As the first-ever Golden Bachelor, all eyes were on Gerry Turner as he set out to find love on The Bachelor spin-off focused on senior citizens. The show premiered in September 2023 and right off the bat, Turner appeared to be the perfect gentleman. Fans fell in love with the 72-year-old retired restaurateur, who had set out in search of romance after losing his wife Toni Turner when she passed away back in 2017. The Golden Bachelor quickly became one of the most talked about Bachelor Nation spin-offs.
The Golden Bachelor impressed the viewers as he treated all the ladies on the show with respect and kindness. So it’s no surprise that The Golden Bachelor came to an end with Turner finally finding happiness with Theresa Nist. After a heartfelt proposal, the two got married in a televised ceremony and set out for their happily ever after. However, there was a lot of trouble in their paradise since the couple called off their marriage after just three months. But as soon as the news of their divorce was made public, Gerry Turner’s controversial past started catching up with him. And after everything that has come out against the former Golden Bachelor, he might not be so golden after all.
He Pretended To Be a Grieving Widower for the Cameras
What made Gerry Turner so enduring to the viewers was how heartbroken he was after his first wife had passed away due to an illness. During the course of the show and in multiple interviews before the premiere of The Golden Bachelor Season 1, Turner told the world their love story. Toni Turner was his high school sweetheart and the two got married in 1947. The couple were married for 43 years and share two daughters along with two granddaughters. Turner told the producers and the audience of the show that he had been single since his wife’s passing.
During the premiere episode, he talked about his first wife with tears in his eyes and told the cameras how she passed away one month after they had moved into their dream retirement house. The fact that Turner’s heartbreak had kept him from dating for over 45 years made the ladies fawn all over him. However, once filming was over, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that everything Turner had claimed on the show was a lie. The truth is that the reality star had been in a serious 10-month relationship with a woman.
Not just that, Turner had also dated a few other women in the years following his wife’s death. In the same report, a friend of Turner’s revealed that he had dated a couple of women before appearing on the show. And these weren’t just flings, he had been with these women for months. While Turner is not in the wrong for wanting to date other people after his wife passed away, what’s wrong is the fact that he and the producers of the show cleaned up his story to make him appear more likable than he really is. Considering that Turner was never really the man he claimed to be on the show, all of the fame he has earned has essentially been based on total lies.
Turner Lied About His Career Too Apparently
His love life isn’t the only thing Turner wasn’t honest about. His ex also revealed to THR that Turner’s story about being a retired restaurateur was yet another way for the producers to present him as the perfect man. In reality, Turner had sold his small diner years before appearing on the show and was actually working as a maintenance person. After the news came out, Turner clarified that he does the maintenance work for a charity. But the fact that he sold his restaurant before presenting himself as a restaurateur still stands.
All these discrepancies have led to a lot of questions about the vetting process for the Bachelor franchise. During an appearance on the podcast Life Is Short with Justin Long, Turner revealed that he had to go through a rigorous psychological checkup before he was selected as the Golden Bachelor. “I had to send my fingerprints to the FBI, there were numerous background tests. There was a psychological evaluation that was like 360 questions and then another hour of interview.” But despite all this, the producers missed out on all the lies Turner told them about his personal life. Either that, or his shady past was deliberately kept hidden so the viewers and the ladies on the show would develop an instant liking for him — either way, it isn’t a good look.
He Seemingly Cared About Fame More Than Theresa Nist
Right after the divorce, Turner went on the record to talk to TMZ about receiving endless DMs from women who wanted to marry him. And to the fans, this comment was in bad taste and extremely disrespectful of Nist, who was still grieving their divorce. Turner’s behavior came across as if he was trying to make his former wife jealous or desperately stay in the news. And this disrespect didn’t just start after the divorce. While the show definitely portrayed the chemistry between Nist and Turner, the two were never actually seen talking about how they would manage their long-distance relationship. This led the fans to believe that Turner was never really serious about their marriage in the first place.
In a lot of ways, Turner’s proposal and marriage to Nist felt extremely rushed. The leading man actually seemed to have developed deeper connections with contestants Leslie Fhima and Faith Martin. In fact, Turner initially told runner-up Leslie Fhima that she was “the one,” but then he gave his final rose to Nist. It seemed like Turner had misled Fhima for dramatic effect, ensuring that choosing Nist would bring shock value to The Golden Bachelor Finale. After all this, it’s questionable whether Gerry even deserved the title of the first-ever Golden Bachelor and having so many lovely women fighting for his affection. Because by the looks of it, Turner never really wanted to find love on The Golden Bachelor.
Turner Is Desperate To Stay Relevant Now That People See Through His Act
During the June 6, 2024, episode of Hulu’s The Kardashians, Kendall Jenner spilled the beans on Gerry Turner’s dinner with her mom, Kris Jenner. According to the model, Turner was extremely flirtatious with the momager and kept complimenting her eyes, smile, and energy. Jenner shared that the interaction was extremely awkward, and she wanted nothing more than to get up and leave. When the episode was filmed, Turner was actually married to Nist, which further casts doubts on whether his marriage to her was ever genuine. That, combined with Turner’s recent behavior, has forced Bachelor Nation fans to wonder whether he really is the wholesome, down-to-earth man that The Golden Bachelor marketed him to be, or if he has always been just another reality TV personality caught up in the world of reality drama.
All episodes of The Golden Bachelor are streaming on Hulu in the U.S. The Golden Bachelorette, starring Joan Vassos, is currently streaming on ABC every Wednesday. Episodes are also available the next day on Hulu.
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