Former 'Golden Bachelor' Gerry Turner opens up about cancer diagnosis, new girlfriend
Former "Golden Bachelor" star Gerry Turner has shared an update about his cancer diagnosis.
As a guest on the latest episode of the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast, Turner told hosts Serena Pitt and Joe Amabile that he is "feeling really good."
"I feel great," he said. "As I've said, until I have symptoms, there's no treatment."
In December 2024, Turner announced that he was diagnosed with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia.
Waldenström's macroglobulinemia is a rare blood cancer that results in an excess of abnormal white blood cells in the bone marrow, according to the National Institute of Health.
The NIH estimates that the disease affects three in a million people per year in the United States, and the condition occurs twice as often in men than women.
Turner said on the podcast that he gets blood tests done frequently and that he feels optimistic.
As far as blood tests go, he said that his doctor told him: "When you turn 75, we're gonna have to go in three-month increments."
"So it's telling me, at least he expects me to live another couple of years to get to that," he added.
He also said that since his diagnosis, he doesn't turn anything down.
"I feel like I'm more open to emotions, I'm more open to experiences," he added.
An experience he's been open to has been dating; Turner revealed that he has a new girlfriend, who he says has helped him embrace new experiences.
"The person I'm dating will say, 'Do you want to go do…' and before she even gets out the rest of her sentence, I will say yes. So i'm in on everything," he said. "And it makes life exciting because you're kind of in the back of your head feel like you've got a lot of living to do and you don't know how long you have to do it, so don't turn down anything."
Turner didn't say much about who his new girlfriend is, but he described her as adventurous and said that he knew she was someone special the instant he met her.
"The first time I saw her, it was the look that she gave me. It was like all of a sudden I was consumed by this look and I had this actual physical feeling and I pushed it off," he said. "I go no, that was silly, that's ridiculous. And with every encounter, that feeling has instantly come back with her look. And it's like, damn. This is pretty awesome."
Turner got engaged to Theresa Nist at the end of his season of "The Golden Bachelor," and he married her in a televised wedding on ABC in January 2024. But the couple announced their divorce in April 2024. Turner said he informed Nist of his new girlfriend during the "After the Final Rose" episode of the past season of "The Bachelor" in March.
He said they both had a "nice" conversation about it and added that they are on "good terms."
Turner was "The Bachelor" franchise's first ever "Golden Bachelor."
While things are going well in his new relationship, Turner said that he doesn't want to "jinx" anything.
"I'm trying to respectfully get to a point where there's an acceptable time from my divorce," he said. "Maybe that's an old-fashioned thought -- maybe it doesn't matter as much as I think it does -- but to be respectful, I kind of want to slow roll this."
