Gerry Turner broke his silence on his cancer diagnosis. He admitted that it affected his future plans with Theresa Nist. The couple were on a whirlwind romance on The Golden Bachelor. They got married on live television, only to divorce three months later. Now, new details about Gerry’s marriage have emerged.
Tough Secret
Gerry kept a big secret from Golden Bachelor fans. In his exclusive interview with PEOPLE, he announced that he was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer in March. The shocking news caused him to hit pause on his marriage. This is the first time that Gerry spoke out about his split from Theresa.
The Golden Bachelor wrapped its inaugural season in November 2023. The couple got married on January 4, 2024, in a televised wedding special. Three months later, Gerry and Theresa announced their split in a joint interview with Good Morning America.
Theresa filed the divorce papers on April 12, 2024. At the time, it was mentioned that they couldn’t make their long-distance marriage work. They were settled with their respective families. However, Gerry says there’s more to the story.
“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,” he shared with PEOPLE.
Cancer Journey
Gerry calls his cancer journey more of a “process, rather than an event.” Three years ago, he suffered from a shoulder injury from pickleball. But he was too busy to book a doctor’s appointment. Once he became the nation’s first-ever Golden Bachelor, his calendar was fully booked.
This year, Gerry was diagnosed with “bone marrow cancer,” also known as Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia. This cancer develops when the white blood cells inside the bone marrow turn into cancer cells. “Unfortunately, there’s no cure for it. So that weighs heavily in every decision I make,” Gerry explained.
He delivered the tough news to Theresa in February. By March, he received an official diagnosis. Gerry commended his ex-wife for being “so understandable.” For now, he wants to live a quiet life with his family. “And the importance of finding the way with Theresa was still there, but it became less of a priority,” Gerry added.
He also lashed out at the criticism of their relationship. Gerry has no new plans for his life. This news gave him some perspective. Gerry realized that fame or social media fights aren’t important. He shifted his focus to the people who matter the most. Unfortunately, he couldn’t continue his love journey due to this grim diagnosis.
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