Gerry Turner, the first Golden Bachelor, reveals a tense prenup showdown with his then-fiancée, Theresa Nist, that threatened to upend their televised wedding. In his memoir, "Golden Years: What I've Learned from Love, Loss, and Reality TV," Turner shares that Nist's delays in signing the prenuptial agreement, at his insistence, continued as he traveled to the Palm Springs resort for ABC's "The Golden Wedding" on January 4, 2024. Turner writes, "I began to worry she was going to run out the clock. Then I would be faced with either calling off a very expensive, televised wedding at the last minute or entering into a marriage legally unprotected. I didn't like either of these options."
The prenup was eventually settled, and the TV wedding took place. However, the marriage lasted only three months. On April 12, 2024, the couple announced on "GMA" that they were getting divorced. Turner, who has since announced his engagement to girlfriend Lana Sutton, reflects on the brief marriage to Nist, the contestant to whom he proposed in the series finale of "The Golden Bachelor."
Turner's opinion of Nist has changed in retrospect, and he wishes he had told her to 'zip it' after watching the show's feud with Kathy Swarts. He also addresses rumors and reports that financial specialist Nist insisted on the prenuptial agreement, insisting that he insisted on the basic requirement. Turner's pre-wedding talk with Faith Martin, one of the final women to leave the season, revealed his concerns about the wedding, and he felt 'trapped' and worried it was 'the wrong thing to do.'
After the divorce, Turner spiraled into depression and considered putting a gun to his head. He was buoyed by the support of his daughters, Angie and Jenny, and his tight-knit group of Indiana friends. However, he struggled with online trolls and the critical Hollywood Reporter exposé into his life, which he disputes in the memoir. Despite the divorce and drama, Turner takes positive lessons from his tenure as the first Golden Bachelor, emphasizing the importance of perseverance and not giving up.
