Gerry Turner & Golden Bachelor Fiancé Are Getting Married Quickly For Specific Reason (SPOILERS)

WARNING! This article contains spoilers for The Golden Bachelor finale!

The Golden Bachelor lead Gerry Turner and his new fiancé from season 1 are revealing why they’re rushing into marriage despite being engaged just a few months ago. Gerry is a 72-year-old retired restaurateur from Hudson, Indiana. Gerry is a father, grandfather and, a widower, who lost his wife Toni in 2017. Gerry became the first senior-aged man to lead the Bachelor franchise when he chose to find someone who matched his personality and was willing to play sports with him. The leading man had 22 women vying for his attention, but only Theresa Nist and Leslie Fhima made it to the finale.

Gerry chose Theresa, a 70-year-old security professional from Shrewsbury, New Jersey, in the finale and, as per their interview with People, the newly engaged duo has already decided on a wedding date. Gerry and Theresa will be getting married live in a televised ceremony. They have less than a month to plan their big day as The Golden Wedding will air on Thursday, January 4, 2024. Gerry is in no mood to wait, as he said, “​​When you’re in your 20s and you put something off for a year, it’s a very small percentage of your life,” during his interview. Gerry spoke about his clock ticking faster as he’s in his 70s.

Theresa Nist Reveals If She’s Fine With Getting Married So Fast

Gerry is also 100 percent sure he has found the right girl for himself. “So it’s like, why not?” asked Gerry. Theresa, too, is on the same page as her fiancé. “I met the man of my dreams,” she gushed. It wasn’t in their original timeline to marry so quickly. “But to be presented with the wedding of our dreams? Spectacular, incredible, wow!” Theresa said about the golden opportunity. Theresa was in her first year of college when her high school sweetheart, William “Bill” Nist, went to Berlin when he was drafted during the Vietnam War. Theresa’s late husband kept telling her, “I want to marry you, let’s get married.”

When he returned to attend his brother’s wedding in June 1972, she only had three days to plan her first wedding. The Golden Bachelor Gerry wanted Theresa to “savor all of the anticipation and the joy and the planning and everything,” because of how rushed her first time had been. He asked her if she was fine with the timeline. “Do you feel like you get cheated a little bit in it?” he asked his wife-to-be. Theresa didn’t feel like she was cheated at all. She is now looking forward to the wedding, which she knows is “going to be incredible.”

Theresa was married for 42 years to Bill, while Gerry was married to his high school sweetheart Toni for more than 40 years until her death in 2017. Gerry and Theresa had a very similar love story. He described Theresa as “a woman who knew how to maintain a relationship” because she had a successful marriage with Bill. The Golden Bachelor couple were surprised with a trip to Italy and Gerry, which they could now use as a honeymoon. It’s been years since the network dedicated an entire special to the wedding of a Bachelor Nation couple. Gerry and Theresa will start their new life together in Charleston, South Carolina.

Source: People, The Golden Bachelor/Instagram