Ever since The Golden Bachelor’s first couple Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist announced that they were dissolving their marriage, everyone has been weighing in with their thoughts. Host Jesse Palmer sent words of love to the couple, as fans theorized there must be more to the story. One person we hadn’t heard from, however, was runner-up Leslie Fhima, who went through her own tough breakup with Turner on the show. As Nist made her first solo statement about her impending divorce, Fhima broke her silence to reach out to her friend.
Days after appearing on Good Morning America with Gerry Turner to announce that they were divorcing, Theresa Nist took to Instagram to thank everyone who had reached out to support her during this difficult time. Amongst those who responded in the comments was Leslie Fhima, who had her heart broken by Turner following a steamy fantasy suite date. She wrote:
I love you my friend. I'm so happy to call you that.. you're beautiful inside and out ❤️
Theresa Nist and Leslie Fhima may have fallen in love with the same man, but there is seemingly no bad blood between the two women, as the second-place finisher had nothing but support for Nist.
While Maria Trice did not hold back on how she had “dodged a bullet” by being eliminated early in the season, most of The Golden Bachelor's other spurned women took the same approach as Leslie Fhima in sending love to Theresa Nist and encouraging others to do the same. Sandra Mason had some stern words for people who were criticizing the couple and digging for more information, saying in a video on Instagram:
Gerry and Theresa are my friends. They’re in pain, I’m in pain. My phone has been blowing up, people wanting to know what else I know, what’s the rest of the story? I think they’ve shared with us what they want us to know, and we’ll leave it at that. They are parents, and they’re grandparents. Everyone’s hurting for them. Do you know that 50% of marriages in this country end in divorce? Second marriages end in divorce. So before you hit that keyboard with your ‘should have, would have, could have, I knew it wasn’t gonna work, they should have known,’ all the hate, stop and think.
Theresa Nist appreciated the message, as she commented on the video:
Thank you, Sandra. I am so lucky to call you my friend. You are such a wonderful human being. Love you.
The New Jersey grandmother had a similar message of gratitude for Nancy Hulkower, who also hit up Instagram asking for kindness on Theresa Nist and Gerry Turner’s behalf. Hulkower said:
We just have to show them support. I think they’re both going through a lot, and I’m so sorry — just like all of you are — that it wasn’t the fairy tale that we all thought it was. But that takes me to what I want to say next, and I think that this is honestly, this life. This is real life. Stuff happens. We know that, and it can’t be easy for them either... And I think all we can do is just show support to them and let them know we’re here for them, and that’s all you can do. Just be kind.
For her part, fan favorite contestant Natascha Hardee encouraged people on Instagram to “say less” if they had nothing nice to contribute, or, “better yet, zip it,” she said in a nod to Kathy Swarts’ famous line from the season.
Also weighing in was third-place finisher Faith Martin, who was eliminated after she expressed that she would not be willing to relocate for Gerry Turner (an issue that seemingly doomed his and Theresa Nist’s marriage as they continued to live in separate houses). Martin told People that her heart went out to them, and she emphasized how important it is to “ask the right questions” to gauge if a relationship will work. She said:
I wish them both all the happiness in the world, and I'm sure this was a traumatic thing to go through for both of them, so my heart goes out to them. I'm sure everything will really be okay in the long run, and someday they'll look back and just smile, hopefully.
That seemed to be the attitude Theresa Nist was moving forward with too, as her first social media post since the divorce announcement suggested she was thankful to have had The Golden Bachelor experience, despite how it ended for her and Gerry Turner:
It’s lovely to see the women rallying around Theresa Nist at this time, which is proof that something good came out of the reality dating show, even if the marriage only lasted three months. Hopefully whoever is chosen as The Golden Bachelorette — many believe it will be Leslie Fhima — can find lasting love when the new spinoff hits the 2024 TV schedule this fall.
