Theresa Nist Fires Back at Gerry Turner's Claims Their Split Was Due to His Cancer Diagnosis
Theresa Nist Fires Back at Gerry Turner's Claims Their Split Was Due to His Cancer Diagnosis

Published: June 5, 2025

Theresa Nist is setting the record straight about her split from Gerry Turner, her husband of three months. In a recent interview on the iHeartRadio's Almost Famous Podcast, Nist denied Turner's claims that his cancer diagnosis was the reason for their breakup.

Nist, 71, met Turner, 73, on the first season of The Golden Bachelor in 2023. The couple got engaged and married, but their whirlwind romance ended in divorce in April 2024. Turner later speculated that his diagnosis of an incurable bone marrow cancer during that time had a significant impact on their split.

Nist Insists Cancer Diagnosis Had "Zero" Impact on Their Split

Nist is adamant that Turner's health issues had no bearing on her decision to end their marriage. "I was just so surprised that he even said that I knew about the cancer a long time ago," she said on the podcast. "The way Gerry presented it to me was that, 'The doctor said that I'm going to die of old age before this cancer gets to me.' He bluffed it off, like it really wasn't that important, and he had no symptoms, and he still doesn't."

"I would have never left my husband over an illness," Nist insisted, citing her 42-year marriage to her first husband, who she stayed with until he died in hospice care in 2014. "Things between us just didn't work out, and we both wanted to give each other the opportunity to date other people. If it were up to me, however, I would have stayed in the relationship longer."

Nist Suspects Turner Wanted "Empathy from the Public"

Nist has her own theory about why Turner made the comments. "Did he want empathy from the public?" she asked. "I was angry that he would say something like that, but then I am such an understanding person, and I can put myself easily in someone else's shoes. So I tried to see it from his perspective, and I thought, 'Okay, if that's in his mind, then I guess that's how he sees it.' Everyone has their own perception of what happened."

Turner has not yet commented on Nist's claims. PEOPLE has reached out to him for comment.

Nist and Turner's Current Relationship Status

Nist revealed that she and Turner have been "a little distant" since their divorce. "He really does want to talk to me a lot," she confessed. "I mean, he wants to keep the friendship going, but I really haven't reciprocated."

Nist is now seeing someone she met on a dating app, although she wouldn't provide many more details. Turner is also in a new relationship with a retired teacher named Lana, who reached out to him on Facebook.

"I really am happy for him," Nist said. "And if he had to find his person by going this circuitous route, then he did, then it was successful. He found someone that really suits him, and that's wonderful. So I think it worked out the way it was supposed to work out."