Theresa Nist Hits Back at Gerry Turner's Claims They Split Due to His Cancer Diagnosis, Says He Wanted 'Empathy from the Public’

 
Theresa Nist and Gerry Turner. Credit :John & Joseph Photography/Disney via Getty
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Theresa Nist pushed back against Gerry Turner's speculation that they broke up because of his cancer diagnosis during the June 5 episode of iHeartRadio's Almost Famous Podcast
Nist claimed Turner's comments were not true and made her "angry" to hear
The pair met on the first season of The Golden Bachelor in 2023, and proceeded to get engaged and married before divorcing after three months of marriage
Theresa Nist is addressing rumors surrounding her breakup with Gerry Turner.

After meeting on the inaugural season of The Golden Bachelor in 2023, Nist and Turner’s whirlwind romance saw them get engaged, married and divorced by April 2024.

Turner, 73, later speculated during an interview with PEOPLE that his diagnosis of an incurable bone marrow cancer during that time had “a huge bearing” on their split, but Nist, 71, is now clarifying that his health held “zero” weight in her decision.

“I was just so surprised that he even said that I knew about the cancer a long time ago,” she told Bachelor Nation’s Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti on the June 5 episode of their iHeartRadio Almost Famous Podcast. “The way Gerry presented it to me was that, ‘The doctor said that I'm going to die of old age before this cancer gets to me.’ He bluffed it off, like it really wasn't that important, and he had no symptoms, and he still doesn't."

"So we never had a conversation that said, ‘Oh my gosh, you're sick. I can't stay with you now. I have to leave.’ That never happened," she added.

Gerry and Theresa after getting engaged on 'The Golden Bachelor'.John Fleenor/Disney
“I would have never left my husband over an illness,” she insisted, citing her 42-year marriage to her first husband, who she stayed with until he died in hospice care in 2014.

Nist explained that things between her and Turner “just didn’t work out,” and they both wanted to give each other the opportunity to date other people. If it were up to her, however, she said she would have stayed in the relationship longer.

“He wanted to do it right away,” Nist recalled. “I mean, we had already made the decision. He wanted to make the announcement right away.”

Admitting that she still needs to “confront him about” the comment, which sparked "absolutely horrible" backlash against her, she shared her own theory.

“Did he want empathy from the public?” she suggested. “I was angry that he would say something like that, but then I am such an understanding person, and I can put myself easily in someone else's shoes. So I tried to see it from his perspective, and I thought, ‘Okay, if that's in his mind, then I guess that's how he sees it.’ Everyone has their own perception of what happened.”

PEOPLE has reached out to Turner for comment.

Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist.Frank Micelotta/Disney via Getty Images
The grandmother of seven also offered an update on what terms she and Turner are on now, revealing that they have been “a little distant” since their divorce.

“He really does want to talk to me a lot,” she confessed. “I mean, he wants to keep the friendship going, but I really haven't reciprocated. So I guess it's me, I would say, Also, since the show, I've been a lot more at peace with myself. I think maybe before the show, I felt a little bit more restless, like something was really missing in my life.”

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Nist is now seeing someone she met on a dating app, although she wouldn’t provide many more details. Turner is also in a new relationship with a retired teacher named Lana, who reached out to him on Facebook.

“I really am happy for him,” Nist said. “And if he had to find his person by going this circuitous route, then he did, then it was successful. He found someone that really suits him, and that's wonderful. So I think it worked out the way it was supposed to work out.”