Who Is the ‘Golden Bachelor’? All About Gerry Turner

Gerry Turner has found the new love of his life.

The 72-year-old, who starred in ABC’s new Bachelor spinoff show, The Golden Bachelorproposed to Theresa Nist (70) in the season finale, which aired in November 2023.

“By the time I got to the last episode and the engagement was going to happen, I was very confident that she was the one,” Turner told PEOPLE after it was revealed the two were engaged. “100% confident. And I was so confident that he would say ‘yes’.”

Before the show aired, Turner — whose name is pronounced GAIR-ee — said his two daughters pushed him to audition after their mother, Turner’s wife, died. Although the pressure could make any man nervous, he said GMA that being the first older man to host the show “feels amazing and it’s still sinking in.”

Ahead of the show’s September 2023 premiere, Turner shared with PEOPLE that he was thrilled with how his first night went.

“It was literally like Christmas morning,” he said, speaking of greeting all the women. “Every package [that] opens is better than the previous one. At 7:30 the next morning, I was still wide awake and still reporting that the producers told me and almost literally grabbed my hand and said I had to go. I can’t tell you how much fun I had in those nine hours.”

While he was seemingly impressed with all of them, he added that he made sure to keep his eye on the prize throughout the season as he searched for “the one.” And he found her in Nist, whom he married in January 2024 during a live wedding special on ABC.

“From the first sip of the chocolate shake to the last taste of Costa Rican coffee, I learned that you are the woman I cannot live without,” Turner told Nist at the altar. “I learned that you make me calm, with the touch of your hand. I learned that you make me laugh with the easy comfort of long-lost friends.”

So who is The Golden Bachelor? Here’s everything you need to know about Gerry Turner, the latest addition to the rise Bachelor franchise.

He lives in Indiana but plans to move south

ABC/Brian Bowen Smith

Turner is from Indiana where he lives “in his dream house on a beautiful lake,” he states The Golden Bachelorofficial synopsis.

However, Turner told PEOPLE that he and Nist, who is from New Jersey, plan to move south to Charleston, South Carolina.

“One of the things that I think fate played a hand in was the possibility of where we might end up living,” Turner told PEOPLE. “For the last few years, when my family gets together, I’ve talked about moving to South Carolina, and that’s an idea I’ve been toying with. And then in a conversation with Theresa, in a private moment, she says, ‘Well, yes, my son lives near Charleston, South Carolina.’ ”

Turner was worried that whoever she ended up with might not be on the same page about where she would live, but with Nista that wasn’t a problem.

“And all of a sudden it’s like there’s a big problem that’s gone,” Turner said. “The question of compromise about where to live and how to reconcile families and all that is no longer a problem.”

He was excited to be the first The Golden Bachelor

ABC/Brian Bowen Smith

As the first elderly man to lead Bachelor spin-off show, Turner set the precedent for men dating in the ’70s. But the pressure didn’t get to him and he remained positive about his prospects, saying he had “nothing to lose”.

In ABC’s promotional video for the series, the network teased some snippets of what audiences can expect with Turner in the lead role.

“He releases his thirst traps in a leather bound album. His DMs have postage,” the teaser trailer revealed. “He gets a special offer for early risers whenever he wants. If you call him, he will answer the phone. ‘he has no gray hair, he has ‘bright wisdom’. Florida wants to retire and move in with him. He’s Gerry.”

In his interview with PEOPLE, Turner said he didn’t need much convincing to sign on for the show.

“When they texted me about it, I saw ads throughout the show. In the back of my mind I thought, ‘That would be quite the experience. That would be a lot of fun,’ he said. “So when they hit me really hard one night, they didn’t have to push as hard as they might have thought. It went back and forth in my head before I decided to complete the questionnaire online, but I’m certainly glad I did.”

He is a retired restaurateur with many hobbies

ABC/Brian Bowen Smith

Before starting his journey as a reality TV star, Turner was a restaurateur, although he is now retired. He also has a number of hobbies that he enjoys sharing with Nista, including pickleball and golf.

“He is often busy hosting barbecues, playing pileball, rooting for his favorite Chicago sports teams, riding four-wheelers, and spending time with friends and family at restaurants and local venues,” his official description reads.

He was previously married

ABC/Brian Bowen Smith

Turner married his high school sweetheart, Toni, in 1974. The two lived a “full and happy life” until Toni’s sudden death in 2017, six weeks after she retired and became ill.

“She was robbed. Every day that goes by, that’s the thought I have,” Turner said GMA. “I have a picture of her on the dresser in my closet. Every morning I nod to her, ‘And what do you think of this?’ For a while it was like it was hard for me to figure out if she was going to be okay. But we always told each other when one of us leaves, we want the other to be happy. She’s up there cheering [for me]. She says, ‘Yes, Gerry. Do it.’ ”

He told PEOPLE in September 2023 that after her death, he sold the lake house they had planned to retire to together and sought out grief counseling, which “changed his life.”

“About three years ago, I wasn’t sure I was on the right path. I wasn’t sure if I was getting better,” Turner admitted. “I remember having two meetings with the counselor, and he said, ‘You’re fine. You just have to admit to yourself that you’re fine.’ During that time, I changed my mind about counseling. It’s something I would recommend to anyone who has experienced a loss but just doesn’t feel like they got over it quickly enough or in a healthy way.”

He has two daughters and two granddaughters

ABC/Brian Bowen Smith

Turner raised two daughters, Angie and Jenny, with his late wife. He also has two granddaughters: Charlee and Payton.

Turner’s daughters encouraged him to join the show and cheered him on when he was chosen first The Golden Bachelor.

“They started screaming and everyone gathered,” he continued GMA his daughter’s reactions to the news.

Bachelor host Jesse Palmer delivered the good news to Turner in a video call. Turner’s daughters and grandchildren joined him in the call, and Angie told Palmer, “One of those 25 ladies is going to be super lucky…they’re going to say ‘Yeah, I made it!’ ”

Angie, Jenny and Charlee’s opinions meant everything to Turner as he went through the process, and he knew Nist was the right choice when he saw how happy his family was that he chose her. He described the moment they saw Nist as the winner as “pretty magical”.

“Because of the way the sun was and the walking Theresa had to do, she was silhouetted for an awfully long time. And my daughters tell me, ‘Please, let it be Theresa. Please make it Theresa,’ Turner told PEOPLE. “And when the light fell enough that they could see it was her, they were ecstatic. They were in tears. They were delighted.”

He added: “I am very happy that this is their reaction because I rely heavily on them to confirm the decisions that I have tentatively made.”

It had deal breakers

While speaking with PEOPLE in October 2023, Turner shared two of his deals. He said he “wouldn’t date a smoker” and would hesitate to get into a relationship where geography was a “serious barrier”.

However, Turner added that he “tries really hard to keep an open mind,” even when faced with red flags.

“Something may look like a red flag on its surface, but when you look into it a little further, you might find that it’s not a problem at all,” he explained.

He and Nist got married on live television

Jim Wright

After the final The Golden BachelorTurner and Nist announced they were getting married during a live TV event on ABC.

The lavish wedding took place on January 4, 2024 at the La Quinta Resort and Club in La Quinta, California. Nist, who walked down the aisle with her son Tom, wore a Badgley Mischka gown, while Turner donned a classic black tuxedo.

During an interview with PEOPLE a month earlier, Turner said he was happy to let Nist take the reigns during planning.

“I just hear the joy in her voice when I talk to her, and she’s talking about whether it’s a dress or a cake or flowers or whatever,” he said. “It makes me so happy that she’s having such a good time with it. It’s like, what could be more fun?”

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