Gerry Turner found himself face-to-face with his ex-wife Theresa Nist for the first time since their divorce, which has become fraught with tension. This reunion took place during the dramatic conclusion of the second season of The Golden Bachelor.

During the live show on Wednesday, November 12, host Jesse Palmer made the surprise announcement that the 74-year-old Gerry was present among the audience members.

“Take a look at who’s in the audience: Gerry, our inaugural Golden Bachelor,” Jesse, 47, cheerfully informed those in attendance. “[He’s joined by] his new fiancée, Lana [Sutton].”

The broadcast then showed Gerry and Lana seated in the crowd, warmly acknowledging Jesse and the cameras.

Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist came close to becoming the first successful couple from The Golden Bachelor. Gerry had proposed to Theresa in the stunning backdrop of Costa Rica during the season 1 finale, which aired in November 2023. “Waking up this morning was tough. I was filled with a swirl of emotions, and I felt […]”

“We wanna say congratulations on you both finding love,” Jesse added. “Excited for you too.”

Jesse subsequently revealed that “so many Golden ladies and Golden men” were also in attendance — sitting across the room. Theresa, 72, was spotted sitting next to Gerry’s runner-up, Leslie Fhima, and Mel Owens’ castoffs from season 2. Jesse did not further address Theresa or Leslie’s appearance.

Gerry famously got engaged to Theresa during season 1 of The Golden Bachelor, which aired in 2023. They tied the knot less than a year later but announced in April 2024 that they went their separate ways after three months of marriage.

“Theresa and I have had a number of heart-to-heart conversations. We’ve looked closely at our living situations and we’ve kind of come to the conclusion mutually that it’s time for us to dissolve our marriage,” Gerry said on Good Morning America at the time. “The things that strike me the most in our conversations it’s been how dedicated both of us are to our families. So, we look at these situations and I think we just feel like it’s best for the happiness of each of us to live apart.”

While Gerry and Theresa initially blamed their whirlwind divorce on long distance, he later told Us Weekly that more factored into the decision.

“I believe [I was] made out to be a villain,” Gerry claimed to Us exclusively in an October cover story. “Right before Theresa and I went on Good Morning America to announce that divorce, we agreed that we would protect each other, and I don’t feel like that happened. I felt like I was taking the brunt of the situation. And I go, ‘No, wait a minute, that’s not right. It’s 50/50.’”

Gerry laid out more claims about what went wrong in his My Golden Years memoir, even alleging that he felt “trapped” going into his and Theresa’s wedding day.

Theresa, meanwhile, denied Gerry’s version of events.

“It makes me very sad to think that he felt empty and trapped,” Theresa told Us in a statement last month. “I wish he had said something and just ended it. But at least now I understand why he was so hurtful to me so many times. And I will say this. Those in glass houses should not throw stones. I do wish him all the best.”

Theresa later revealed that she is still hurt by Gerry’s claims.

“All I want is peace and joy and good things in my life,” she said on the“Dear Shandy” podcast earlier this month. “I have been extremely upset. Anytime I talk about anything that I read that he said about any interaction we had, I just go, ‘That’s not how it was.”