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The Golden Bachelor’s Gerry Turner Says Indiana Is ‘Not That Bad’ After Theresa Nist Split
The Golden Bachelor star Gerry Turner’s love for his home state of Indiana is still as strong as ever following his split from Theresa Nist.
The retired restauranteur, 72, took to Instagram on Monday, June 24, to share a collection of photos from the Annual Poker Run on Big Long Lake in Indiana. Among several snaps with pals in swimsuits, surrounded by drinks and tents, was a picture of Gerry wearing a blue and yellow T-shirt that read, “Indiana: It’s not that bad!”
“The Annual Poker Run on Big Long Lake shows the best of Indiana culture. Great friends coming together for fun and fundraising. Creative and hilarious Poker stops. Renewed friendships and a few adult beverages. Best lake day of the summer,” he captioned the post.
Gerry’s post comes after he and Theresa, 70, announced their decision to split in April following disagreements over where to live. The first Golden Bachelor still resided in Indiana after he and his new wife tied the knot in January, while Theresa lived in her hometown of Shrewsbury, New Jersey. They planned to move to Charleston, South Carolina, near Theresa’s son, but the plans seemingly fell through.
“We’ve kind of come to the conclusion mutually that it’s probably time for us to dissolve our marriage,” Gerry said on Good Morning America on April 12. “The thing that strikes me the most and in our conversations, it’s been how dedicated both of us are to our families. 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 and Theresa’s divorce was finalized on June 12, according to court documents obtained by Life & Style. The former couple agreed to waive a final hearing.
Though the retiree and the compliance officer seemed blissfully happy when they got engaged on The Golden Bachelor in November 2023 and had their televised wedding in January, there were signs of trouble when they were still living separately in April.
“The problem is, Theresa can’t just pick up and leave her job, and she has family in New Jersey. Initially, they thought Gerry could move in with her but that didn’t happen,” a source exclusively told Life & Style at the time. “They’re still working out the logistics. Theresa’s planning a visit to see Gerry this month and they FaceTime and text. They’re clearly set in their ways, but they’re still very much in love.”
Theresa had already confirmed in March that her work was a “hurdle” that kept her and her husband from living in the same state. “I honestly thought, ‘Oh, let me just get through the first night.’ And I stayed and I stayed and I stayed, and my employer was so good to me. And before I left, I kind of said, ‘Don’t worry, I’m not going to leave you,’” she said on the “Dear Shandy” podcast.
Theresa added, “Until we decide on a place to really live, then I can really make a big decision to say, ‘OK, we’re going to live in this place or that place. And originally, it was South Carolina. We’re still not sure if that’s what it is.”
Theresa and Gerry’s Golden Bachelor costar Susan Noles later hinted at arguments over the New Jersey native’s job.
“I’ve gotta support this man a little bit. I feel like he got the wrong end of it,” Susan, 67, said during a May 28 appearance on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show with Julia Cunningham. “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.”
