The Golden Bachelor winner Theresa Nist has revealed how she’s finding happiness after her shocking split from husband Gerry Turner.
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Theresa took to Instagram on Tuesday, April 23 and shared an update on her life after Gerry had filed for divorce on April 12 following only three months of marriage.
“Gardening has been a constant source of joy in my life. It feeds my body, mind and soul. It does you a world of good,” Theresa, 70, wrote alongside photos of her gardening.
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In one of the pictures, Theresa, who got engaged to Gerry on The Golden Bachelor’s November 2023 finale on ABC, was posing with one of her grandchildren.
“You’re out in fresh air and sunshine (or clouds and rain) and your hands are in dirt (wear gloves!),” Theresa continued in her post.
“You’re getting plenty of exercise, pushing a wheelbarrow, pulling weeds, pulling the hose to water everything and walking everywhere. You’re nourishing the soil and nurturing plants to grow to their best ability.”
The mother and grandmother called working in the weeds and flowers “meditative and energizing all at once.”
“And in the early morning and at the end of the day you get to walk around or sit back and relax and bask in its beauty,” Theresa added. “My daughter and I highly recommend it to everyone!”
Theresa’s daughter Jen Woolston commented on the post, “Also how much money have we spent on plants over the years?! lol but no, worth it… we love it.”
Theresa’s upload on social media marked her first time reaching out to fans after she had spoken out on Instagram about her split from Gerry earlier this month.
Theresa shared the following quote on April 15: “Don’t cry because it’s over; smile because it happened. – Dr. Seuss.”
Theresa wrote in the caption, “To everyone who has expressed love, support and kindness to me, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are all such wonderful human beings.”
But Theresa also took a jab at the haters out there amid backlash she and Gerry had thrown in the towel so quickly after enjoying a lavish televised wedding that cost ABC millions of dollars on January 4.
“For everyone else who is confused and angry and who does not understand, please try to find it in your heart to understand and to try a little kindness,” Theresa wrote.
“Not just for me but for the world and for everyone you encounter.”
Theresa called her relationship with Gerry “one of the most incredible experiences” of her life.
“[It was] something I never expected to happen at this point in my life and I truly thought it was going to last forever. It turns out, even at the age of 70, you don’t know everything,” Theresa admitted.
“Sometimes things don’t go the way you planned and that’s okay. I take so many positives away from this experience, most importantly and above all the incredible friends I now have in all of these amazing, wonderful women and in Angie and Jenny, Payton and Charlee, the producers, the production crew and so many of you.”
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The Golden Bachelor winner concluded, “I ask you to please stay open to all the experiences, opportunities, and love that may come your way. Keep smiling, keep laughing… I will. I love you all.”
Before Gerry and Theresa announced their decision to split in an ABC Nightline interview, part of which aired on Good Morning America on April 12, Theresa and Gerry had appeared on a March episode of the “Dear Shandy” podcast.
On the podcast, Theresa and Gerry, an Iowa native who has been living in Indiana for years, discussed how they fought during their marriage and how Theresa’s desire to continue working a full-time job in her native New Jersey contributed to the demise of their relationship.
Gerry listed April 12 as his date of separation from Theresa in the divorce papers, and he cited an “irretrievable breakdown” of marriage as the cause of their split from Theresa, according to Us Weekly.
Theresa also confirmed on ABC Nightline that she and the retired fast-food restaurant owner had signed a prenuptial agreement.
“So many people wanted us to sign a prenup, and we do [have one],” Theresa revealed with a big smile. “We thought it would be best for our families.”
Up until April 12, the couple had been putting on a united front in public.
Gerry and Theresa just recently walked the red carpet together and filmed an episode of Celebrity Family Feud, after which Gerry boasted about the couple’s “blended family” reuniting on social media.
During their interview with Juju Chang on ABC Nightline, Gerry and Theresa revealed they’re divorcing because neither one of them was willing to relocate and move away from their adult children and families.
“The thing that strikes me the most, and in our conversations, is how dedicated both of us our to our families,” Gerry said as Theresa nodded in agreement.
“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.”
But Juju was openly skeptical of the couple’s explanation, as many Bachelor Nation alums have been as well.
“I hear what you’re saying… and yet throughout the process you said you were 100% committed to making it work,” she said. “In November you told me you were thinking of moving to South Carolina to be together. How did it all fall apart?”
“Yeah, so that was the plan,” Theresa replied.
“We looked at homes in South Carolina. We [also] considered New Jersey. We just looked at home after home but we never got to the point where we made that decision.”
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Sessions with a marriage counselor apparently helped Gerry and Theresa decide to move in the direction of divorce rather than trying to stay together.
However, the reality TV stars insisted they have not fallen out of love, despite their choice to part ways.
During the ABC interview, Theresa also insisted a November 2023 media report that Gerry misrepresented his past throughout The Golden Bachelor’s production and broadcast run and allegedly had a live-in girlfriend of nearly three years before he appeared on the show played no role in her decision to divorce.
“No, not for me,” Theresa said. “Because Gerry had already discussed that with me, he had already explained that to me before the report was ever released — so we were good with that, that didn’t play into it.”
“No,” Gerry shrugged.
The Golden Bachelor stars also shared that they plan to continuing looking for love in new relationships.
“Oh yeah,” Gerry told Juju.
“Yes,” Theresa acknowledged. “And we tell everyone else to continue looking for love.”
When the Los Angeles Times previously asked Gerry if he’d continue to seek stardom or just live a quiet life with Theresa post-show, Gerry had replied, “I don’t think those two things are mutually exclusive.”
“I can have a great, quiet life with Theresa and still look at the aspirations and ambitions that may be out there,” he elaborated in December.
“But I will say this, I am absolutely going to savor every moment until I get to that altar and say my ‘I do’s.’ I want every single moment to be as joyful for her as it is for me, and I never want to look back and feel I hurried through anything. We’ll deal with the aspirations after that.”
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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.