and Payton. “We had 43 wonderful years together,” Turner said, according to Bachelor Nation. “We had a real typical but beautiful life, full of love, full of activity, and as years went on, I retired.”

After all their years together, Toni fell ill just after the couple retired and bought their dream home on the lake. She contracted a bacterial infection that quickly attacked her kidneys and liver. After eight days in the hospital fighting the infection, Toni passed on July 15, 2017. Obviously, after loosing his wife just as they were achieving their dream, Gerry was distraught. Thankfully, Turner's daughters and granddaughters were there to support him during this trying time. "No one’s ever going to replace Toni, but the love of my daughters and my granddaughters pulled me out of a dark spot,” Turner said in the Bachelor "Men Tell All" episode.

Now, six years later Turner is ready to look for love again. "We always told each other when one of us goes, we want the other to be happy," Gerry said on Good Morning America, "She's up there rooting [for me]. She's saying, 'Yeah, Gerry. Do this."'

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