EGN NEWS DESK
Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist have been the primary couple to satisfy and marry on “The Golden Bachelor,” ABC’s spinoff of “The Bachelor” that includes forged members 60 and older.
On Friday, the newlyweds introduced that they will even be the spinoff’s first couple to divorce.
They made the announcement in a joint look on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “Theresa and I’ve had various heart-to-heart conversations, and we’ve regarded carefully at our state of affairs, our residing state of affairs, and we’ve come to the conclusion mutually that it’s in all probability time for us to dissolve our marriage,” Mr. Turner, 72, stated.
The anchor Juju Chang replied in shock. “Three months after getting married?” she stated. “I imply, what the heck, guys?” she requested later within the interview.
Explaining their choice, Mr. Turner stated each have been devoted to their households — every has youngsters from earlier marriages, in addition to grandchildren — and that it made essentially the most sense for them to stay individually. Ms. Nist, 70, added that that they had checked out properties close to relations in South Carolina and New Jersey however that that they had been unable to achieve a conclusion.
The couple, via a consultant, declined to be interviewed for this text.
The franchise had positioned the pair as proof that invigorating love tales can unfold later in life. Before marrying Ms. Nist, Mr. Turner, a retiree from Indiana, was married for 43 years to his highschool sweetheart, Toni. She died in 2017 after a quick sickness.
“People my age nonetheless fall in love,” Mr. Turner informed The New York Times after he was introduced because the sequence lead of the primary “Golden Bachelor” season. “People my age nonetheless have hope, and so they nonetheless have vigorous lives.”
On the present, he shortly related with Ms. Nist, a monetary companies skilled from Shrewsbury, N.J., and considered one of 22 girls vying for his affection. The couple bonded over their experiences of loss — Ms. Nist’s first husband, Billy, died in 2014.
Mr. Turner proposed to Ms. Nist on the “Golden Bachelor” season finale, which was broadcast in November. The pair married in a televised ceremony in Southern California in January, which was attended by a number of of Mr. Turner’s ex-girlfriends from the season.
Around the time of the “Golden Bachelor” finale, The Hollywood Reporter printed an article by which a lady claiming to have dated Mr. Turner stated he had misrepresented his romantic historical past on the present, and that the 2 had been in a severe relationship that he had omitted. Mr. Turner informed The Times that he had given the article solely a “cursory look” and couldn’t communicate to its accuracy.
“The Golden Bachelor” renewed curiosity within the “Bachelor” franchise at a time when its rankings had been slipping. According to Nielsen statistics, the eight episodes earlier than the “Golden Bachelor” finale on common acquired extra viewers than any full seasons of the franchise which have aired since 2021. In February, ABC introduced plans for “The Golden Bachelorette,” a model of the spinoff with a feminine lead.
After Mr. Turner and Ms. Nist introduced their plans to divorce on Friday, some “Golden Bachelor” viewers expressed disappointment and the occasional “I informed you so” on social media. The break up was common for the “Bachelor” franchise, which has produced much more breakups than marriages.
Ms. Nist stated on “Good Morning America” that she hoped the pair’s divorce wouldn’t discourage viewers who had been impressed by the couple. “We say, ‘Don’t surrender,’” she stated. “We say, ‘Stay in it, keep hopeful, as a result of we’re.’”
