Theresa Nist Insists She Had Her Own Reasons for Splitting From Gerry Turner Amid His Cancer Diagnosis

Shortly after The Golden Bachelor alum Gerry Turner revealed that he was diagnosed with cancer in the weeks leading up to his breakup with Theresa Nist, his ex-wife is sharing her side of the story and refuting Turner’s claims that his diagnosis played a role in their split.

Nist, who separated from Turner in April after three months of marriage, told People on Dec. 11 that Turner’s diagnosis, “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 explains. “Part of it was the distance, but that wasn’t the only part. That’s really all I will say.”

Turner announced his diagnosis in a separate interview with People on Dec. 11, revealing that he learned he had a slow-growing “bone marrow cancer” called Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia shortly after his wedding. “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,” he said.

“Unfortunately, there’s no cure for it. So that weighs heavily in every decision I make,” he said, reflecting on how it impacted his relationship with Nist and their plans to relocate somewhere together.

“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 son-in-laws, my granddaughters,” Turner explained. “And the importance of finding the way with Theresa was still there, but it became less of a priority.”

“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,” he also said.

Nist shared her experience, claiming the couple had agreed to relocate to South Carolina, where her son lives, before Turner backed out of the plan. “That was the plan. I was selling my home. He was selling his home,” “I wasn’t forcing him to go to South Carolina.”

“[But] Gerry, after he got back home, he kind of changed his mind,” she explained. “He said, ‘No, let’s do it six weeks here and six weeks there.’ And I didn’t want to do that. I really wanted a home together. I wanted the joy of being in a home together and designing a home together. I really thought that was going to be phenomenal. I was looking forward to that so much.”

Nist claims the couple were looking for homes together but couldn’t agree on one and their search soon went stale. However, she wishes Turner the best.

“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,” she said. “And I wish for him a long and healthy, prosperous life, and I hope that he finds his person. I want him to be so happy, and I just wish him all the best of everything in the world.”

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