Theresa Nist sets record straight on claims about her and Gerry Turner’s demise

Reality

The Golden Bachelor winner Theresa Nist has set the record straight on a rumor Ben Higgins repeated about the demise of her and Gerry Turner’s relationship.

Ben, who starred on The Bachelor’s 20th season, heard a rumor that Theresa and Gerry’s different lifestyles played a big role in their April breakup following only three months of marriage.

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During a May episode of “The Ben & Ashley I: Almost Famous Podcast,” Ben said he had heard that during one of Theresa’s visits to see Gerry at his lake house in Indiana, the New Jersey native mentioned how vast farmland could be used for condos, apartments or office buildings — a suggestion that allegedly upset Gerry, an Iowa native.

“I’m going to tell you exactly what happened. Here’s the scoop…” Theresa told Ben and Ashley Iaconetti during an early November episode of their podcast.

“So I want to be clear,” Ben interjected. “You got upset with me, but my intention was never to throw you under the bus… I grew up [in Indiana]. I get it! There’s a lot of open space.”

Theresa went on to clarify what exactly went down during that tense conversation with Gerry that had made headlines earlier this year.

“So we were driving from the airport, and it was like three hours. We were getting closer to Gerry’s house,” Theresa began with a laugh.

“So I see this open land. I don’t see crops. I just think it’s flat land, and I go, ‘Oh wow! You could build townhomes there!’ That’s all I said!”

Theresa recalled, “And then Gerry said, ‘Oh, so you want to take the farmer’s land away from him?!’ I go, ‘Note to self: don’t say that again!’ I said, ‘Oh, no, I didn’t know that was farmland.'”

Theresa claimed Gerry wasn’t quick to drop the misunderstanding.

“[Gerry told me], ‘There’s a saying in the Midwest: I’d rather give you one of my daughters than give you one of my acres of land,'” Theresa shared.

“And I said [to myself], ‘Don’t ever say it again.’ But my [alleged] quote [in the media] was, ‘Oh, look at this land! You can build villages and streams and resorts and shopping centers!’ I went on an on, and not one word in that whole paragraph of, like, 10 sentences came out of my mouth.”

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Theresa insisted her comment to Gerry that day in Indiana was short and sweet.

“All I said was, ‘Oh, look at this! You could build townhomes,’ and then I shut up immediately. And that was it,” Theresa said.

“And then what happened was, the plan was to move to an area in Charleston, SC. We were looking at homes, virtually. I wasn’t ready. I was still working full time and I have a home. I wasn’t ready to sell my home until we found a home.”

Theresa said she and Gerry “never got to the point” where they found a home and then Gerry suggested they could split their time in Indiana and New Jersey — six weeks in each place before switching.

“I truly wanted to have our home together… I didn’t want to go back and forth to our homes. I wanted to have an established base and a beautiful home with Gerry, and then go visit out children,” Theresa explained.

Theresa claimed that’s what they had initially “agreed upon” but Gerry “loves where he lives” and she wants him to be happy.

“So it did change, and it wasn’t what we had discussed. We had never discussed six-week [visits],” Theresa noted.

In May, Ben told his podcast listeners a very similar story about Theresa and Gerry’s heated moment in the car on their drive from the Indiana airport to Gerry’s residence.

“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,” Ben shared at the time.

Ben said the pair ended up having a pretty 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 explained in May.

“[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 continued, “[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.'”

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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.”

Susan Noles and Kathy Swarts, who both competed against Theresa for Gerry’s heart on The Golden Bachelor in 2023, appeared on SiriusXM’s “The Jess Cagle Show” earlier this year 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 on The Golden Bachelor.

Gerry and Theresa got engaged during The Golden Bachelor’s finale last year and got married in early January 2024 for a televised wedding special on ABC.

The pair announced their split and surprising decision to divorce in April, claiming distance was the main issue because neither of them wanted to leave their loved ones behind. (Theresa told Ben and Ashley that distance, however, wasn’t the only reason for their split).

Theresa and Gerry finalized their divorce in June.

RELATED LINK: ‘THE BACHELOR’ FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)

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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.

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