Spoiler alert! This story reveals who received Gerry Turner’s final rose on The Golden Bachelor finale that aired November 30.
Not only did Gerry Turner give out his final rose and get engaged on the season finale of The Golden Bachelor on Thursday, he revealed that his journey isn’t over yet. But amidst the excitement of his and Theresa Nist’s upcoming live wedding special coming to ABC in January, there was plenty of drama — and not just on the screen. The day before the finale aired, allegations circulated that Gerry had been dishonest about his dating life following his wife Toni’s death in 2017, but the contestants on The Golden Bachelor apparently don’t agree.
THR published an article on November 29 that accused Gerry Turner and The Golden Bachelor of being disingenuous about the 72-year-old’s dating history, specifically in regards to an unidentified woman the trade called “Carolyn.” However, a source said Gerry did not mislead the seniors he was dating on the show, telling ET:
Gerry was open with the golden women in the house about his approximately year-and-a-half-long relationship with the woman referred to as ‘Carolyn.’
While Gerry Turner was portrayed on the show as having not dated in 45 years (per his previous comments on ET) and also said at different times over the course of the season that he had not slept with anyone or even kissed another woman in years, it does appear that he and “Carolyn” were somewhat serious, as THR reports they dated for 10 months before moving in together for a year and nine months.
The Bachelor franchise’s producers have been accused of misleading viewers multiple times, so it wouldn’t be surprising to learn that the show might have framed the lead’s story to fit a specific narrative, but regardless of how Gerry Turner was portrayed to America, the insider claims his relationship with “Carolyn” was reportedly not hidden from the women he dated on the show.
People reports that even before the THR story, Gerry Turner had opened up to the magazine about dating after his wife’s death, saying that “one failure led to another for a variety of reasons.” In the article, which was also published November 29, Gerry was reported to have said:
I've dated a number of times since Toni's passed, more recently than back closer to when she's passed. For one reason or another, the attempts didn't work out. I could give you a wide range of reasons, but it doesn't really matter.
Gerry Turner is probably right. It doesn’t seem to matter now, as the widower from Indiana proposed to Theresa NIst on The Golden Bachelor’s finale, and the couple surprised Bachelor Nation with the news that they’ll be getting married on live TV. It’s all happening sooner than we could have expected, too, with The Golden Wedding special slated to air at 8 p.m. ET Thursday, January 4, on ABC. See what else is coming in the new year with our 2024 TV schedule.
