The Golden Bachelor's Season 1 star Gerry Turner has opened up about how he felt "trapped" with Theresa Nist and married her even though he knew it was "the wrong thing to do."

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Gerry, a 74-year-old retired Mr. Quick restaurant franchise owner, wrote a memoir titled Golden Years: What I've Learned from Love, Loss, and Reality TV that will hit shelves on November 4.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)

Gerry -- whose engagement to Theresa aired on The Golden Bachelor's Season 1 finale in November 2023 -- shared in his memoir how prenup complications and creeping doubts about his future with Theresa made him feel hesitant to tie the knot on January 4, 2024, according to USA Today, who obtained an advance copy of Gerry's book.

Gerry wrote how he had "the basic requirement" of a prenup before getting married but it allegedly took weeks of back and forth with Theresa to get her to sign it.

Gerry wrote that he had received a "frantic" last-minute call from his lawyer about Theresa's missing signature and the former The Golden Bachelor star didn't receive confirmation that the prenup was finalized until he was checking into the Palm Springs resort in California for the wedding weekend.

Gerry recalled in his memoir how he had a "stress hangover about getting that prenup signed, which led to the worst case of cold feet" shortly before he was scheduled to film The Golden Wedding live for ABC.

"I began to worry she was going to run out the clock," Gerry wrote, according to USA Today.

"Then I would be faced with either calling off a very expensive, televised wedding at the last minute or entering into a marriage legally unprotected. I didn't like either of these options."

And during a gathering the night before the ceremony, Gerry admitted he vented his concerns to one of his The Golden Bachelor finalists, Faith Martin, who had finished his season in third place.

Gerry apparently told Faith that he felt "trapped" and worried the wedding was "the wrong thing to do."

Gerry wrote in his memoir that Faith had asked him, "What the hell are you doing?" before reminding the soon-to-be groom, repeatedly, "You do not have to do this."

Gerry admitted in his book, "I wish I had listened to her wise and sincere advice. Most of all I couldn't let down Theresa whom I still loved dearly even if I worried about the pace of our relationship."

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Gerry therefore decided to move forward with the wedding and exchange vows with Theresa on-camera.

After all, fans all over the world were rooting for them, and Gerry and Theresa's children and grandchildren seemed invested in their love story.

"The only alternative was to suck it up, keep my mouth shut and go through with it with my earnest commitment to give 100 percent to make our marriage a happy one," Gerry wrote.

But Gerry -- who starred on The Golden Bachelor after the death of his late wife Toni Turner -- announced his split from Theresa and filed for divorce in April 2024.

Gerry and Theresa's divorce was finalized two months later in June 2024.

In an interview with Us Weekly about USA Today's reportings on the book, Gerry was asked to elaborate on how he felt "trapped" with Theresa in the moments leading up to his wedding.

"Commitment is a big thing, and I felt like I was doing the right thing. I just didn't feel overjoyed about it," Gerry admitted to Us.

"So much of the book is about how I felt at certain moments, and that's only a momentary truth... I had second thoughts, but I don't think [they] were exaggerated from anyone's normal second thoughts."

Gerry even told the magazine that he felt empty on the day of his The Golden Bachelor marriage proposal.

Gerry explained how he was still reeling from his breakup with The Golden Bachelor runner-up, Leslie Fhima, when he popped the question to his winner, Theresa.

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"[I had just] broken a heart. Leslie and the issue that we got into the night before stuck with me really deeply. I cared for her very much, and I felt like I had mishandled the situation, not only the previous night, but ongoing," Gerry confessed.

"I'd made strong comments to her that perhaps was premature to make. So 12 or 14 hours later, I'm proposing to someone else and the joy wasn't there."

During Gerry's The Golden Bachelor journey, he had said, "I love you," to Faith, Leslie and Theresa.

"I felt like I was going through the motions of what I had expected and what I needed to do, but not that I was gleefully doing and not that I, really, wanted to be in that moment at that time," Gerry explained.

"If it had been even a 24-hour or 48-hour window where I could have processed what had happened, I think it would have made me feel a lot different."

However, Gerry eventually moved on with retired Indiana teacher, Lana Sutton. The pair had begun dating in March and now they're engaged.

After receiving a bone marrow cancer diagnosis last year, Gerry announced his engagement on October 3.

"For a long, long time, I said, 'No, that'll never happen,'" Gerry said of getting married again. "Now that I have someone who makes me so happy, I can't say no to that anymore."

Theresa, for her part, told Us in May that she was nothing but supportive of Gerry finding love again.

Gerry said the real reasons for his divorce from Theresa will be revealed in his memoir. Fans are also still waiting to hear Theresa's own take on the breakup, if she's ever willing to share it.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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