Teresa Nist, Leslie Fima and Faith Martin toast with Jerry Turner on ‘The Golden Bachelor’
Courtesy of Disney/John Fleenor
Jerry Turner won’t be the Golden Bachelor for much longer, as he’s set to tie the knot in a wedding ceremony broadcast live on ABC.
during the live finals on Thursday The Golden BachelorSeries lead Turner, who got engaged to Theresa Knist in Costa Rica, announced that they will tie the knot on January 4, 2024. Golden wedding The special will air at 8pm and will mark the first televised weddings for the franchise Bachelor Favorite Sean Lowe and Catherine Giudici exchanged vows in 2014.
After show host Jesse Palmer told Turner, 72, and Nist, 70, that he was sending the couple on a trip to Italy, the Golden Bachelor replied, “We’re going to use it as our honeymoon because we’re getting married. We’re going to do it as quickly as we can because, at our age, “We don’t have much time to waste. The sooner we can plan the wedding, the sooner we get married.”
Runner-up Leslie Fima tearfully broke up with Turner in Costa Rica after realizing she lacked investment in their relationship, leading Nist to share that her feelings were strong. “I was devastated,” Fima told Palmer during the “After the Final Rose” segment of the finale. “I broke down my walls and I fell in love with him so much. I haven’t been in love with anyone in a long time, so it was hard.
Disney/John Fleener
When they reunited during live scenes in the finale, Fima told Turner she felt “blindsided” by their breakup and asked him where it went wrong. He replied, “It didn’t really go wrong, Leslie. It was better with someone else. It was the right person in the wrong direction.”
Turner was startled when Nist arrived in Costa Rica for a potential project, and he told her, “I realized you’re not the right person to live with.” He took a pause before adding, “You’re the person I can’t live without.” Nist smiled and promised, “That was great,” as he got down on one knee to propose.
Palmer asked Turner during “After the Final Rose” if her feelings for Nist had developed overnight. “There were moments of subtlety in the conversation,” Turner said of his relationship with Nist, a financial services specialist from New Jersey. “With every passing moment, she showed her enthusiasm, her adventurous side, everything. Every bit was a plus.
Turner was dismissive when asked about their physical contact on the Fantasy set, blurting out, “I knocked his shoes off.” “No, with my kisses,” she joked after the crowd laughed.
Fima was devastated during the finale as Turner ended their relationship shortly after introducing her to his two daughters and two granddaughters. Fima clarified that Turner professed his love for her on a fantasy-suite date and made comments that led to them starting to plan their future together.
“I’m heartbroken once again,” Fima told Turner in Costa Rica. “But now I have to do it in front of the whole world to see how broken I am, once again, that no one chose me. You didn’t choose me—again. The other night, you made it sound like you chose me. You said things to me that made me think this was how it was going to be. You led me down a path and then you took a turn and left me there, that’s how I feel.
Nist and Turner were joined in mourning the loss of their spouses. Turner, described by ABC as a retired restaurateur from Indiana, lost Tony, his high school sweetheart and wife of 43 years, in 2017 when she died of a bacterial infection. Meanwhile, Billy, Nist’s husband of 42 years, died of kidney failure.
In an article published by The Hollywood Reporter Questioning the show’s account that Turner never dated before marriage, a woman identified herself as Turner’s ex-girlfriend and that they began dating a month after his wife’s death, leading to a relationship that lasted more than two years. The woman, who did not want to be named, said she moved from Iowa to live with Turner at his Indiana home before ending the relationship in early 2020.
