‘The Body Was Barely Cold Before He Started Dating’: Nick Viall Did Not Hold Back When Discussing Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner
A former Bachelor weighs in on 'Golden' drama.
The glow that surrounded Gerry Turner on the initial season of The Golden Bachelor started to fade a little just ahead of the finale, when a report surfaced that contradicted what Turner had said about his dating life after his wife Toni died. While the widower was portrayed on television as having no semblance of romance in his life after 2017, that turned out not to be the full truth, and Nick Viall — a former lead of The Bachelor himself — pulled no punches when discussing why it was hard for him to watch the initial season of Bachelor Nation’s newest spinoff.
A day before Gerry Turner’s proposal to Theresa Nist aired on ABC during The Golden Bachelor’s finale, a story broke in which an anonymous woman said she’d been in a three-year relationship with Turner after Toni’s death and that they’d lived together for over a year. Season 21 Bachelor Nick Viall — who also appeared on two seasons of The Bachelorette and one season of Bachelor in Paradise — had some strong words about the conflicting narratives when he spoke on Page Six’s Virtual Reali-Tea podcast. Viall said:
Gerry Turner has denied that he tried to bury his dating history, and sources have said the women on his season were aware of the relationship referenced in the THR article, but there’s no doubt that ABC really wanted to portray Turner as a hero. The Golden Bachelor was groundbreaking in its portrayal of grief and loss, and Nick Viall theorized that the 72-year-old leaned into the character that the network crafted for him in order to tell a story of hope.
As a former lead, The Viall Files host understands how the Bachelor franchise works, admitting to Page Six that they like to “oversimplify their characters.” Nick Viall continued:
In the end, Nick Viall called The Golden Bachelor “very inspiring,” saying that Gerry Turner made a more optimistic show by celebrating his late wife rather than rehashing the relationships that hadn’t worked since she died. And he admitted that to our knowledge, Turner didn’t even do anything wrong, saying:
Regardless of the twists and turns that got him to this point, Gerry Turner is about to be married again, and we’re all invited to watch the ceremony. The Golden Wedding is set to air live on ABC, starting at 8 p.m. ET Monday, January 4, and you can see what else is coming our way in the new year by checking out our 2024 TV schedule.
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Heidi Venable is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend, a mom of two and a hard-core '90s kid. She started freelancing for CinemaBlend in 2020 and officially came on board in 2021. Her job entails writing news stories and TV reactions from some of her favorite prime-time shows like Grey's Anatomy and The Bachelor. She graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a degree in Journalism and worked in the newspaper industry for almost two decades in multiple roles including Sports Editor, Page Designer and Online Editor. Unprovoked, will quote Friends in any situation. Thrives on New Orleans Saints football, The West Wing and taco trucks.