‘Golden Bachelor’ Gerry Turner brags DMs are flooded after Theresa Nist divorce — reveals No. 1 must for new partner
Oh, he has options!
“Golden Bachelor” star Gerry Turner may not be ready for the dating scene again, but that isn’t stopping women from reaching out.
The 72-year-old told TMZ that the divorce from his ex-wife, Theresa Nist, 70, is still fresh.
Turner said that interested women send him DMs on social media, and those who are bold approach the reality star in public to give him their numbers.
Though he is flattered by the interactions, he is cautious of those who reach out to him first.
Per TMZ, Turner says though he accepts the phone numbers, he hasn’t reached out to anyone just yet.
When he is ready to return to the dating scene, Turner will be looking for a good friend and someone who loves adventure, travel, and is able to be on the move.
Additionally, Turner prefers his next partner to live in his home state of Indiana because it will eliminate a lot of the issues associated with long-distance relationships — something he experienced with Nist.
The pair announced their split in April on “Good Morning America” after three months of marriage, saying that they couldn’t agree on where to live.
“We just feel like it’s best for the happiness of each of us to live apart,” Turner said at the time. “I still love this person. There’s no doubt in my mind.”
He added: “Theresa and I have had a number of heart-to-heart conversations … and looked closely to our living situations.”
Before the pair decided to call it quits, they told ET in December that they planned to move after tying the knot on live TV.
“On the first date, he spoke to me about possibly moving to the Charleston area. I said, ‘Well, wow.’ I have a son who lives in South Carolina. I said, ‘That would work,’” Nist said. “It wasn’t until the Fantasy Suite that the conversation came back to that and we realized South Carolina is probably where we’re going.”
But things didn’t go as they had planned.
“We looked at homes in South Carolina, we considered New Jersey, and we just looked at homes after home, but we never got to the point where we made that decision,” Nist said.
Turner filed for divorce the same day the “GMA” episode aired. They finalized their divorce on June 13.
ABC recently announced the first-ever “Golden Bachelorette,” 61-year-old Joan Vassos from Maryland, who left during the third week of Turner’s season.
Turner reacted to the news on Instagram with encouraging words.
“Dear Joan, Congratulations on being named the first ever Golden Bachelorette. You will be phenomenal as the new representative of a generation. From one Golden to another….relax, breathe and enjoy,” Turner wrote in May.
Vassos is a mother of four and grandmother of two. She was previously married to her late husband, John, for 32 years, before he died from pancreatic cancer in January 2021.
“The Golden Bachelorette” will air this fall on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.