Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist were the first couple to meet and marry on “The Golden Bachelor,” ABC’s spinoff of “The Bachelor” with cast members 60 and older.
On Friday, the newlyweds announced that they will also be the spinoff’s first couple to break up.
They made the announcement in a joint appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “Teresa and I had a series of heart-to-heart conversations, and we carefully considered our situation, the state of our lives, and mutually came to the conclusion that it was probably time to dissolve our marriage. ,” said the 72-year-old Mr. Turner.
Anchor Juju Chang replied in shock. “Three months after the wedding?” he said. “So, what the heck, guys?” he asked later in the interview.
Explaining their decision, Mr Turner said they were both committed to their families – each has children from previous marriages, as well as grandchildren – and it made perfect sense for them to live separately. Mrs. Nist, 70, added that they had looked at homes near family members in South Carolina and New Jersey but had been unable to come to a conclusion.
The couple, through a spokesperson, declined to be interviewed for this article.
The franchise had positioned the couple as proof that rejuvenating love stories can unfold later in life. Before marrying Ms. Nist, Mr. Turner, who is retired from Indiana, was married for 43 years to his high school sweetheart, Toni. He died in 2017 after a short illness.
“My peers are still falling in love,” Mr. Turner told The New York Times after he was announced as the star of the first season of “Golden Bachelor.” “People my age still have hope and still have vibrant lives.”
On the show, he quickly bonded with Ms. Nist, a financial services professional from Shrewsbury, NJ, and one of 22 women vying for his love. The couple bonded over their experiences of loss — Ms Nist’s first husband, Billy, died in 2014.
Mr. Turner proposed to Ms. Nist on the “Golden Bachelor” season finale, which aired in November. The couple married in a televised ceremony in Southern California in January, attended by many of Mr Turner’s former girlfriends from the season.
During the “Golden Bachelor” finale, The Hollywood Reporter published an article in which a woman who claimed to have dated Mr. Turner said he had misrepresented his romance on the show and that the two had a serious relationship that he had omitted. Mr Turner told The Times he had only given the article a “cursory look” and could not speak to its accuracy.
“The Golden Bachelor” renewed interest in the “Bachelor” franchise at a time when its ratings had been falling. According to Nielsen statistics, the eight episodes leading up to the “Golden Bachelor” finale averaged more viewers than all of the franchise’s full seasons that have aired since 2021. In February, ABC announced plans for “The Golden Bachelorette,” a version of the spinoff with a female lead.
After Mr. Turner and Ms. Nist announced their plans to split on Friday, some “Golden Bachelor” viewers expressed their disappointment and the occasional “I told you so” on social media. The breakup was not unusual for the “Bachelor” franchise, which has produced far more breakups than marriages.
Ms. Nist told “Good Morning America” that she hoped the couple’s divorce would not discourage viewers who had been inspired by the couple. “We say, ‘Don’t give up,'” he said. “We say, ‘Stay with it, stay optimistic, because we are.’