During his wedding ceremony at a picturesque resort in the Southern California desert, Gerry Turner walked down an aisle full of roses.
Then he turned and went back.
The crowd murmured. frozen feet; No, the replay was for the cameras that broadcast the wedding on ABC. “For real this time!” Mr Turner spoke to the guests when he passed by again a few minutes later.
If both versions had been broadcast, viewers might not have minded: Mr. Turner has pretty much defined himself as the person of second chances. On Thursday night, the 72-year-old widower and star of “The Golden Bachelor,” ABC’s dating spinoff featuring older cast members, married Theresa Niste, 70, whom he met on the show.
The couple’s love story may have been aided by a casting team and the otherwise opaque machinations of reality TV. It may have been dissected by tabloids, evaluated in franchise ratings, and subjected to debate over whether the show fought or perpetuated television’s preoccupation with aging. But Mr. Turner and Ms. Nist say there is something real at its core.
“It’s not a shell marriage,” Mr Turner said as the couple sat side by side in an interview with The New York Times earlier in the week. It’s a “real, honest” engagement, he said, with a marriage certificate.
The ceremony took place in front of 150 guests and many more TV viewers at the La Quinta Resort and Club, a Mission-style estate where cameras hung from palm trees and a carpet of fake grass was rolled over an outdoor patio. Guests sat on white couches draped in pashminas as the sun set over Joshua Tree National Park.
An outdoor fireplace crackled. a camera drone buzzes overhead.
The wedding was also shown as a live two-hour special on ABC – perhaps a risky bet given the number of Mr Turner’s ex-girlfriends in attendance. Among them was the marriage celebrant, Susan Noles, who is ordained through Universal Life Church and owns Law by Noles. Leslie Fhima, whose split with Mr. Turner featured in most of the season finale, she was also among a few other guest contestants on the season.
Ms. Nist walked down the aisle on the arm of her son, Tommy Nist. “We have so much fun together,” she told Mr Turner during her vows. “We laugh until we cry.”
He hoped they would continue to do so “for the rest of the days we have left on this earth — which could be another hour.”
The couple met five months before their wedding day, when Ms Nist and 21 other women had stepped out of limousines to compete for some combination of screen time and Mr Turner’s heart.
Mr. Turner, a retiree from Indiana, said he had signed on to star in the series in part to show that people his age can still experience desire and transformation. Ms. Nist, a financial services professional from Shrewsbury, NJ, said her daughter encouraged her to apply.
Soon they tied their romantic stories. Both had married young to spouses they adored and both had experienced the death of their partners. On camera, they split a milkshake, discussed grief and met each other’s grandchildren. Less than a month after they met, Mr. Turner proposed.
“I think as you get older, you also realize you’re more confident in your choices,” Mr Turner said.
However, when the producers started discussing the idea of a televised wedding shortly after filming ended, the couple were painted over. Mr. Turner said he was concerned that Ms. Nist would have to rush preparations as she did for her first wedding, which took place during a brief break in her husband’s deployment in the Vietnam War. Only when he had agreed to the compressed timetable did they move forward, he said.
Ms Nist found time to try on Badgley Mischka dresses with her daughter and maid of honor, Jen Woolston, and Mr Turner’s daughters Angie Warner and Jenny Young. Her bachelorette party was held in a mansion in the Hollywood Hills.
“There were beautiful gifts, Chippendale dancers,” Ms Nist said. “Maybe some shots at the bar.” (Mr Turner went on to throw a bachelor party, describing his first as “barbaric”.)
One of those dancers was present – though his shirt was not – on the dance floor at a wedding reception held about 20 meters from the ceremony. A group of uninvited onlookers had gathered outside the venue’s walls, hoping to catch a glimpse of the cast members from the ‘Bachelor’ franchise.
Kerry Leffel, a member of the Mr. Pickleball League. Turner in Indiana, posed for a picture with Faith Martin, a champion whom Mr. Turner had sent home late in the season. Since he had not yet met Ms. Nist, he reserved judgment on her pickleball skills.
Mr Leffel said his friend had seen a lot of him on TV, adding: “He wears his heart on his sleeve.”
Other viewers were more critical afterwards one Hollywood Reporter article published in November claimed that Mr Turner had misrepresented his romantic past. Mr Turner initially said he did not focus on the accuracy of the article. this week he called it “completely fictitious”.
Ms Nist said they were both learning about the dangers of being in the public eye. “At first I was upset about it, that people were saying things that were so wrong about you,” she said. Now, he said, “I almost find it amusing.”
The newlyweds are still working out the details of their life together. Mr. Turner has warmed to New Jersey, Ms. Nist said, but they are also considering moving to South Carolina to be near her son. They hope to explore both areas after their honeymoon in Italy.
And they plan to take a step back from screen life, starting on their wedding night. After a raucous performance of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'” marked the end of the live telecast, the pair retreated to a second, more intimate reception. Family and friends were welcome. The television cameras were not.
On this day
when January 4, 2024
Where La Quinta Resort and Club, La Quinta, California.
Prime Time Offer During a pre-ceremony cocktail hour, Brayden Bowers, a contestant on the most recent season of “The Bachelorette,” proposed to Christina Mandrell, a former contestant on “The Bachelor.” “Is that why we got our nails done?” he asked, after accepting.
Don’t forget the grandchildren The couple’s grandchildren attended the wedding. Mr. Turner’s two granddaughters, Peyton and Charlie, were junior bridesmaids. Five of Ms. Nist’s grandsons — Dempsey, Leo, Brandon, Brody and Braxton — were junior best men. The youngest of the bunch, 6-year-old Henry, was ring.
Music lessons Ms. Nist led the day’s music selection, which included Ray LaMontagne’s “You Are the Best Thing” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run.” “She was very good at telling me what I like about those songs,” Mr. Turner said.
Cocktails galore Guests could choose from a variety of signature drinks, including a spicy margarita called the “Birthday Suit,” a nod to Ms. Nist’s entrance into the Bachelor Mansion for her 70th birthday. She introduced herself to Mr. Turner by unzipping a black robe to reveal a tan bodysuit underneath.