6 hours Ago By Lauren DuBois
Fans of Golden Bachelor are getting a new inside look on what led to Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist ’s split earlier this year, after the franchise star shared he had been diagnosed with an incurable form of bone marrow cancer back in March — something Theresa is now addressing for the first time as well. Gerry confirmed he had been diagnosed with Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia, a slow-growing form of bone marrow cancer that is incurable, and also admitted that following his diagnosis, his marriage to Theresa was no longer “a priority” in his life . Fans had long suspected there was more to the couple’s sudden split than their disagreements over where to live, and despite small hints from others in Bachelor Nation , were never given confirmation.
Golden Bachelor's Gerry Tirner was diagnosed with cancer weeks before split Golden Bachelorette's Joan and Chock address 'issues' in their relationship Now, following Gerry’s reveal, Theresa has also released her own statement, indicating that she didn’t leave him because he was sick, and admitting that she was also very upset by the news. She shared her insight in a separate interview with People. “It was when I visited Gerry in Indiana [some time in March],” she said.
“That’s devastating news, really. I was extremely upset.” She also said Gerry said the cancer was the type he would most likely outlive, and the diagnosis “wasn’t a factor in the ending of the relationship.
” “If that was something on his part, maybe, I don’t know,” she said, “But no, that didn’t factor into ending the relationship. Part of it was the distance, but that wasn’t the only part. That’s really all I will say.
” She shared that the distance was truly a major factor in their split, and that when they couldn’t agree on a home together in South Carolina , things just petered out. “We looked at homes just virtually. We never got there, and it never happened.
So that would’ve been a thing to do differently, to actually go to South Carolina and go see things and see them in person instead of just looking at them online because that wasn’t enough,” she said. “I think it just petered out that we were looking at homes back and forth and we could never agree on one. And then the emails just stopped, [and] we weren’t looking anymore.
” Her statement comes after Gerry admitted to not making their relationship and future a priority anymore after learning the diagnosis. “I wanted my life to continue on as normal as possible, and that led me to believing that as normal as possible more meant spending time with my family, my two daughters, my two son-in-laws, my granddaughters. And the importance of finding the way with Theresa was still there, but it became less of a priority,” he said.
Don't miss: Golden Bachelorette Joan Vassos sparks senior love boom as she acts matchmaker [LATEST] Charles Ling could be weapon to help 'failing' Golden Bachelor franchise [INSIGHT] Joan Vassos admits she sees issues with potential Golden Bachelor in Paradise [UPDATE] Gerry and Theresa met while filming his inaugural season of The Golden Bachelor, and announced their engagement in November. They wed in a televised special in January, before announcing their split in April. Gerry, when sharing his diagnosis, also expressed hope that knowing more of the story would cause fans to change some of the judgements they had passed on both him and Theresa since their split.
“I hope that people understand in retrospect now that that had a huge bearing on my decisions and I think probably Theresa’s as well,” he said. “Hopefully they’ll look at things a little big differently, that maybe it wasn’t quite a rash, fast decision that people thought. That there was something else going on.
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