Gerry Turner, the Golden Bachelor who found love with Theresa Nist on the inaugural season of the ABC dating show, revealed to People this week that he was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer earlier this year, just weeks before he and Theresa announced their divorce.
As you may remember, Gerry and Theresa tied the knot in January during a live televised wedding special after getting engaged on the ‘Golden Bachelor’ season finale, which aired in November 2023.
In April, the pair announced during a joint interview on Good Morning America that they had decided to end their marriage after just four months. At the time, the exes claimed that their living situation had played a large part in their decision to part ways, with Gerry living in Indiana and Theresa residing in New Jersey. Gerry revealed this week, however, that there was something else going on around the time of his and Theresa split that he hasn’t “wanted to talk about until now.”
“I think it’s time, also because it probably will clear up a lot of mystery around what happened back in February, March and April,” Gerry shared. “As Theresa and I were trying very hard to find our lifestyle and where we were going to live and how we were going to make our life work, I was unfortunately diagnosed with cancer.”
The 72-year-old, who claims his involvement with charities and fundraisers is what inspired him to open up about his diagnosis, explained that he sustained a shoulder injury three years ago while playing pickleball, but neglected to visit an orthopedic surgeon at the time. When he finally “got around” to having his injury looked at, Gerry said his doctor discovered “unusual blood markers,” which ultimately led to his diagnosis.
“ … the orthopedic surgeon said, ‘Yeah Gerry, there’s not much we can do for your shoulder, but there are some unusual blood markers here,’” Gerry recalled. “And so an orthopedic surgeon went to my family doctor, my family doctor referred me to an oncologist and now I’m working with a hematology-oncology group in Fort Wayne.”
Gerry was diagnosed with a slow-growing “bone marrow cancer” called Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia. (According to the Mayo Clinic, the disease– sometimes called “lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma”– changes white blood cells into cancer cells and builds up in the bone marrow.)
“Unfortunately, there’s no cure for it,” Gerry said of his cancer diagnosis. “So that weighs heavily in every decision I make. It was like 10 tons of concrete were just dropped on me. And I was a bit in denial for a while, I didn’t want to admit it.”
While Gerry was initially informed by doctors that he had a blood disorder, he said he “pretty much” knew it would be cancer. After sharing the news of his blood disorder with Theresa in February, Gerry went on to undergo additional testing, after which he received a more definitive diagnosis, which he revealed to Theresa in March.
“Certainly, it was hard for me,” Gerry said of sharing the news with his then-wife. “But the conversation was brief and I think [she was] a little bit awestruck by the news. So understandable.”
Gerry noted that it was important that his life “continue on as normal as possible” following the diagnosis, which for him, meant spending more time with his children and grandchildren.
“ … the importance of finding the way with Theresa was still there, but it became less of a priority,” he admitted.
As for Theresa, she told People that Gerry’s diagnosis “wasn’t a factor in the ending of the relationship, at least not for me.” The 71-year-old cited her and Gerry’s long-distance relationship as “part of” the reason behind the split, though she claims “that wasn’t the only part.”
Theresa also recalled the moment Gerry shared with her the “devastating news” that he had cancer, revealing she “was extremely upset.”
“He told me though, that it was the type of cancer that he would most likely outlive,” she said. “He’s a very positive person and I am too, and I know that he will do the best that he can to make this a positive experience.
“And I have every faith that it’s going to work out that way, that it’s going to be the type of cancer that will not affect his life and that he’ll live to be a very healthy old age,” she added.
While the news of Gerry and Theresa’s split caused the pair to receive a certain amount of judgment from some of the ‘Golden Bachelor’ fans, Gerry said his diagnosis helped him to “realize what’s important” and he hopes sharing his story will provide some clarity to viewers.
“ … and I hope that people understand in retrospect now that that had a huge bearing on my decisions and I think probably Theresa’s as well,” he said. “Hopefully [fans] will look at things a little bit differently, that maybe it wasn’t quite a rash, fast decision that people thought. That there was something else going on.”
Gerry said he’s now focused on packing “as much fun as [he] possibly can” into life and enjoying every moment.
“ … When I’m gone, I’m gone, but I’m not going to have any regrets,” he said.
The former ‘Golden Bachelor’ insists his short-lived relationship with Theresa is among the things he doesn’t regret, calling their time together “a cherished memory.”
“It was wonderful and I certainly wish it would’ve had a different ending, that we would’ve found our way, that we would’ve found solutions to a problem,” he said. “And most of all, that I would not have had a diagnosis that so strongly influenced my decisions and the direction I went.”
(Photos: Instagram)
