Former Golden Bachelor lead Gerry Turner has revealed he has a new girlfriend, one year after he announced his divorce from Theresa Nist, whom he met on the ABC dating show.
Turner confirmed he was dating a retired teacher named Lana during an interview with TMZ, published on Thursday. He shared that he connected with Lana on Facebook after approving a friend request from her, since they had many mutual friends.
He told the publication that while Lana was the one to reach out first, he ignored the initial message. However, when Lana sent a second message about growing up in a town 20 minutes away from him in Indiana, she got his attention.
They then made plans to meet and had their first date at a restaurant in March. They have grown closer each day, with Lana recently meeting Angie and Jenny, Turner’s adult children with his late wife, Toni.
Earlier this month, Turner had hinted that he was dating someone new. During an episode of Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt’s Bachelor Happy Hour podcast, which aired April 15, he said that his new relationship was going well. He didn’t, however, give his partner’s name at the time.
“I don’t wanna say too much and jinx it,” he explained. “And I’m trying to respectfully get to a point where there’s an acceptable amount of time from my divorce. Maybe that’s old-fashioned, though, you know, maybe it doesn’t matter as much as I think it does. But to be respectful, I kind of want to slow roll this.”
Turner also said that he had told Nist about his new girlfriend, so it “won’t be shocking news” when he went public with the relationship.
Nist and Turner, who got engaged on the first season of The Golden Bachelor, announced a year ago they were getting divorced after only three months of marriage.
“Theresa and I have had a number of heart-to-heart conversations, and we’ve looked closely at our situation, our living situation, so forth and we’ve kind of come to the conclusion mutually that it’s probably time for us to dissolve our marriage,” Turner said during an appearance on Good Morning America, alongside his now ex-wife.
Nist admitted that being unable to find a home together, after looking in both South Carolina and New Jersey, had contributed to their breakup. Even though their relationship did not work out, Nist expressed her gratitude for everyone who supported them along the way.
“I don’t think we can tell you how many people told us that it gave them so much hope,” she added. “We want none of that to change for anybody.”
Turner also recently shared an update about his health, months after revealing he was diagnosed with cancer.
“I feel great,” he said during his appearance on the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast.
“Until I have any symptoms, there’s no treatment. So I go frequently for blood tests. I’m on, like, a six-month schedule now, and I feel optimistic because the doctor has said, ‘Well, when you turn 75, we’re going to have to go three-month increments.’ So it’s telling me that at least he expects me to live another couple of years to get to that. But the bottom line is I feel really good.”
Turner added that he viewed the diagnosis as an opportunity to fully “live like you’re dying,” and that he never shies away from saying “yes” to anything he’s offered.
“The person I’m dating will say, ‘Do you want to go do-’ And before she even gets out the rest of the sentence, I will say yes. So I’m in on everything,” he said.