Who did Indiana’s ‘Golden Bachelor’ choose?
Cheryl V. Jackson
“The Golden Bachelor” star Gerry Turner has found his person. But his ride on network TV isn’t over.
On the live season finale of the hit ABC reality dating show, America finally saw the 72-year-old widower choose between the final two women eager to spend their lives with him — Theresa Nist, a 70-year-old securities professional from Shrewsbury, New Jersey, and Leslie Fhima, 64, a fitness instructor from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Turner and his wife, Toni, were married for more than 40 years when she died of an infection in 2017, shortly after they moved to their dream home in Hudson, Indiana.
He chose Theresa. And they’re getting married.
The winning contestant and Turner had a similar love story.
Nist was married for 42 years to her high school sweetheart, William “Bill” Nist, who died in 2014. They met when she was 14 and he was 16, she revealed in an Instagram post.
During the show, Turner described Nist as “a woman who knew how to maintain a relationship.”
He was shown proposing on bended knee, with a Neil Lane ring and a golden rose in Costa Rica.
Turner and Nist will get married on Jan. 4, 2024, live on ABC.
The two-hour finale episode of ‘The Golden Bachelor’ was heated
Fhima grilled Turner about leading her to believe she’d be his choice after he broke the news of his decision to her during a private meeting.
Several of the eliminated ladies from the show shook their heads as Turner apologized before the live studio audience.
The finale came amid allegations that Gerry Turner was a jerk
The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday released a story anonymously quoting a woman who said she was in a long-term relationship with Turner and painted him as a cad.
The woman told the publication that she and Turner began dating within weeks of his wife’s death; and, at his behest, she quit her job and moved to his home in Indiana, where he insisted they split expenses, derided her for gaining weight and forced her out on short notice after the resulting 2019 breakup.
In promoting the show, Turner had presented as having limited dating experience since the death of his wife.
When Turner visited the IndyStar in November, he responded to critics saying he was overexposed and a little too smooth for a 70-something who had been out of the dating scene.
“Ha! Let me talk to that guy,” he said. “Too smooth? This is all I got. I can’t be smooth.”
A second season is in the works
ABC encouraged folks to apply at abc.com/casting for the next season of “The Golden Bachelor.” There’s no word yet on a potential female-led spinoff.
Look for another Hoosier on ‘The Bachelor’
We’ll see at least one more Hoosier on the upcoming “The Bachelor” season. Nancy Hulkower, a native of Warsaw, Indiana, who was part of the “The Golden Bachelor” cast, was seen in a preview giving advice to lead Joey Graziadei. That season starts in January.
Contact IndyStar reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at cheryl.jackson@indystar. com or 317-444-6264. Follow her on X.com: @cherylvjackson.