The Golden Bachelor alum Gerry Turner he admitted his relationship with Theresa Nist he took a back seat while he navigated his cancer.
“I wanted my life to continue as normal as possible, and that led me to believe that being as normal as possible meant spending time with my family, my two daughters, my two sons-in-law, and my grandchildren,” Gerry, 72, says People in a speech published on Wednesday, December 11. “And the importance of finding a way with Theresa was still there, but it became less important.”
Gerry revealed to the newspaper that he was diagnosed with a slow-growing “bone marrow cancer” with a “really long name” called Waldenström's macroglobulinemia. Gerry explained that “there is no solution,” which is “the hardest part of every decision” he makes.
“It was like 10 tons of concrete had just been dropped on me,” he said. “And I was in denial for a while, I didn't want to admit it.”
When Gerry was first told by his oncologists that he had “blood disease,” he said he “pretty much” knew it was cancer. He revealed the first health news to Theresa in February as he underwent further tests and a bone marrow biopsy.
Gerry said he decided to “tell him what I know and I explained the situation” in March. “It was really hard for me,” he said. “But the conversation was short and I think [she was] slightly shocked by the news. It's understandable.”
After Gerry and Theresa announced their divorce, he recalled being hit with “judgments” – which he called “unfair.” (They met while filming The Golden Bachelor season 1, aired in 2023. After Gerry proposed to Theresa, the two exchanged vows in January. They announced their plans to split in April.)
“When you get this kind of news and the shock wears off after a few days or weeks, you get back together and see what's important to you, that's when you start moving forward,” he said. “And I hope people understand looking back now that that had a big impact on my decisions and I think maybe Theresa too.”
Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist have explained why they decided to end their marriage just three months after their Golden Wedding. “Theresa and I had a lot of heart-to-heart conversations,” Gerry, 72, said during the Good Morning America broadcast on Friday, April 12. […]
Theresa, however, denied the idea that her diagnosis influenced their decision to divorce. He explained to People Wednesday that his health battle “wasn't a factor in the end of the relationship, at least not for me.”
“If that was something on his part, maybe, I don't know,” he said. “But no, that did not affect the end of the relationship. Part of it was the distance, but that wasn't the only part. That's all I have to say.”
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