The Golden Bachelor's Gerry Turner has shared that he has been diagnosed with inoperable bone cancer, and that it was what led to his split with Theresa Nist, whom he married in early 2024.
Gerry was injured in the shoulder during a pickleball class in 2021 but he never saw the doctor until early 2024 when the doctor told him that he had "some unusual blood markers".
The reality star was then diagnosed with a slow-growing "bone marrow cancer" called Waldenström's macroglobulinemia.
Waldenström's macroglobulinemia, according to the Mayo Clinic, changes white blood cells into cancer cells and builds up in the bone marrow, the spongy material inside the bones where blood cells are made.
"I wanted my life to continue on as normal as possible, and that led me to believing that as normal as possible meant spending time with my family, my two daughters, my two son-in-laws, my granddaughters," Gerry told People, adding that "the importance of finding the way with Theresa was still there, but it became less of a priority".
He told Theresa in mid-March, two months after their whirlwind marriage on live TV, and Gerry added: "When you are hit with that kind of news and the shock wears off after a few days or a few weeks and you regroup and you realize what's important to you, that's where you start to move forward, and 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."
Unfortunately, there's no cure for Waldenström's macroglobulinemia and Gerry added that he was in denial for a long time, and refused to admit the truth.
But now, he says he is going "to pack as much fun as I possibly can into my life and enjoy every moment".
Their divorce was announced on Good Morning America, with Gerry sharing that they had undergone "a number of heart-to-heart conversations," and that they had "come to the conclusion mutually that it’s time for us to dissolve our marriage."
The pair met on ABC's first season of The Golden Bachelor which was touted as the first of its kind, bringing together women over the age of 50 to vie for Gerry's hand in marriage.
It was a ratings success, and Gerry proposed to Theresa, 70, in November 2023.
During a live broadcast of the finale, host Jesse Palmer revealed that they would be getting married in January 2024 live on television.