The Golden Bachelor star Gerry Turner has insisted Indiana is “not that bad” after he and Theresa Nist broke up over their inability to overcome the distance between them.
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Gerry, a retired Iowa native who owns a house on a lake in Indiana, and Theresa, who continues to work a job in finance in her native New Jersey, announced their split on April 12 because neither person wanted to make a sacrifice and relocate since it would mean leaving family behind.
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While Gerry and Theresa — who were only married for three months — couldn’t agree on a place to live together permanently, Gerry apparently believes Indiana would’ve been great for the couple.
Gerry posted a series of photos from his weekend enjoying the sunshine and good company on the lake by his home via Instagram on Sunday, June 23.
Gerry, who posed and smiled big with family and friends, was noticeably wearing a T-shirt that read, “Indiana, it’s not that bad!”
The Golden Bachelor star captioned his post, “The Annual Poker Run on Big Long Lake shows the best of Indiana culture.”
“Great friends coming together for fun and fundraising,” he added. “Creative and hilarious Poker stops. Renewed friendships and a few adult beverages. Best lake day of the summer.”
Gerry and Theresa had signed their marital settlement agreement on June 4 in Indiana’s Pike Circuit Court, Entertainment Tonight reported, and then an Indiana judge entered a dissolution of marriage decree on June 13, which officially put an end to Gerry and Theresa’s marriage.
Gerry told TMZ recently that women who are interested in dating him have been flooding his DMs on Instagram now that he’s back on the market.
Gerry told TMZ that he’s meeting women organically and accepting phone numbers, however, he has yet to actively pursued any of the connections he’s made thus far.
In terms of what Gerry is looking for in his next partner, The Golden Bachelor star said he’d love to find a good friend and someone to travel with and enjoy adventures.
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Gerry also noted that he’d like to date an active woman who currently resides — or would like to live — in Indiana.
Gerry apparently doesn’t want to run into the same long-distance issues he had with Theresa.
Gerry and Theresa got engaged on The Golden Bachelor finale, which aired in November 2023, and then they wed on January 4 in a live televised special for ABC.
When the pair announced their breakup on April 12, Gerry also filed for divorce on that same day.
When the pair spoke about their breakup with Juju Chang on ABC Nightline’s April 12 episode, Gerry and Theresa revealed they decided to divorce because neither one of them was willing to move away from their children and grandchildren. Gerry has also been looking after his father in Indiana.
“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,” Gerry shared at the time.
Former The Bachelor star Ben Higgins recently heard a rumor about Indiana playing a big part in Gerry and Theresa’s breakup.
“There is a rumor that on Theresa’s visit to Indiana, Gerry picked Theresa up at the airport. It’s about two hours from where Gerry lives,” Ben began on the May 5 episode of “The Ben and Ashley I: Almost Famous Podcast.”
Ben continued, “So after he picks her up, they’re both excited, but there had already been some issues in the relationship. There had been some grumblings and things happening… They’re not seeing eye-to-eye in life.”
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Ben said during Gerry and Theresa’s drive from the airport to his lake house, the spouses had an eye-opening conversation.
“Most of that drive is through cornfields. Most of that drive is through agriculture and untouched land, in a lot of ways,” Ben noted.
Ben said the rumor is that Theresa had made a comment to Gerry that rubbed the Iowa native the wrong way.
“[Theresa said], ‘Wow, look at all this beautiful untouched land. Think about what could be done if they developed it — condos, office buildings, apartments. Think about the towns that could congregate in these open fields and think about the people that would be interested in moving here,'” Ben alleged.
“[She added], ‘And look at that lake! There’s a lake with only cornfields around it. Think about if they build up a resort where people could vacation to.'”
The Bachelor’s Season 20 star went on to reveal, “And Gerry’s comment back to her, again, a rumor, was, ‘You don’t take land from a farmer.’ And that was the start of them realizing that they do not see the world the same way.”
Theresa also reportedly wasn’t ready to retire, and her career was part of the reason she didn’t want to move to Indiana.
Susan Noles and Kathy Swarts, who both competed for Gerry’s heart on The Golden Bachelor last year, appeared on SiriusXM’s “The Jess Cagle Show” last month and defended Gerry amid his divorce from Theresa.
“I’ve got to support this man a little bit. I feel like he got the wrong end of it,” Susan said.
“Theresa decided not to move and not to quit her job. He got frustrated. Who can blame him? I mean, I would’ve never said I would move to that place, wherever that is, in the middle of nowhere.”
Kathy knocked Indiana by telling Susan, “Let’s face it, Susan. You and I were not going to shuck corn in Indiana. We’re not doing it.”
Kathy added how fellow The Golden Bachelor alum Nancy Hulkower “lives outside of Washington, D.C.” and had told the women that the lake Gerry lives on is definitely more of “a pond.”
Susan noted how Gerry and Theresa seemingly got “caught up in the moment” but their love was real.
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About The Author:
Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.