Audiences fell in love with The Golden Bachelor last fall, getting swept up into Gerry Turner’s wholesome journey. We watched him and Theresa Nist fall in love, get engaged and ultimately get married, all in the span of just a few months. That’s all come to an end now, with the couple announcing their impending divorce on Good Morning America last week, and everybody — from the fans to The Bachelor alumni — has an opinion. Now one of the contestants on Turner’s season has spoken out, and she isn’t holding back, saying she thinks she “dodged a bullet.”
Maria Trice didn’t make it past the first night at Bachelor Mansion on The Golden Bachelor, but apparently that was enough time for her to know he was not for her. After hearing that Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist had decided to dissolve their marriage after just three months, Trice felt her initial impression was confirmed, telling People:
I think I dodged a bullet... The interesting part about being at this stage and this age is people have stuff, even if they do their due diligence of finding out as much as they can about everyone, I think other stuff just comes up. Men in particular.
Maria Trice, a health and wellness director who — like Theresa Nist — hails from New Jersey, called Nist “the sweetest” and said she hopes she’s happy. It was clear on just that first night that Nist was more enamored with the 72-year-old widower from Indiana than Trice was. Trice said:
When I first met him, I was like, he’s not for me. She was so excited. I was like, he’s nice, he’s handsome. I didn’t feel a spark. She did and definitely wanted him and she got him. After three months they must know it’s for the best to not be together.
Location seems to have played a big role in the “Golden Divorce,” with Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist continuing to live in separate houses three months into their union — him in Indiana, her in New Jersey. However, much of Bachelor Nation thinks there’s more to the story, and that two people who say they still love each other wouldn’t choose to end their marriage so quickly if that were the only issue.
While Maria Trice said Gerry Turner "seemed to be a nice guy," she pointed out that everyone is on their best behavior at the beginning of a relationship. She said:
And at first everyone is showing their inner ambassador and batting their eyes, but when the covers come off, and you see the real reality of who each other are, you’re like, I’m not really sure this is who I want for the rest of my life.
With The Golden Bachelor filming over the course of a month and then the couple getting married a month after the finale aired, it’s just simply not a lot of time to get to know someone, Maria Trice said, and she admitted to wondering how the couple would adjust to getting more acquainted in the real world. She continued:
But how well can you know someone after that short period of my time. Once the excitement wore off and reality kicked in, I was like we’ll see. When you do something really fast like that it takes at least 3-6 months before all the shine is off and you’re dealing with that person raw.
In the end, if it’s not right, it’s not right, and Maria Trice was confident that Theresa Nist can find love again and “she can do it better.” After all, if Nist knows it’s not going to work out in the end, it’s better to just end it now. Trice concluded:
[When] trying to force a shoe that doesn’t fit, you’re going to get corns on your toes.
Hopefully The Golden Bachelorette will have better luck at forming a lasting love story. That new spinoff is set to air this fall following Jenn Tran’s season of The Bachelorette this summer. Keep your eye on the 2024 TV schedule for those and all of the other premiere dates.
