Image Credit: ABC
Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist were apparently prepared for their divorce last year. After breaking the news of their split to the world on Good Morning America, the Golden Bachelor couple revealed they had signed a prenuptial agreement when they got married. The pair have since shared conflicting statements about their breakup—and now, with Gerry’s new book Golden Years: What I’ve Learned from Love, Loss, and Reality TV out today, November 4, 2025, Bachelor Nation is eager to learn what really led to their split.
Gerry told E! News that his divorce “left a lot unsaid,” and this memoir is his chance to finally share his side of the story.
Learn more about Gerry and Theresa‘s split and the status of their divorce below.
Why Did Gerry Turner & Theresa Nist Break Up?
On April 12, 2024, the pair explained that distance was the reason behind their separation. Since Gerry lives in Indiana and Theresa is from New Jersey, they couldn’t figure out how to move in together.
“We looked at home after home, but we never got to the point where we made that decision,” Theresa explained on GMA. Gerry also noted that the “thing that strikes me the most in our conversations, it’s been how dedicated both of us are to our families. So, we look at these conversation and we both think it’s best for the happiness of each of us to live apart.”
Gerry started out the announcement by pointing out that he and Theresa had many “heart-to-heart conversations” about their situation.
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“Theresa and I have had a number of heart-to-heart conversations, and we’ve looked closely at our situation, our living situation, so forth and we’ve come to the conclusion mutually that it’s probably time for us to dissolve our marriage,” Gerry said, before Theresa added, “We have received so much love and support from so many people who watched The Golden Bachelor, and I don’t think we can tell you how many people told us that it gave them so much hope. We want none of that to change for anybody.”
Ahead of their split Theresa admitted that her job and staying in New Jersey, while Gerry was in Indiana, was a “hurdle” on an episode of the “Dear Shandy” podcast in March. “I still work, so that’s the hurdle,” she said, via Daily Mail. “So kind of stuck with me, even though my intent, I’m not going to work until I’m 80, but I am still working. So, right now, it’s a long distance relationship essentially.”
Gerry also admitted that he was looking forward to a life of “fun and adventure” post-retirement in the podcast. “I wanted fun, adventure. I wanted to go do,” he said. “So that is the crux of it, right now, is when does that start? I think the living arrangement is really secondary to the freedom of being able to go and enjoy life and do.”
Did Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist Have a Prenup?
After the breakup announcement aired, GMA‘s Juju Chang pointed out that Gerry and Theresa had signed a prenup, which is something they “highly recommend” to people.
The terms and conditions in their prenup have not been disclosed to the public. However, Gerry and Theresa were making sure to protect their assets, as he is a restauranteur and she is financier.
EXCLUSIVE: “The Golden Bachelor” couple Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist announce they are getting divorced.
“We’ve looked closely at our situation…and we’ve kind of come to the conclusion mutually that it’s probably time for us to dissolve our marriage.” https://t.co/tmeLsD9HqB pic.twitter.com/4rYZw58tGn
— Good Morning America (@GMA) April 12, 2024
Gerry, who once helped mediate divorces, wrote in his memoir that having a prenup was nonnegotiable. He said he overnighted the paperwork to Theresa but grew uneasy when she didn’t return it right away.
“I began to worry she was going to run out the clock,” he admitted, adding that when she finally signed, he was hit with “the worst case of cold feet.” Gerry recalled feeling trapped by the momentum of their televised romance, writing, “There was no way to stop this wedding, certainly not while saving face for myself or Theresa. The only alternative was to suck it up, keep my mouth shut, and go through with it, honoring my earnest commitment to give 100 percent to make our marriage a happy one.”
When Did Gerry Turner & Theresa Nist Get Divorced?
According to Us Weekly, Gerry formally filed for divorce from Theresa the same day they announced their separation in April 2024. The outlet reported that he cited the reason of their marriage as “irretrievably breakdown.”
Gerry opened up in his memoir about doubts that surfaced after filming, confessing that he sometimes questioned whether Theresa joined The Golden Bachelor for the right reasons. He recalled hearing from fellow contestants who claimed Theresa was once spotted reading How to Win The Bachelor inside the mansion — something that, he said, made him “feel sick to [his] stomach.” “It made me think that her goal was never to find the next love of her life,” he wrote, “it was to win.”
Now engaged to Lana Sutton, Gerry wrote that the “collective perspective” of the other women from the show helped him move forward. “They understood what had really happened back at the mansion, and they voiced in near unison a sense of betrayal,” he shared, crediting them with helping him out of “the darkest period” of his post-show life.
Gerry and Theresa finalized their divorce in June 2024.
