The Golden Bachelor star Gerry Turner has revealed he's been diagnosed with cancer, which he says better explains his shocking divorce from Theresa Nist after only three months of marriage.
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However, Theresa, a New Jersey native who works in finance, and Gerry, a retired restaurateur living in Indiana, announced their split on April 12, and they claimed at the time neither person was willing to move because it would mean leaving family and friends behind.
But Theresa teased in November 2024 that it was "not just the location thing" that caused the demise of her relationship with Gerry.
And according to Gerry, a recent cancer diagnosis played a huge factor in the couple's decision to divorce, People reported.
Gerry, 72, told the magazine that he received a bone marrow cancer diagnosis in March.
Gerry said he hasn't wanted "to talk about" his health crisis but being involved with charities and fundraisers inspired him to open up to the public.
"I think it's time, also because it probably will clear up a lot of mystery around what happened back in February, March and April," Gerry said, referring to the sudden end to his marriage.
"As Theresa and I were trying very hard to find our lifestyle and where we were going to live and how we were going to make our life work, I was unfortunately diagnosed with cancer."
Gerry explained that he wanted to "continue on as normal as possible" in his life.
"And that led me to believing that 'as normal as possible' more meant spending time with my family, my two daughters, my two son-in-laws, my granddaughters," Gerry shared.
"And the importance of finding the way with Theresa was still there, but it became less of a priority."
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Gerry was admittedly shocked to find out he has cancer, which a doctor happened to stumble upon when following up on a shoulder injury he had experienced while teaching a pickleball class three years ago.
"Finally I got around to going [to the doctor] and the orthopedic surgeon said, 'Yeah Gerry, there's not much we can do for your shoulder, but there are some unusual blood markers here,'" Gerry recalled.
"And so an orthopedic surgeon went to my family doctor, my family doctor referred me to an oncologist, and now I'm working with a hematology-oncology group in Fort Wayne."
Gerry said he was diagnosed with a slow-growing "bone marrow cancer" with a "really long name."
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The cancer is called Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia, which, according to the Mayo Clinic, changes white blood cells into cancer cells and builds up in the bones' spongy marrow.
"Unfortunately, there's no cure for it. So that weighs heavily in every decision I make," Gerry explained.
"It was like 10 tons of concrete were just dropped on me. And I was a bit in denial for a while, I didn't want to admit to it."
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Before Gerry was certain he has bone marrow cancer, his oncologists initially informed him that he had a "blood disorder" in February. (Gerry, however, said he "pretty much knew" it was going to be cancer).
Gerry shared his pathology report with Theresa that same month and then went in for additional testing, including a bone marrow biopsy.
By mid-March, Gerry had a more definitive diagnosis, and so he decided to tell Theresa and explain the situation to her.
"Certainly, it was hard for me," Gerry recalled of sharing his diagnosis with his then-wife.
"But the conversation was brief and I think [she was] a little bit awestruck by the news. So understandable."
Gerry's priorities and outlook on life changed as a result of his cancer battle, and so he said "judgments" made about his breakup with Theresa were "unfair" to the now exes.
"When you are hit with that kind of news and the shock wears off after a few days or a few weeks and you regroup and you realize what's important to you, that's where you start to move forward," Gerry explained.
"And I hope that people understand in retrospect now that that had a huge bearing on my decisions and I think probably Theresa's as well."
Gerry apparently hopes people will "look at things a little bit differently" now that they know more of the story.
"Maybe [people will see] it wasn't quite a rash, fast decision that people thought," Gerry acknowledged. "That there was something else going on."
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As Gerry attempts to move forward and find happiness, he said he refuses to say "no to anything." He's also been inspired to live big thanks to Tim McGraw's song, "Live Like You're Dying."
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Gerry also told People that he wishes Theresa "all of the good luck in the world." He hopes that she will find joy and "everything she wants to."
Gerry will also continue to look fondly on his short-lived romance with Theresa.
"That glamour and starstruck, whirlwind time was really a cherished memory," Gerry noted.
"It was wonderful, and I certainly wish it would've had a different ending, that we would've found our way, that we would've found solutions to a problem."
"And most of all," he added, "that I would not have had a diagnosis that so strongly influenced my decisions and the direction I went."
In early November 2024, Theresa admitted on "The Ben & Ashley I: Almost Famous Podcast" that long distance wasn't the only reason her marriage to Gerry crumbled so quickly and they got a divorce.
"You really can't know somebody in four weeks. I'll just say that. That's all I can say," Theresa told Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti, seemingly suggesting that there was even more to the pair's split than distance and Gerry's cancer diagnosis.
Theresa said on the November 5 episode, "I don't want to say any more than that. You get to know each other better [post-finale in the real world], and it's not something I want to discuss at this point."
Theresa went on to reiterate of her divorce: "It's not just the location thing. That's all I'll say."
Theresa and Gerry's divorce was finalized on June 13.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
