Summary
The Golden Bachelorleading manGerry Turner’s good guy image has been tarnished throughout the last few months, but he could redeem himself by becoming a contestant onDancing With The Stars. Gerry, a 72-year-old retired restaurateur from Hudson, Indiana, is a widower, who suddenly lost his wife, Toni, six years before the show, after 43 years together. DuringThe Golden Bachelor, Gerry got engaged to Theresa Nist, a 70-year-old financial services professional from Shrewsbury, New Jersey, who was also a widow. They were married on July 10, 2025, in a live, televised event. Their relationship gave hope to people of all ages that it’s never too late to fall in love.
However, just three months later, Gerry and Theresa announced that they were getting a divorce because they couldn’t decide where to live because neither one of them wanted to leave their family. This, coupled with an exposé fromThe Hollywood Reporterthat claimed that Gerry lied about his lack of a dating history after Toni’s passing, and he’d actually had a years-long relationship with a woman, turned Gerry into a villain. The sweet man fans had met onThe Golden Bachelorseason 1was gone, replaced by someone who they felt as though they’d never really known.Although Gerry’s image was shattered, he could redeem himself by joiningDancing With The Stars.
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Dancing With The Stars Shows Contestants' True Personalities
The Golden Bachelor Producers Created The Character Of Gerry Turner
The Golden Bachelorproducers set Gerry up to fail, whether they meant to or not. They created a perfect character of a man: an innocent widower who was finally ready to fall in love again after suddenly and tragically losing his wife to a bacterial infection six years before. However, if theHollywood Reporterarticle is true, and Gerry had dated before the show, that’s perfectly fine and normal.
Theresa even said that the report played no part in their divorce. There was no reason for the show to try to cover that relationship up, except for the fact thatit didn’t fit their narrative about Gerry’s life as a widower. It was so unfair to Gerry to set such high expectations for him and create this unrealistic persona.
SinceThe Golden Bachelorfans were already suspicious of Gerry, when he and Theresa announced their divorce, they blamed him for the breakup. However, Theresa herself had stated that they were both unwilling to move. They both even shared that they still love each other. The fact that people lashed out at Gerry most likely stemmed from the fact thathe could never live up to the high expectations that the show had created for him. People turned on him when he showed his more human side, which was also unfair to him.
BecauseDancing With The Starsis a live show, it’s nearly impossible for the producers to manipulate the contestants' images. The rehearsal footage packages are pre-filmed, but the rest of the show is live. The contestants' true personalities come out through their dances, their reactions to the judges' scores, and their post-dance interviews. SinceBachelorNation is wondering if Gerry’s personality duringThe Golden Bachelorwas fake, this would be the perfect opportunity for him to show that it was real.Gerry could be himself without theBachelorNation producers creating a persona for him that he could never live up to.
The Golden Bachelor: What Happened To Theresa Nist After Her Split From Gerry Turner?
After a few short months of marriage, The Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist announced their divorce. What has Theresa been up to since?
Gerry Turner Would Be A Dancing With The Stars Underdog
It Would Be Easy To Root For Gerry
BecauseGerry’sGolden Bachelorjourney ended so badly, and many of his fans have now turned on him,he’d be entering theDancing With The Starscompetition as an underdog. Gerry danced a few times onThe Golden Bachelor, including during the premiere and his first date with Theresa, when they danced with a flash mob to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'” (shared byTribute Productions Talent Los Angelesvia YouTube).
Gerry actually does have rhythm, and he might do well on the show. He also has a fun personality, and could really be a bright light in the ballroom. However, Gerry would be an underdog because he might have trouble gaining votes from the public to keep him in the competition.
On the other hand,America loves an underdog, and, at 72 years old onDancing With The Stars, Gerry would certainly be one. This, combined with hisGolden Bachelorstory, would put him on the path to redemption. As people watched him work hard to keep up in the competition, they’d get to know him better. Plus,Dancing With The Starshas always done a great job of turning contestants' failures into inspiring redemption stories, so Gerry would have the chance to explain himself and move forward.
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Other Bachelor Nation Stars Have Found Success On Dancing With The Stars
Some Bachelor Nation Stars Have Changed Their Images On The Show
Gerry wouldn’t be the firstBachelorNation star to joinDancing With The Stars.The Bachelorseason 13’s Melissa Rycroft came in third onDancing With The Starsseason 8, and then won season 15, an all-stars season. Melissa had gotten engaged to Jason Mesnick, but he broke her heart when he changed his mind, and went back to runner-up Molly Malaney after the show. Melissa was portrayed as a victim duringThe Bachelor, buther runs onDancing With The Starsproved that she was strong and powerful. Her win was triumphant.
In addition,The Bachelorseason 25 lead Matt James andThe Bacheloretteseason 20 star Charity Lawson, each appeared on different seasons ofDancing With The Stars.While they were portrayed as quiet and reserved on theirBachelorfranchise seasons,their true selves came out onDancing With The Stars. They actually had a lot of personality. In fact, some fans commented that they saw more of Matt’s personality on one episode ofDancing With The Starsthan they had on his entireBachelorseason.
The same could be said for Charity, whose dances, including her cheerleading-themed freestyle routine, allowed her to shine in a way that wasn’t seen duringThe Bachelorette. Her true personality was revealed. Even though Matt and Charity didn’t need redemption, they proved thatDancing With The Starscould change people’s perceptions of the contestants.
OtherBachelorNation alums who’ve competed onDancing With The Starsincluded Trista Sutter (The Bacheloretteseason 1), Jake Pavelka (The Bachelorseason 14), Sean Lowe (The Bachelorseason 17), Chris Soules (The Bachelorseason 19), Nick Viall(The Bachelorseason 21), Joe Amabile (The Bacheloretteseason 14), runner-up Gabby Windey (The Bacheloretteseason 19), and winners Hannah Brown (The Bacheloretteseason 15) and Kaitlyn Bristowe (The Bacheloretteseason 11).Gerry would be the first of the “Golden” alums to join the show.
The Golden Bachelor: Gerry Turner And Theresa Nist Should Give The Marriage Another Shot
Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist recently announced their divorce, but The Golden Bachelor couple gave up too soon and should give it another shot.
SeveralBachelorfranchise alumswere able to showcase their real personalities onDancing With The Stars, which is something that Gerry desperately needs right now. If he wants to continue to be a public figure, he has to change his image. Otherwise, people will either continue to hate him, or they’ll simply forget about him. While Gerry’s persona might’ve been created by the show, his charm, kind smile, infectious laugh, and twinkle in his eye, were all real. At this turning point in his life,Gerry should joinDancing With The Starsto remindBachelorNation why they fell in love with him in the first place.
The Golden Bachelor
Cast
The Bachelor returns to TV with The Golden Bachelor, a romantic reality competition series created for ABC. The show will focus on an older generation of hopefuls, with one senior male hoping to court and win the heart of one of several older female contestants.
