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Taylor Hill/WireImage
- Former Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner is dating a retired teacher named Lana after meeting her on Facebook
- According to TMZ, Lana hails from Indiana, just like the reality star
- The news comes one year after Turner and his final rose recipient Theresa Nist announced their divorce following three months of marriage
Gerry Turner has a new love in his life!
According to TMZ, the former Golden Bachelor, 73, has been dating a retired teacher named Lana who reached out to him on Facebook.
Turner told the outlet he ignored Lana's first Facebook message, but when she shared with him in a second message that she grew up in a town about 20 minutes from him in Indiana, he was intrigued and made plans with her to meet up. They went on their first date at a restaurant in March.
Gerry Turner Is Dating Someone New After Bombshell Golden Bachelor Divorce — and He Already Told Ex Theresa Nist About Her
The news comes one year after Turner and his Golden Bachelor final rose recipient Theresa Nist announced their divorce following three months of marriage. They settled the divorce in June 2024.
On the April 15 episode of Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt's Bachelor Happy Hour podcast, Turner teased that his new relationship has been “going well.”
“I don't wanna say too much and jinx it,” the retired restaurateur said. “And I'm trying to respectfully get to a point where there's an acceptable amount of time from my divorce. Maybe that's an old-fashioned thought, 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.”
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John Fleenor/DISNEY via Getty
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The reality star shared that Lana, who is in her mid-50s, has met his two daughters, Angie and Jenny, and that he’s been introduced to her parents.
“I think the fun part there is, she has daughters that I really relate to, and her daughter, she relates well to my daughters,” he told Amabile, 39, and Pitt, 27. “So we've been around each other briefly, but it's been fun. It's been a very enjoyable encounter."
Turner also said that he told Nist, 71, about his new relationship so that it "won't be shocking news to her" when it goes public.
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Theresa Nist/Instagram
Earlier this week, ABC announced that former NFL player Mel Owens will step into the role of Golden Bachelor for season 2. Owens, 66, graduated from the University of Michigan and was selected as the ninth overall pick in the 1981 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams. After retiring from football, he moved to Orange County, Calif. and began practicing law, during which time he met his first love. They got married and had two sons together, but they’ve since split up.
Now, Owens hopes to rediscover a love “rooted in the simple joys of companionship — sharing life’s everyday moments, making plans for the future and growing stronger together as a couple,” according to ABC.
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Turner’s season 1 contestant Susan Noles also revealed recently that she found love with a man she met on Tinder while on vacation in Saint Martin with fellow Golden Bachelor alum Kathy Swarts.
“I found the love of my life,” Noles, 68, said on the April 21 episode of her Bachelor Happy Hour: Golden Hour podcast.
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Brenton Ho/Variety via Gett
The wedding officiant business owner called her boyfriend, French native Frédéric, “tall and handsome,” “as silly as I am” and “a great cook.”
“It’s undeniable,” she said of their connection. “Just when you think it’s never going to happen, it happens.”