“Golden Bachelor” Gerry Turner’s ex-wife, Theresa Nist, is heartbroken over Turner’s incurable cancer diagnosis revelation.
“That’s devastating news, really. I was extremely upset,” Nist told People on Wednesday.
Nist –– who competed on Turner’s season of the “Golden Bachelor” and won –– recalled Turner telling her the news when she was visiting him in March.
“He told me though, that it was the type of cancer that he would most likely outlive,” she told the outlet.
Nist, 71, explained that she hopes her ex, 72, can live a “long and healthy, prosperous life” and “be so happy,” despite the diagnosis.
“I wish him the best and that I know that he was in a very difficult situation and that good things will come to him,” Nist continued. “I just wish him all the best of everything in the world.”
Nist reiterated that Turner is a “very positive person,” so she knows that he “will do the best that he can to make this a positive experience.”
“And I have every faith that is going to work out that way, that it’s going to be the type of cancer that will not affect his life and that he’ll live to be a very healthy old age,” she said.
Turner stunned Bachelor Nation on Wednesday when he announced that he was diagnosed with a slow-growing “bone marrow cancer” called Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia –– an uncommon blood cell cancer that typically starts in bone marrow, per the Dana-Fabar Cancer Institute.
The dad of two explained in an interview with People that he was getting treatment for a shoulder injury he got three years ago when an orthopedic surgeon told him, “‘Yeah Gerry, there’s not much we can do for your shoulder, but there are some unusual blood markers here.'”
“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,” he said.
The doctors informed Turner that there is unfortunately “no cure” for the rare type of cancer.
“It was like 10 tons of concrete were just dropped on me,” he said. “And I was a bit in denial for a while, I didn’t want to admit to it.”
The diagnosis ultimately led Turner to rearranging his priorities and deciding to spend more time with his two daughters and grandchildren and less with Nist.
“I wanted my life to continue on as normal as possible, and that led me to believing that as normal as possible more meant spending time with my family, my two daughters, my two sons in laws, my granddaughters,” he explained.
“The importance of finding the way with Theresa was still there, but it became less of a priority,” he added. “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.”
However, Nist disagreed with Turner’s assessment and told People that Turner’s cancer “wasn’t a factor in the ending of the relationship, at least not for me.”
“If that was something on his part, maybe, I don’t know. But no, that didn’t factor into ending the relationship,” she said. “Part of it was the distance, but that wasn’t the only part. That’s really all I will say.”
Turner and Nist announced they were “mutually” divorcing in April after tying the knot just three months earlier. The former couple –– who finalized their divorce in June –– got engaged on the first season of the “Golden Bachelor” in late 2023.
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