The Golden Bachelor’s Gerry Turner’s Dating History: His Late Wife, Scandal and Theresa Divorce

Gerry Married First Wife Toni in 1974

Fans learned a lot about Toni during Gerry’s stint on the inaugural season of The Golden Bachelor. The couple met in high school and became sweethearts before getting married in 1974. Gerry and Toni enjoyed 43 years of marriage before Toni unexpectedly passed away in July 2017.

Gerry Had a ‘Full Life’ With Toni

Toni and Gerry shared two daughters, Jenny Young and Angie Warner.

“We had a real typical but full life. Full of love, full of love, full of activity,” Gerry said of their marriage.

Toni Died of a Bacterial Infection

Gerry revealed that Toni died only weeks after she retired, and to make matters worse, she and Gerry had just finished renovations on their new lake home.

“We went to the emergency room, and she had a bacterial infection that infected her kidneys and infected her liver. And so, I took my wife to the emergency room on July 7, and she passed away on July 15. Now every time I look at [the lake outside my house] I go, ‘This is her dream. This is what she deserves. Why am I standing here alone?’”

Gerry Turned to ‘The Golden Bachelor’ for Love

The dad of two eventually turned to reality TV to try his hand at love once more, but Gerry said that it wasn’t an easy decision.

“I had some concerns at first that maybe if [Toni] were here looking over my shoulder, that she wouldn’t think positively about it,” Gerry said to USA Today in a September 2023 interview. “But I was reminded of all the conversations that we had, that when one of us passed we wanted and hoped the other one, the survivor, would go through the process of grieving, but still find happiness in life.”

Nevertheless, fans tuned in every week to watch Gerry date a number of wonderful women, many of whom captured the hearts of viewers.

Rocked by Scandal

One of the main reasons Gerry won over so many fans during The Golden Bachelor was due to his trouble moving on since Toni died in 2017. According to the father of two, he tried dating multiple times after Toni’s death.

“More recently than back closer to when she’s passed,” Gerry explained to People. “For one reason or another, the attempts didn’t work out. I could give you a wide range of reasons, but it doesn’t really matter. Somehow I got it in my head that if you grieve for a year, that at the end of the year you should be OK. It absolutely wasn’t the case.”

However, the day before The Golden Bachelor finale aired on November 30, 2023, The Hollywood Reporter released an interview with a woman who only went by “Carolyn” to protect her anonymity. Carolyn claimed that Gerry’s story about his dating life after Toni’s death was all a lie.

An Anonymous Ex of Gerry’s Dropped Bombshells

The woman said that not only did she and Gerry enter into a three-year relationship, but that their relationship began just a month after Toni died.

“The idea that I’d go out with a recent widower just mortifies me,” Carolyn said. “I just really didn’t see it. Until I went back and looked at my text messages, I never realized Gerry’s texts had turned hot and heavy so relatively soon.”

Gerry Owned Up to His Mistakes

An insider exclusively revealed to Life & Style that Gerry owned up to his mistakes.

“Gerry isn’t throwing The Golden Bachelor producers under the bus, but it was a better storyline to say he hadn’t kissed another woman. He did lie, and he regrets it,” the source shared on December 20, 2023. “He has grown a lot during this process. He sees the mistakes he’s made and wants to move on.”

Happily Ever After With Theresa Nist

Gerry ultimately chose Theresa in the Golden Bachelor’s finale that aired in November 2023 after it came down to her and fellow castmate Leslie Fhima. In a surprising move, the couple announced during After the Final Rose that they planned to marry in a televised wedding ceremony on January 4, 2024. They also added they planned to relocate to South Carolina to start their lives together.

A Heartbreaking Split

Although Gerry and Theresa went through with their wedding, they couldn’t come to an agreement over where to live. On April 12, 2024, they confirmed that they were divorcing.

“The thing that strikes me the most and in our conversations it’s been how dedicated both of us are to our families,” Gerry explained in a joint interview with Theresa on Good Morning America. “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.”

Theresa insisted that Gerry’s scandal did not “play a part” in the decision to divorce. The pair also said that they still “loved” each other.