What The Cameras Never Showed Us About Gerry Turner And Theresa Nist's Relationship
Fans watched Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist fall in love during "The Golden Bachelor." However, there was still a lot of their love story that we all missed. After all, as Nist explained during an interview with Katie Couric, "There's limited time. You can't show every single thing that happened, and there are many things that if you had shown, it could have gone a different way."
Throughout the season, for example, viewers were often led to believe that the Golden Bachelor was falling for another contestant, Leslie Fhima. That's why many fans were completely shocked when it was revealed in the finale that he proposed to Nist instead. It turns out, it wasn't so shocking if you ask the Golden Bachelor and his new bride. The big surprise was mostly due to how the season was edited. "You don't see as many interactions that Gerry and I had together where you would see that we really fully developed this relationship," Nist said. "There wasn't time."
As is the nature of reality TV, only having a total of nine episodes to portray each contestant's outings and connections with Turner was a tall order. But after all has been said and done after "The Golden Bachelor" finally aired, we've learned that there were many things the cameras never showed us about the golden couple's relationship.
How Theresa Nist dealt with Gerry Turner dating other women
The wild world of dating can be a cruel one, and this can go to the extreme when you're a contestant on "The Golden Bachelor." From the moment Theresa Nist met the leading man, she was immediately attracted to her now-husband. It seemed to be love at first sight when Gerry Turner asked her out on the show's very first date too.
However, soon after sharing their chocolate milkshake and dancing in the streets, Nist had to watch other women date the man she had begun to fall for. "That was hard, to have those feelings, to go on that first date, for me to think that first date was so great," she later explained in an interview on Bachelor Nation's YouTube. While she could have stayed in the mansion feeling sorry for herself, Nist chose to cheer on her housemates whenever the Golden Bachelor asked them out. After all, Nist knew that Turner needed to go on dates with other women so he would know for certain that they were soulmates. "I really wanted him to explore it with every single person, because [I wanted to make sure], 'Are you sure? Are you absolutely sure?'" she explained.
Obviously, Nist's cool and collected strategy worked. Her confidence ended up being one of the many traits that officially won the Golden Bachelor over.
Turner told Nist all the details of his other dates
Kathy may have been the one who told Theresa Nist to "zip your lip," but even Gerry Turner couldn't keep the details of his dates a secret. In fact, he told Nist all about them so she knew what to expect whenever she watched them on television. "We had discussed all of the interactions he had with other women," she told Access Hollywood after the finale had aired.
While this may have helped her prepare to view some of the most vulnerable moments he had with other women on the show (even exchanging "I love you" with other contestants), it still made watching it unfold a difficult experience for Nist. "It's hard," Nist later told Katie Couric in an interview. "I wound up in tears. I mean, it's very difficult hearing something like that."
However, nothing was as hard for Nist as watching some of the contestants she had become close with cry on camera, especially after contestant Faith Martin was eliminated. "The most difficult thing was, for me, to see Faith cry," she admitted on Entertainment Tonight. "I bawled my eyes out that night. It was very, very hard." Even after their engagement, both Turner and Nist remained in contact with Martin.
Neither of them wanted to ride horses in Costa Rica
"The Bachelor" franchise is known for setting its singles up on the most extravagant dates. "The Golden Bachelor" was no different, as the final two women were each flown to Costa Rica for a tropical getaway with Gerry Turner. It may seem like a magical place to fall in love, but Turner's date with Theresa Nist was something that neither of them was excited about. "We both weren't happy with the horseback riding," Nist later admitted on Bachelor Nation's YouTube.
Sure, Turner rode horses during his hometown date with Faith Martin, so it wasn't entirely new to the 72 year old. Not being able to have a full conversation with Nist from the back of a horse was what made him uneasy about the idea. "As soon as I saw it, I said, 'Oh, we're not going to be able to talk or be near each other or interact,'" Nist explained.
As fans know, it may have been for the best. In the episode, Turner had just completed his overnight date with finalist Leslie Fhima and was lost in his thoughts while wading through the water with his horse. It wasn't until he and Nist later found themselves seated on a bench that a conversation about the day began to unfold. Even so, the two still would have loved any other date idea. "I said, 'Oh, you got to be under a waterfall [with Leslie]? That's what I wanted!" Nist laughed.
Turner divulged his plan to propose in the fantasy suite
While fans will never truly know what happened between Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist in the fantasy suite, the couple has shared that this date was what completely changed everything for them. "If you watched ... the last dinner that Theresa and I had, it was leading up to more substantial conversation," Turner told Fox News. Apparently, it was during this conversation that he knew Nist was the one he wanted to marry. Without a camera in sight, the two were able to dive into serious topics that they didn't feel comfortable talking about in front of all of America. "We just started talking on a much deeper level, and it just clicked," Nist said.
Behind closed doors was also when Turner first told Nist that he loved her. "I said it three times in a row. 'Theresa, I love you! I love you! I love you!'" he shared with People. "And I go, 'I'm going to ask you to marry me.'" This special scene was something that viewers were not able to see, so it came as a complete shock to us all when Turner let Leslie Fhima know that she was not the one he wanted to marry.
His daughters had no idea he had chosen Theresa
When the producers of "The Golden Bachelor" say that no one is allowed to spoil the season finale, they truly mean it. Even Gerry Turner's daughters and granddaughters had no idea who he was about to propose to (even when they were all there on site watching him wait for his soon-to-be bride to appear!). "And because of the way the sun was and the walk that Theresa had to do, she was a silhouette for an awfully long time," Turner explained to People. "And my daughters tell me, 'Please let it be Theresa, please let it be Theresa, please let it be Theresa.' And when the light hit enough so that they could see that it was her, they were ecstatic."
As fans who watched "The Golden Bachelor: The Women Tell All" television event know, Theresa Nist also hadn't shared her engagement with her sisters before announcing it on television. "I chose not to tell them so that they would have this ultimate joy when they found out," she told Entertainment Weekly. "But it's hard to sublimate your joy. That was the worst part for me." Nist did, however, share the engagement news with her three grandsons, who luckily did not let the secret out to their parents before the big finale.
They only saw each other once before the finale aired
In order to not spoil the season finale for the fans, Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist were not allowed to be seen together after they finished taping their romantic proposal. Only once did the producers plan a top-secret opportunity for the couple to hang out before the big engagement news was broadcast to all of America.
To keep in contact after the show, Turner and Nist could only communicate by phone. "We've been talking on the phone every single night — hour-long, two-hour long conversations," Nist told Entertainment Weekly. "But there was only one in-person visit. We really were longing for that."
As the Golden Bachelor traveled the country solo, talking to press and promoting the show, he knew there was one thing missing from the entire experience that he now gets to enjoy today. "Every trip that I took that was a nice destination, when I'd go fun places, I felt guilty that Theresa wasn't with me," he admitted. "It's really great that I don't have to worry about those things."
Turner and Nist approached ABC about getting married on TV
Once Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist got engaged, they wasted no time when it came to planning a wedding. In "The Golden Bachelor" season finale, it was announced that their wedding would take place in just five short weeks. When asked about the quick turnaround, the couple had a quick response: "We're old! We don't have time to waste!" Nist laughed on Bachelor Nation's YouTube.
Surprisingly, it wasn't even ABC's idea to open up their wedding to the world, but it was the golden couple who approached the network. After all, it was the show that helped them find each other in the first place. "We had a conversation, and went to the network and said, 'We're going to get married. We are happily going to get married soon. What do you want to do with us?'" Turner explained to Chicago's ABC7.
On January 4, 2024, the Golden Bachelor tied the knot with his missus in front of all of America, who had been with them through every step of their relationship. "It really is a decision based on the fact that we affected so many lives. We had no idea," Nist explained during an interview with Extra. "We feel, really, sort of a great responsibility to the fans because they're so fully invested and so supportive and they love it, and we just thought, 'Hey, it'd be so much better to have them included.'"
The newlyweds reportedly earned a large sum of cash
As Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist discussed on their first date at the diner, learning Italian and visiting Italy was something that they put on their bucket list. To their surprise, ABC officially gifted the happy couple with a trip abroad for their honeymoon after giving them the televised wedding of their dreams at La Quinta Resort near Palm Springs, California. It seems, however, that the golden couple walked away with much more than that.
Over the years, previous stars from "The Bachelor" franchise have spoken out about the salary they received from appearing on the show and letting the network televise their weddings. On Jason Tartick's podcast "Trading Secrets," he revealed that he was offered $100,000 by the network to become the Bachelor. Other stars have even received additional compensation, ranging in the tens of thousands to a reported $1 million, for their wedding days as well. Whatever the exact number may be, Turner and his bride most likely walked away with a good amount of money to jumpstart their new life together.
A lot of thought was put into their first dance
While Gerry Turner was persistent about picking the perfect cake flavor for their wedding, Theresa Nist had something else in mind that she wanted to get just right: their first dance. Sure, the golden couple's first date ended in a flash dance, but perfecting those first dance steps as husband and wife was something that Nist took pretty seriously; So seriously that she asked Turner to take dance lessons leading up to their big day, and the Golden Bachelor didn't question her request at all.
"You have to remember, I was married 43 years," he told People. "I came into this relationship well-trained, so when she tells me there's a song that I like, there's a song that I like."
While those of us who tuned into their televised wedding were unable to see their first dance along with any other parts of the reception, fans were able to catch a sneak peek of what it looked like on Instagram. Former "The Bachelorette" star Desiree Siegfried, who attended their wedding, posted a photo of Nist wearing a second wedding dress — perfect for dancing in — looking as if she was having the time of her life once the cameras had stopped rolling.
They keep each other's bad habits in check
As the saying goes: Opposites attract! And the golden couple plans to hold each other accountable when it comes to their weaknesses. "She's going to make sure that I eat better than I do now, because I love my donuts," Gerry Turner shared during an interview with Extra. "And I'm going to make sure that she gets more sleep than she does right now, because she likes to stay up late and listen to podcasts and various things, so we're going to help each other."
Unfortunately, it seems as though Theresa Nist won't be getting a whole lot of sleep at the start of their marriage — and it's not for the reason you may think. As it turns out, Nist is a light sleeper. "It's going to be hard to sleep together," the Golden Bachelor admitted to USA Today. "I get up to go to the bathroom and wake her. And the cycle goes on. It will take time."
They started house-searching together in Charleston, South Carolina
When Gerry Turner first signed up to become the Golden Bachelor, he knew that he had a few deal breakers going into the show. If any of the women smoked, it was a definite disqualifier. Another trait the 72-year-old from Indiana took seriously was his date's geographical location. After all, how in the world would they decide where to live?
Luckily, it was a conversation that he immediately had with Theresa Nist, who was born and bred in New Jersey. "On the first date, he spoke to me about possibly moving to the Charleston area," Nist explained during an interview with Entertainment Tonight. "And I said, 'Well, wow. I have a son who lives in South Carolina.' I said, 'That would work,' but it wasn't until the fantasy suite that the conversation came back to that, and we realized then — so South Carolina is probably where we are going."
After their engagement, the two officially started house hunting in the Charleston area, which is less than two hours where Nist's son resides. However, the idea of staying in New Jersey close to Nist's daughter is something that the couple has also been debating instead. "I like that area, and Theresa's home is 15 minutes from the ocean, and that is so attractive to me," Turner told People. "So we have more than one option to explore. We'll find the spot that we're both happy with."
Yes, they've seen what fans have been saying online
Before being thrust into fame on "The Golden Bachelor," Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist were normal people with private lives. Since the show has aired, it seems as though everyone online has an opinion about their relationship. "For me, it was difficult dealing with some of the negative comments about my character, things that I know that are not true — about me not being independent or that I'm not smart," Nist opened up to Entertainment Weekly.
Turner has also received criticism regarding his rumored dating history — which was revealed in an exposé by The Hollywood Reporter — and even for his appearance on the show. However, he knew what he was signing up for, and he has decided not to take any of these negative comments to heart. "The most fun I've had is reading some of the negative conversations and negative comments," he shared during the couple's interview with Katie Couric. "All the way from me being a recovering alcoholic, to having had spray tan, to having my ears pinned back, which I think is really a funny one."
The golden couple chooses to focus on the good they have done for older audiences who watched their story unfold on "The Golden Bachelor." "There's so many good messages that we get from very lovely people who say such wonderful things," Nist told People. "So I tend to not even see the other stuff."